You Can't Sing Without Air- Harry Styles Fanfic

17. My Morning Routine Involves Getting Beat Up a Bit

"So.... wait, you put the vest thing on, get beat up a little, and it doesn't hurt?" Harry asks. 

He wanted to see what it's really like having CF, so I'm showing him my daily regimen to explain.  

"No, I mean, not really. It's not a massage but it's not terrible. Here try it." I hold my Afflovest out to him. 

He shakes his head. 

"Seriously, try it! You wanted to see what it's like, what better way than to experience it yourself?" 

He takes the vest from me cautiously. I show him how to put it on, loosening the straps to fit over his torso. It's a little snug but it latches. 

I turn the machine on and the vest fills with air, vibrating his chest. It's like when you're a kid and a friend pounds on your back so that your voice wobbles. 

He looks so uncomfortable I have to laugh.  

"All you need is a couple more tubes coming out of you and you'd be a real CFer." I say.

'HoW do YoU Do tHis eveRy dAY?" He asks, his voice bouncing with the vibrations.

I take pity on him and turn off the machine. He relaxes. 

"You get used to it. It's not even the worst part." I grab the vest from him, putting it on and adjusting the straps. I grab a nebulizer and fill it with liquid medicine. I put it in my mouth as vapor begins coming out of it. 

"Some kids vape," I say, "I do this." I hold up the nebulizer, taking a puff and letting the vapor float out my mouth like I'm smoking a joint. 

Harry laughs. 

"Now what?" He asks.  

"Now, we watch FRIENDS." 

"Nice! I love that show!" 

I turn on an episode as I finish my treatments. When I finish my vest and nebulizer I toss them to the side. I grab some sterile wipes and a syringe of saline and begin flushing my line to hook up another IV. I show Harry how to do it. 

"This," I pull down my shirt to show the needle sticking out of my chest, "goes directly into my artery, straight to my heart. That way I'm able to get IV without having to blow the veins in my arms all the time." 

Harry cringes.   

"That's a needle?" He asks. "Fuck. I've had my share of IV drips but not in my chest." 

"Oh, like those vitamin cocktails?" I ask. I don't get why people do those. Why would you willingly get a drip? 

"Yeah, I get sick a lot on tour. It helps me stay healthier. They hurt like a motherfucker though, I can't imagine what that's like." He points to the needle.

"Well, it's no picnic." I say. "I have to change it soon, I can show you if you want?"  

He looks a little green. 

"...Or not" I say. 

"No, no. I want to know this stuff. If you can stick a needle in your own chest the least I can do is observe."  

I laugh. He's trying so hard. 

I'll admit, it's weird showing someone all these intimate details of my life. Even when I was in university I paid extra for a single dorm so no one would see what it takes to keep me alive everyday. The only person outside my family who's seen me even do my vest is Sean. 

I clamp the line, cleaning it and flushing it with the syringe, then attaching the new IV. Harry watches intently. 

"Aaaand that's about it for my morning routine! Like and subscribe for more glamorous videos!" I say in a mock American accent, pretending to be a YouTuber.