Disease

Afton dragged her blanket and pillow out to the living room. She sat down in the middle of the couch and slumped over, her blue eyes wide as she stared into the black of the whole room. Her blanket was strewn against the bottom of the couch, not even touching her. And her pillow was hanging halfway off the cushion, not even underneath her head. But that didn't matter to her. At this point in her life, nothing mattered. Oli didn't try to stop her as she left the room.

And this time, she wasn't pissed off. She wasn't angry, she didn't try throwing something or hitting him. She didn't even yell. She was upset. She cried in front of Oli. She let tears upon tears crawl down her cheeks, inching towards her lips, where she opened her mouth to say something, but was only met with the salty taste of her tears.

After Oliver had confirmed the way that he felt to Afton by a few simple words, she couldn't say anything else. She was so choked up, she knew that if she even tried talking, it would only come out in a small whisper. Her heart ached and her stomach flipped over and over again. She could hardly maneuver herself out of the bedroom.

Meanwhile, Oliver still didn't feel all that great for hurting Afton so bad. He wanted to just crawl out of bed and run to Afton. He knew she was trying to be as quiet as she could, but he could hear her crying from their bedroom. And even though when they slept in the same bed, it wasn't anything special, it was a thousand times better than sleeping without her. He rolled over in the bed and threw his arm across the empty space next to him. He tried covering his ears with the pillow that was remaining, but failed to do so correctly.

Tears started to spill out of his eyes as well. He felt like such a failure. Not so much for the fact that he was crying, but just the fact that he'd let everything get so horrible lately. He knew Afton was getting worse and worse, and he couldn't do much to stop it. But he didn't try as hard as he could. He should have talked to a counselor sooner. He should have taken her to the doctor's. He should have done so much more for her. She never would have treated him so horribly if this wasn't all his fault.

And then Oliver found himself hating everything even more. This wasn't his fault. They were both at fault, for once. This time, it wasn't just Oliver cheating. It wasn't just Afton over reacting. They had both let everything go so far down the drain, they had lost so much and they were lucky if they ever got it back.

Oliver was upset with himself for letting that happen. Everyone had always wanted to be like Afton and Oliver. They wanted the kind of love that they had. He knew so many people that weren't jealous of Afton or Oliver, but of the relationship between them. When everything was falling apart, they were there for each other and they weren't scared to love one another.

"Everytime meh and yer dad get in a fight, I just think of yeh and Afton an' it makes me not wanna fight with 'im anymore. The two of yeh 'ave somethin' I've never seen before, dear."

It's not everyday that a boy's mum tells him she wishes she had the kind of love with his father that him and his girlfriend have. Unless of course, his mum was Carol Sykes, and him name was Oliver. Then, he'd be in the same boat.

While Oliver continued gazing out the window, Afton's quiet crying had finally subsided. He silently thanked any higher power and closed his eyes. They stung against his eye lids as if they hadn't been closed for weeks. But he knew better than that. He knew that they ached because he'd been crying. But once they were closed, they felt so heavy. Like they never wanted to open again. So he let them fall shut as he was dragged under the blanket of sleep.

Afton lay completely still on the couch now. She had the pillow placed properly underneath her head and the blanket pulled just under her arms. Her eyes were still wide open, the tears being gone for only ten minutes. She stared up at the ceiling, not knowing exactly where it was, only seeing the black that completely enveloped her.

Afton never cared much for the dark. It scared her to say the least. She didn't mind it when she was with Oliver, because she felt safe with him. Like, whatever was in the dark couldn't hurt her as long as Oli was there.

She'd been laying on the couch for a good two hours now, mulling over explanations for Oliver's behavior. She hadn't had to work so hard to get Oliver's attention in a long time. Come to think of it, the last time she fought for Oli's attention was about two years ago. When he became completely absorbed in SJ.

Suddenly, Afton felt like crying all over again. Her face scrunched up and her shoulders collapsed. She wanted to sit upright, but she just couldn't find the strength. Her eyes stung. Her mouth fell into a frown. Her hands instantly raised to her face and a loud noise emitted from the back of her throat, coming out in a type of sob. Thoughts crowded her mind. Too many at one time. She quickly threw the blankets off herself and stumbled to the sliding glass door that led onto the balcony to her's and Oli's upstairs flat. She closed the door behind her and looked out into the sky.

The stars were suspended in the sky, like they were held on imaginary strings. Sometimes, she wished she could just be with them. They looked so peaceful. They didn't have to deal with feeling inferior to anyone. Especially ex girlfriends. Afton had spent all night trying to figure out why Oliver didn't want anything to do with her anymore, when he'd practically spelled it out for her only nights before.

What better way to tell someone to fuck off than to find someone new?

Afton bit her lip. Oliver told her that he wanted nothing to do with SJ. He'd sat at their table and practically yelled at her. And she believed him. Until now.

But she knew that it wasn't entirely her fault Oliver had decided to cheat. She didn't give Oli what he wanted. And no, that wasn't sex. Oliver wasn't one who just wanted to fuck all of the time. He just liked to be loved. He wanted to be cared about. He could go months without sex as long as he knew someone was in love with him. The first time he cheated on Afton, it was pure idiocracy. The second time, it was retaliation.

She wasn't even sure if he'd actually cheated. He told her he hadn't, therefore she should believe him. Which she did. But, she knew that she had to do something before he really decided to. As Afton stood in the cold, she finally started to understand.

Oliver wanted her to care. That's why he'd started to act so horrible towards her. He wanted her to notice him. When he was on his knees, trying to get her attention, she just shoved him away. But when it was the other way around, she couldn't help but stay away from him.

All Oli wanted was to be treated like he mattered.

Tears again reached her eyes as she pulled the sliding glass door open. She shut it quickly behind her and walked with determination in her steps. She shoved open the door to her's and Oliver's bedroom and turned the light on. She stood in the door way, trying to keep herself from collapsing with an overload of emotion. Her heart began beating even faster as Oli rolled over and sat up.

He looked at Afton, with confusion clouding his face. She'd caught him when he was still sleeping, not entirely awake just yet, he said, "Everythin' alright?"

"'M sorry." She said quietly, "I love yeh."

And with that, even more tears came tumbling down. She ran across the room and threw her arms around Oli's neck, crying into his bare shoulder. Oliver was taken by complete surprise, not only by the temperature of Afton's skin, but also by her sudden care for him.

He quickly wrapped his arms around her as well, pulling her onto the bed, "What do yeh mean yeh're sorry?"

"'M sorry fer treatin' yeh so 'orrible. I don't mean teh. I ain't going teh do it anymore, alrigh'? I don't want yeh gettin' back with SJ."

"What're yeh talkin' 'bout?"

"Nowt." She said quickly, "I love yeh, alrigh'?"

"I love yeh too Af." Oliver said quietly, kissing her bare shoulder, "I missed yeh."