The Attic

27: Morning

A/N: Blessed Samhain, and happy everything else! This was supposed to be published on actual Samhain, but I got way too busy with sleeping and watching my nieflings. Thanks for being patient with me :) I may or may not do a game night kind of thing on discord on the 3rd or 4th, but I haven't decided yet <3

I lay still, not wanting to wake him. Waking him risks pissing him off. And I'm really done with that this time. I even leave his arm around me, despite its heat and sweat rubbing against my skin.

And so we lay there. I try to fall back asleep with him, but the aching in my wrist keeps me up. A couple of hours pass as I watch the sun's light creep up the wall in front of me. It doesn't take long for the aching to become near unbearable.

"Adam?" I use my good hand to pet his arm to wake him up as gently as possible. "Adam? Wake up."

He rouses easily but doesn't move. "Hmm? What do you want, babe? It's still early."

"I-I know, but, umm, it really hurts..."

That gets him up. He's out of bed and stumbling across the room in seconds. "Oh, Rai, I'm so sorry!" He looks everywhere in a rush, before remembering where he set my pills. "Shit, shit, shit..."

My heart sinks at his self-frustration. "Calm down. I'm fine." I don't know why I feel the need to comfort him when I'm the one in pain and it's his fault. It's still hard to remember he's not the same friend he was before.

He ignores my concern as he fumbles with the cap, only paying me any attention when he notices me trying to get off the bed.

"No, stay there! I almost have it, okay?"

"I'm just gonna grab some water."

"I said 'no,' Raiden. I'll get you a bottle myself. I don't want you on your feet for at least a couple of days, okay? I don't want you accidentally hurting yourself any more than you already are."

"It's not even my ankle that hurts that much anymore." I pick up the nearest plastic bottle on the table next to me as I scoot closer to the edge, hoping it's mine. "I'll just refill the one I already have in the bathroom. It's just across-"

There's a tug on my arm and as I look over, Adam is next to me again.

"Adam-"

"No," he pushes. "I want you safe, and I want you to heal. You're going to do as you're told."

Something inside me holds back, leaving him unanswered. He's not asking this time. A look of satisfaction crosses his face at my stunned silence, and I can't find the strength to fight him as he helps me back into bed, tucking my legs in the covers as tight as he can. Part of me wants to think he's making sure I'm comfy, but the rest thinks he just wants me cemented in place.

He stands between the bed and the doorway, admiring his handiwork as he waits for a reaction from me. I find myself still too stunned, and hold the water bottle out to him after a long awkward silence.

He takes it from me with a smug, "Thank you," and hurries to fill and return it to me.

"Thanks," I mumble. I pop the pills in my mouth and follow them quickly with a swig of the lukewarm tap water. It takes a couple swallows for them to finally be coaxed down my throat. Swallowing pills is such a pain for me. It's like there's this part of my brain that says, 'hey, don't swallow that, it's solid' even though the rest of it logically knows I won't choke.

Adam, on the other hand, can swallow his pills dry. His warning system in his brain is stronger than mine, apparently, and will actively swallow everything but the pills. It doesn't matter what he tries to swallow them with. Water, cheese, and I've even seen him try milk before. He just can't.