More. || Eric Coulter

Eighteen

<

"I know it's hard for you Vinnie. Losing two of the closest people is hard; it would be hard on anyone, and it's okay to grief. But it's been too long. Three months, Vinnie! Three months!" Eric huffed in annoyance. "It's not like you're the only one who lost someone, you know? I lost two of my best friends, too!"
He huffed again, getting worked up more and more by his own words and thoughts.

The silence from Vinnie's side never broke which only added to his temper.

"You're just being selfish now to be perfectly honest. Everyone in this faction lost someone and got through their grief. Everyone but you."

Eric stood in the doorway of her bedroom looking at her and asking himself what he should do.
He ran out of ideas on how to help his friend, who was mourning ever since her brother and then her boyfriend died, and while it was nothing unusual and forbidden for a human being, it had gotten to a point where she didn't eat, didn't move or talk and neglected her own health.

After Freyr died, the doctors thought it would be a better idea to let her mourn and grief in a comfortable environment so they sent her back to her apartment but not before thoroughly cleaning her wounds and providing her with a nurse who would check up on and take care of her a couple of times a day.
Once the wounds had healed, the nurse was not needed anymore and Vinnie was left alone with Eric taking the nurses place. He had to make sure she would eat and drink enough, take the prescribed medicine and help her with light exercises to keep her legs intact.

After another month, things still haven't gotten better. In fact, they had gotten worse.
Eric had to get back to work once his collarbone fully healed which meant he couldn't spend as much time with Vinnie to properly take care of her. He regularly brought her food but couldn't make sure that she actually ate so whenever he returned to her apartment, he often saw the food untouched and Vinnie in the same fetal position in her bed, aimlessly looking out of the window.

"Talk to me, Vinnie, please."

No answer. Not even a flinch.

"Are you in pain?"

No answer.

"Have you taken your meds?"

No answer.

"Have you washed yourself today or at least once in the past two days?"

Silence.

"Vinnie..." he sighed - his voice much softer than before - as he approached the bed to sit down next to her.
Eric never knew he was capable of feeling so much guilt for a person yet here he was, feeling ashamed for not being able to take more time off and take care of his last remaining best friend.
"It's been almost three months and Max is getting tired of the excuses." He sat down next to her and paused to see if she would finally answer. Nothing. "You know what will happen if you don't get better soon so please, Vinnie, please don't make me do it."

After more silence he began to worry even more. In addition to her miserable state, winter was here and temperatures were at their lowest.
A few days ago, Eric noticed that parts of her bedroom windows inside were covered in frost patterns meaning they weren't airtight anymore which was becoming a huge problem considering it was below zero degrees Fahrenheit outside and the room temperature was sinking at a dangerous rate.
Because the guy who could fix the problem was packed with work and therefore couldn't come for another week, Eric had to improvise and brought some extra blankets to keep Vinnie warm. When he had enough time, he made her tea that she ended up not even touching or put extra warm socks on her feet.

"Vinnie are you alright?" he asked carefully and reached for the edge of the blanket to pull it aside in order to get a better view of her.

His eyes widened at the sight. Heart threatening to stop for a moment.
Vinnie's shivering lips were tinted blue and when he touched her skin, it was too cold to be normal.
If it wasn't for the shiver and if she didn't move her eyes to look at Eric, he would have believed she was dead.