He Left With No GoodBye

The sun was fully awake now and so was Skye. His sweat sliding down on her arm as the rest of her body freezes.
His hair was stuck to his neck and the sweat collected like a pool at her elbows.
She wanted to wipe his face but there was nothing to wipe with.
He jumped up, his eyes opened as he saw he was resting in her arms.
Eric’s head was burning while his skin grew lighter.
“What’s wrong?”
His head was spinning and he felt his stomach kick. He ran to her bathroom and lifted the toilet seat up. All the Oreos he had eaten were now gone, all the alcohol he had drunk was also gone. Skye grabbed her pajamas that were resting on her chair and quickly put them on. Upstairs she heard the toilet flushing as well.
Skye figured it to be a stomach virus so she called Shawn asking for her help needing her to come over.
Shawn was also in her pajamas, green pants with a blue top, her green converse were unlaced. She kicked them off putting them to a corner.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know, I wake up and he is sweating and he just threw up. His friend upstairs is sick also can you take care of him while I get Eric?”
“I don’t know this guy.”
“Well I’m pretty sure you aren’t going to help Eric into the tub.”
“So I’m supposed to help a stranger into the tub?”
“It’s easier that way.”
Shawn went up the stairs looking back down, giving a glare to Skye.
She didn’t know this guy and she is suppose to help him? She was lucky that her mother is a nurse.
When she opened the door to Eric’s room she saw papers all over the place and she heard the sound of a straining throat.
Going into the room further she saw Bernie’s body hugging the toilet.
“Where does it hurt?”
“Every where, I’m burning up…I need to give up on Bernie time.”
“Bernie time?” He wasn’t able to answer, his head connected with the toilet once more.
Bernie finished and he lay down on the cold tiled floor, the chill running through his arms and legs.
“Oh no I’m cold.”
“Let’s get you out of those clothes and into the tub.”
“Sounds great, if I wasn’t sick I would think you were hitting on me.”
Shawn entered the bathroom, flushing the toilet for him and crouching down. She took the toilet paper and wiped his face. Taking his shirt in her hands she started to pull it up over his head. There was a long tattoo on his right side of his abdomen.
“We can leave your boxers on though okay?”
“Names Bernie.”
“Oh…I’m Shawn.”
“For a girl?”
“Yes for a girl, take your pants off and get in the tub.” She let him do the rest while she put the water on testing it out as it started to fill. Skye came up, seeing Bernie on the floor trying to take his pants off.
“I have Eric in the tub also, what are we going to do with them?”
“You know how to make soup?”
“Yeah, should I make some chicken noodle?”
“Just do a noodle broth they don’t need meat now.” Skye went back downstairs getting ready to prepare the soup.
Shawn looked down at the floor to see Bernie was still dressed.
“Why aren’t your pants off?”
“Stop flirting with me, I can’t flirt back and my pants are off because I don’t have the strength to take them off.” Shawn walked back to the entrance of the door, squatting down to take the legging of his pants and pull.
“I should be sick more often. You are short though going to be a complication.”
“I don’t date sick guys sorry.” She pulled him up noticing how tall he actually was. Her short frame come up to the lower half of his chest.
He plucked his socks off and slowly let himself sink into the hot water. The steam circled his face while he closed his eyes.
Shawn found a cup in the room and cleaned it in the bathroom. She took the cup and filled it with the bath water.
“Keep your eyes closed.”
She poured it over his head and chest to rinse away the sweat.
“Feel better?”
“Lots thank you very much. So what’s this I hear about soup because I’m hungry?”
“You just cleaned out your stomach and you are hungry?”
“There you go you just said it I cleaned out my stomach so yup I’m hungry.” She took her head and got up.
She left the room to see how Skye was handling things.
The kitchen was bright so very small but with its open space it was very easy to access.
Skye was chopping the celery and adding the spices to the water. She had the noodles boiling in another pot.
They let the broth cook while they went back to her room.
“Skye come here.”
She went to the bathroom; Eric looked up at her his face still wet.
“What happened?”
“How’s Bernie is he okay? Is he sick also?”
“Bernie is sick also, Shawn is helping him out though okay. But why are you sick?”
“Playing Bernie time a lot and my dreams just got to me.”
“What were you dreams about?” He closed his eyes and saw him self on the hospital bed. The immediate joy he felt when his parents were gone.
Skye took his arm of the cold tub and put it in the water. Her eyes flicked over the circle on his arm.
“What’s with the mark on your arm Eric?”
“We talk when I get better okay.” He closed his eyes and dunked himself under the water.
Skye left him alone and went back to her room to find Shawn had left her alone. So Skye had retreated to the kitchen to take the noodles off the burner, rinsing it out to put it in the broth.
She was leaving soon and still they couldn’t talk; he either didn’t want to or other circumstances got in their way. The scar bothered her though she could tell it was old she wanted to know its reason. She wanted to know Eric period.
The following day Shawn got up from the couch to see if Skye who was sleeping behind the couch was awake.
She wasn’t so she went into her bathroom noticing that Eric still slept.
They were up majority of the night taking care of the guys making sure they felt better.
But they didn’t feel better.
Skye rolled over to her back feeling uncomfortable. She sat up scratching her head trying to wonder why the kitchen light was on.
The pot of soup still sat on the stove, the lid covering it; Shawn came out the room pointing to it.
Skye crawled over to her room and laid down next to her bed.
“What happened?”
“You said you wanted to talk.”
“Only when you feel better.”
“I have one more day until you leave so I might as well start now…you asked me about my arm and the reason for the circular mark is because my mother took her lit cigarette and burned through my clothes onto my skin. Hurt like hell.”
Skye now sat up, not wanting to believe what she heard.
“My parents weren’t parents, didn’t have a home because they would ruin it. So I ran away from you instead of taking the punches because I’m tired of the beating. How can I trust that you like me if I don’t like me?”
“Because I haven’t beaten you up. You trust Bernie.”
“Bernie has been with me through it all, I’m not new to this city, I used to live here not far from this house actually. My parents are buried here, my aunt lives over here. I have family besides Thomas.”
“You never told me though, how am I supposed to like you if you don’t tell me anything?”
“Why would you like me though? My fucked up family was just nothing, I mean Skye everyday was a hitting contest with them two, as if I wasn’t their kid.”
“But I do like you, I know what a beating is also Eric my mother gave me a lot of those after my father died. She was just so angry. I felt the same way but I like you. And you love me so what is the problem? What was so bad that made you want to leave?” She went on the bed, taking his hand.
“It was easier to just leave. I didn’t like leaving but I didn’t want to stay if I felt like it wasn’t real. I mean you are real, this is real but having sex with you just complicated so much.”
“You’re not making sense…you love me though so why wouldn’t it be real? If there was a complication if you were confused you should have talked to me. Leaving proved to me that you are like every other guy. Would you have told me not to date as well?”
“I don’t know…I didn’t know I loved you till you kissed Bernie. I just blew up just shut up and listen how am I supposed to talk to you if you can’t shut up for a minute and listen to me?”
She bowed her head.
“Sorry.”
He told her about the car accident, only it wasn’t an accident. He wished it would sound so much nicer but it didn’t and he didn’t want it to stain her thought of him any further.
Eric tried to tell her everything in his life but there were things he had to keep to himself. He didn’t need her to worry.