In My Neighbor's Bed

Ch. 9: Support

Of course, living in a facility in the middle of nowhere, the pizza took longer to arrive than it traditionally should have. Still, forty-five minutes of whining and complaining later, Eli was finally satisfied and stuffing his face full of pizza.

Ronnie glowered in his direction occasionally but otherwise let him be. He usually did.

Junk food, bedtimes, personal space. He was pretty loosey-goosey with Eli when it came to the unimportant things. The important things, however, were another story.

"Let me know when you're done stuffing yourself. You have to take your pills after."

Eli made a disgusted noise. "Great, everybody's favorite dessert."

"Yup, and you get a whole handful all to yourself. What a lucky boy!" Ronnie said cheerfully, handing him a small paper cup full of pills.

I had to repress laughing as I watched them. I sat back in my chair, eating a slice of pizza like I was watching my favorite sitcom. And, to some degree, I was. They were both so stubborn and sarcastic towards each other that it made for some pretty good entertainment. If you ignored the medical aspect of it, at least.

I leaned forward, glancing at the little cup. Of course, I didn't really know what any of them were, but I had been here often enough that I did notice something odd about them. And that oddness worried me.

"Hey, aren't there more pills here than usual?" I asked Ronnie.

He looked a bit surprised. I guess it was the slightly panicked tone in my voice. He glanced at the cup for a second.

"Ah, yes and no. Don't worry, the new ones are just vitamins," he explained. "Somebody has been a little bitchy about going outside lately-"

"It's cold!" Eli snapped.

"So," Ronnie continued, "I requested some vitamins for him. Should help to make up for all that nutrition he's lacking in his diet too."

"The only thing I'm 'lacking' in my diet is a cup of hot cocoa."

The two of them went back to their petty bickering about diet, healthy eating, and medication, but I wasn't really listening anymore. I was still busy trying to come down from the initial panic those few little pills had caused.

I hated this. Being so anxious and on edge all the time. I really just wanted to enjoy my time with Eli.

But I couldn't. Every new doctor's appointment, every call I received from Ronnie's phone, even the little things like a couple new pills in his cup sent me into a whirlwind of panic. And right now, my head was still spinning.

Fortunately, a much-needed distraction was offered to all of us in the form of an electronic, dance-y rhythm. I glanced over at Eli's nightstand. My phone was buzzing.

"Shit, I forgot to turn it off again," Eli said, glancing at it. "Want me to answer for you?"

My sheepish smile told him everything he needed to know. He gave me a small nod and picked up the phone, clearing his throat dramatically.

"Hello?" he said in the most laughable "sick" voice I've ever heard. A faint reply was mumbled from the other end. "Ah, I'm sorry, she's not here right now. My stomach was feeling a little queasy and my nurse is in the hospital wing setting up an appointment time for my chemo tomorrow. I asked her if she could get me some crackers from the cafeteria. She must have forgotten her phone. But if you want, I can-"

Eli stopped himself and coughed into the phone a couple times. I literally had to cover my mouth with my hands to stop myself from laughing. And Ronnie wasn't much better. He was crouched on the ground by this point, holding himself and trembling with repressed laughter.