Disease

Afton had just hardly finished brushing out her hair and pulling on a sweater when she took a glance at the clock and realized it was 9:48 AM. She quickly pushed her feet into the nearest pair of shoes and tip toed over to Oliver, tapping him on the shoulder until he woke up.

"Do yeh think yeh can give meh a ride to the doctor?" She asked as his eyes opened and quickly shut against the light.

He rolled over and grunted, "What? Yeh can't fuckin' drive yerself?"

"Yeah, I guess I could. Where are the keys?"

Immediately, Oliver felt horrible for being so rude to her, but then reminded himself she needed a taste of her own medicine, and only one nasty comment wasn't the full dosage.

So, without skipping a beat, he shrugged and replied, "Why don't yeh go find 'em?"

Afton rolled her eyes and retreated from the bedside into the kitchen. She was already late and didn't want to deal with Oliver's shitty morning attitude. After a few minutes of searching, she found the keys hidden under a stack of envelopes. She picked them up and realized how foreign their felt in her hand. She hadn't driven in months, due to Oliver treating her as if she were disabled.

As she stepped out into the cold and closed the door behind her, she thought about going back in and just canceling her appointment. She really didn't care to know that she was even closer to dying than she already was.

She shoved the keys in the ignition and started the car. She reached for the break with her foot but was unable to touch it, due to the fact that Oli had stilts for legs. She moved the seat forward and backed out of the parking stall, heading towards her destination.

On her way there, many possibilities sailed through her head. Such as, what if she was actually getting better and the disease would just start to subside? Only if she was so lucky, right? Which she knew wouldn't happen, because her and Oliver were never lucky. If it wasn't for bad luck, they wouldn't have any fucking luck at all.

She shrugged off the thought as she rounded a corner. She almost felt at peace with the fact that her death was soon approaching her. Afton knew it was morbid to think such a thing. But she never wanted to get old, have kids, and get married. She fully embraced living without a purpose. Which was why her and Oliver fell together so perfectly. If there was anyone who was so against living a traditional life style like she was, it was Oliver. So, dying wasn't the main thing that was really terrifying. It was leaving behind Oli that terrified her. With the way he was acting already, Afton knew he was way too attached to their relationship.

She dreaded the day her death would come, not because she was scared, but because she knew Oliver was going to fall apart without her around. He was one of those people that loved with his whole heart. When he wanted something, he didn't wait for it to come. He ran after it, with his hands outstretched until he caught it. And then he refused to let it go.

He was also one of those people that attempted to take blame for literally everything. There was no doubt in Afton's mind, her death would be one of those things.

He'd find some way to blame himself for the entirety of the situation. He'd tell everyone he could've done a better job of taking care of her (Which he really doesn't seem to understand she could just do on her own). Afton knew when to take her pills. She knew she was to eat with them, but she didn't feel the need to eat when she wasn't hungry. She'd found that just made her feel even worse.

Her thoughts dwindled away as she pulled into a parking spot and launched the gears forward, putting the car in park. She grabbed her wallet off the passenger's seat and opened the door, stepping back into the cold once more and heading into the office. She signed in and took a seat, folding her hands into her lap and looking around.

A small smile came to her face as she thought of the way Oliver acted every time they came into the doctor's office, how jittery he became, and how he refused to let her go in alone. Except for of course, this time.



I sat down next to Oliver after filling out the insurance papers and placed a hand on his bouncing knee, trying to catch his gaze.

"Oliver," I laughed quietly, "Stop that."

He turned to me, "'M sorry Love."

"Yeh can wait outside, yeh know. Yeh don't 'ave teh stay in 'ere."

"No, 's alright."

I nodded at him, settling back in my chair. I knew he loathed doctor's offices. They bothered him. The sick people, the weird smell, the tissue boxes lurking around every corner and the shitty magazines. I remember a particular time asking him why he hated them so much, and he told me they reminded him of when he found out his grandfather had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Oli hated the fact his favorite granddad couldn't even remember who he was.



Oli groaned loudly as he rolled out of bed and stretched, his joints cracking in unison. He looked around the room, seeing it was in disarray and wondered what the fuck Afton could've done that required making such a catastrophe of the place. He shuffled his hair around before going into the living room. Upon seeing Afton's lap top, he got curious and walked over to it, lifting the lid up.

He was even more interested as a file of folders popped up and a folder named "Oliver" was adorning the screen. He slid his finger across the pad and clicked three times on the folder, impatient to wait for it to open. He was immediately peeved when a password block prevented him from viewing the folder's contents.

He ran his fingers over the keyboard, entering a password. His brow furrowed in annoyance as he was denied access to it again. He clicked 'OK' and tried another password, more sure of it than the last. Pressing 'Enter', excitement rose in his throat. The computer made a beeping noise and told Oliver once more, he had the wrong password. This time around, his face screwed up in frustration and determination. He poked in yet another password. The laptop began making slight whirring noises and a smirk crossed Oli's face as he realized he'd figured out the password.

He watched as the electronic hour glass continued flipping up and down as he waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, until finally, the computer made that annoying beep and rewarded Oliver with a nice excuse on why he wasn't allowed to view the files yet again.

"Piss off!" He yelled loudly, bringing his face closer to the computer, finding a certain jealously for it within himself.

He stood up from the couch and ambled into the kitchen, turning around to flip Afton's lap top the bird and stick his tongue out in it's general direction. He was being rather immature, he realized, but paid no attention to it as he pulled open the refrigerator in search of something to drink. As he shoved away uneaten left overs or old jars of pickles and jelly, he heard the knob to the front door turn.

And, the new and improved Oliver had an extremely hard time not running towards the door. He wanted to meet Afton at it like a little boy equipped with a hug and a big sloppy kiss. But, he didn't. He remained with one of his tattooed arms shoved in the fridge and the other against the counter.

He heard her step into the apartment and walk over to the coffee table, setting down the keys and her wallet. He cringed as he remembered not closing the lap top, and hoped she wouldn't notice. But, he wasn't so lucky, as he listened as she clicked a few keys on her lap top and shut it.

"Olleh?" She asked, her voice floating into the kitchen.

Upon getting no reply, she walked into the kitchen to see his lower half practically dangling out of the fridge, "'Ello Ols? I was talkin' teh yeh."

"Oh yeah?" He said, reaching for a beer on the back of the shelf, "I wasn't listenin'."

He stood up fully and closed the fridge, popping open his beer and looking over at Afton, who looked so completely out of herself, more than she usually did. Her face wasn't it's normal pale color, but flushed, and her eyes were rimmed with red, making it look as if she'd been crying. As much as Oli wanted to pull her into his arms and ask her if the doctor's appointment went alright, he ignored his own questions and took a drink of his beer, continuing to stare at Afton, waiting for her reply.

She stood a mere five feet away from him, wanting him to ask her, just so she could use the story she'd conjured up on the way home. But, instead, she sparked a conversation by asking about her laptop.

"Were yeh messin' with meh computer?"

"No," Oli lied, "I was thinkin' it was mine. But it weren't."

She nodded, not wanting to rub Oli the wrong way again, "Oh alright."

As she walked into the living room, she expected Oli to stop her or ask her something stupid that might hold her attention. She became rather disappointed when he didn't say a single word.

When she sat down on the couch, Oliver tensed up. He wanted so badly to chase her into the living room and bombard her with annoying questions, being persistent until she snapped at him, satisfying him with at least some type of response. But he didn't. He only took another swig from his beer and then tipped the can down the drain. He set the can on to counter and then leaned against it, folding his arms across his chest, hating the awkward silence, and waiting for Afton to fill it.

His heart jumped slightly as he heard her stand up and come back into the kitchen. She bit her lip and gave into her instinct. Everyone wants to be cared about, and she felt absent without Oli's voice pestering her. So, she sucked up her pride and talked in a quiet voice.

"Why'd yeh dump that out?"

"'ts too early teh be drinkin' already. Don't even know why I opened it."

She nodded and broke gaze with Oli, looking at her hands, "I went teh the doctor."

"Oh yeah?"

"Mhm."

"That's nice, I guess." He said, turning to leave the kitchen.

Afton reached out and touched his elbow slightly, "They said 'ts gettin' better," She paused, her eyes glued to the floor of the kitchen, "I guess the medication is helpin'."

Oliver felt uneasy about the way Afton was acting, but he stepped gingerly towards her, bending his treat Afton the way she treats me rule and embracing her.

"That's well Af. 'M real glad."

Afton nodded against Oliver, as he squeezed her harder. She couldn't shake the guilty feeling off her shoulders as her cold face pressed against the warmness of his chest.