Incurable

Twenty Four

On the walk away from Group, Avi moved to walk beside Mitch. "Mitch..? Can I ask you something?"

"Of course!"

"Your episodes...? You have seizures?"

"Yep!"

"And... Is it scary?"

"Sort of, I guess. I usually come back to see Scott holding me. Knowing that he'll be there for me when I come back down is... Very encouraging. Makes me a lot braver to know that he'll be there."

Scott wordlessly grabbed Mitch's hand with a smile.

Avi nodded at his answer. "I see... That's very cool. I just.. Was curious."

Mitch grinned at him widely. "That's fine! You can ask me anything."

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks."

*********

Alex heard the others walk down the hallway of the dormitories and smiled, knowing their group session was over.

Alex then walked over to the bathroom in his room, knocking on it to alert Jake. "J? The Reds are back."

Jake didn't respond though.

Alex knocked again. "Jakey? Are you in there?" He asked, although he knew that Jake was. He'd seen him walk into that room just minutes before.

Alex heard crying, which is what motivated him to open the door regardless of how much strength he would have to use. Luckily, Jake left it open.

After throwing open the door, Alex dropped to his knees beside Jake, who was curled up in a ball on the floor while his body shook and sweat gathered around his hairline.

Alex had seen this before, and knew what to do, but that didn't mean it wasn't a terrifying experience for him. He first grabbed both of Jake's hands and forced eye contact. "Hey, look at me. Take a deep breath for me, Jakey. It's going to be okay."

Jake nodded a few times, forcing a shaky breath to rattle through his lungs.

Alex grinned at him. "Good. Let's take another one. I'll do it with you."

Jake watched him carefully, and breathed at the same time Alex did.

Alex's smile widened. "Good! I'm so proud of you, Jake. Are you alright?"

Jake gradually stopped shaking, Alex's presence alone being enough to calm him, and he squeezed Alex's hands a little tighter. "Thank you."

"Do you still feel nauseous or dizzy or...?"

Jake shook his head, although his grip on Alex's hands tightened impossibly. "Would you grab the...?"

 Alex stood quickly, leaving one hand in Jake's grasp while he grabbed some of Jake's medication from the bathroom counter.

Alex crouched back down, opening the orange bottle and grabbing a single pill, but he hesitated before handing it to Jake. "Are you sure about this, J? You know what the side effects are..."

Jake nodded a few times, reaching a hand out for his medication, which Alex finally gave to him.

Alex frowned at him while he took the pill, and then laid himself down on the bathroom floor beside Jake to hug him. "I'm sorry..."

Jake hugged him back. "For what?"

"I'm just... Sorry you have to go through this. You're such a good person... You don't deserve a life like this."

Jake sniffled a little, wiping the remnant tears with his sleeve. "Well... Brightside; If I weren't like this, I never would've met you."

Alex frowned at that, setting his head on Jake's shoulder. "Still. I wish you didn't have to suffer."

"In all fairness... I hate waking up to see that you haven't slept all night. I hate when you have nightmares, because I hate seeing you terrified like that. And you're a lot nicer than I am. So if you think it's hard on you, imagine how I must feel."

Alex grinned. "Oh, how awful for you."

Jake smiled too, finally relaxed again.

They sat in that silence for a bit, Alex relieved to hear Jake's heart beating at a steady pace.

Jake finally cleared his throat. "I guess we should go see how the others are doing."

"I don't want to." Alex whined, comfortable in his position half on top of his friend.

Jake chuckled a little. "Al, as much as I love you... This cold floor isn't exactly comforting."

Alex frowned, but reluctantly stood up, holding a hand out for Jake.

Jake stood, brushing himself off a little, before Alex crushed him in a hug.

Alex held him as tight as he could. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Thanks to you." Jake reminded him.

*******

Kevin was sitting in his room with a book, Kirstie sat beside him as he read to her.

Kirstie told him it was her favorite way to read, to have Kevin read to her.

Sometimes he would change his voices to fit the characters, and it brought her joy she couldn't even explain.

Avi had seen them do this a few times, but never questioned it.

When he saw Mitch walk across the hall though, he couldn't help himself. Knowing Mitch would give him the most truthful answer, Avi snuck out of his room and chased him down the hall.

Mitch heard him coming, and stopped walking to turn and smile at him.

Avi grinned right back. "Hey Mitch... I have another question for you."

Mitch gasped and grabbed his arm in excitement. "Okay!"

"But, um... Where's Scott? I thought you two weren't supposed to separa--"

"Bathroom. Question please!"

Avi's brain took a second to catch up with Mitch's, but he nodded. "I just.. Was curious. Why does Kevin read to Kirstie all the time?"

"Because he's like the parent she never had. That was too easy, give me a different one!"

Avi tilted his head a little. "What? She didn't have parents?"

"No, they died in the fire, remember?"

"No, I don't remember. Remind me."

Mitch hummed in thought for a second. "Well... When she was little, there was a fire, and she was the only one that made it. And she blames herself all the time, that's why she has episodes. One of the key things is when she says she's sorry."

Avi's eyes went wide. "Oh God... How awful."

"Yeah, when she first got here that's all she could say. 'I said I was sorry'. That was the phrase. I think, anyway. I wasn't here at the time, but Kevin was."

Avi took a deep, shaky breath. "Okay... Thanks, Mitch."

"You're welcome! Anything else?"

Avi shook his head wordlessly, and almost on cue, Scott walked up to Mitch and put an arm over Mitch's shoulders.

Mitch's attention completely diverted from Avi, and he focused on Scott, which gave Avi his opportunity for escape.

He didn't say a single word as he marched back into Kevin's room, and grabbed Kirstie in a hug, tucking his face into her shoulder.

****