King of the Fall

Chapter 21

(Abel)

"I'm just dying..."

"What're you talking about?" I asked her.

"I don't know. I have a shit ton to do and I'm just... burdened," she added, after a while.

"By... us?"

"NO...no, I mean, by the work. It's way too much. You know how it is... stressful as fuck. My dad left us in a dash of discomfort, for sure," she whispered. She seemed almost too tired to function.

"Um... well, the thing is... I kind of want to go to sleep."

"I saw a few bottles of um... meds."

"Oh, yeah, my doctor gave those to me..."

"For what? Those are pretty fucking strong."

"Yeah, I got... issues," she said, pulling away. Guess she didn't wanna share, which I understood, it was her body. She'd share what she felt comfortable with.

"Okay, girl, take care of yourself. Don't go around popping shit you ain't supposed to poppin'," I told her. She rolled her eyes at me and then leaned in to kiss me. I took her hand in mine, while my lips danced around on hers.

"Eat girl, eat some food. You gon' feel better."

"Maybe later...?"

"Just have some food. How about I make something...?" She giggled and nodded.

"Okay, we gon' eat some crap today."

(Elize)

"I don't know what to tell you," I muttered and Ellie slapped my arm real fucking hard, she kept hitting me until I moved away.

"This isn't FUCKING funny. This is NOT funny. Don't joke. Please, don't joke. DON'T."

"Ellie, you know I'm not joking. This isn't something I'd joke about. I haven't told anyone except my mom. She's still trying to grasp the truth. Look... I need you, Ellie. I need you, so bad. I don't... wanna drag Abel into this. You know that. I can't drag him into this. He's got his own shit to deal with. Ellie... I need you. I know... it'll be too much. You have so much going on in your life right now. But all I ask for, all I'm asking for... is the promise that you'll be here for me."

She slapped me right across my face this time. "How dare you even question my presence? Of course I'll be there. I was made for you, girl. I'm gonna be there until I die and that's for sure. I'm not letting you go before me and I'm sure as hell not leaving your side. Why the fuck didn't you tell me before...?"

"I was scared. I guess," I murmured, rubbing my cheeks. That smarted.

"I'm sorry," she said, pulling me into a hug. I get that she was pissed but that was extreme as fuck.

She hugged me for a long fucking time... I guess, she was still in my mom's mood. "You have to tell Abel. He's... he just has to know."

"No, come on, Ellie. That's... a load of crap. I can't."

"You have to. You can't hide this from him. Because, he's gonna see you fade away. He's gonna be there when you can't move because you hurt too much. Girl. He's gonna see everything. How're you going to get away with this? How're you going to lie to him repeatedly? Won't it hurt you? Won't you feel like... you're incomplete? Come on, girl, wake the fuck up!"

"Ellie..." "No, you can't back out of this. You have to tell him. You have to... I'll tell Andrew and Shane. They'll be here for you. These people need to know because they're here with you everyday. They see you everyday and when you can't walk, when you continuously work from home, they're gonna know."