‹ Prequel: The Pros and Cons of Loving
The Pros and Cons of Growing Up
Part Thirty-Two
A Few Days Later
Eric’s POV
It was the middle of the night and I heard vomiting. I had woken up to the noise and sat up, wiping my eyes, before it hit me. I was immediately filled with anger and I stormed into the bathroom that was connected to our room.
“Aiden, what in the fuck—.” I began. My instant impression was that he was throwing up to lose weight. That was why he’d been getting better at eating.
“No.” He gasped out, leaning over the toilet. “I’m sick…”
I approached him, somewhat guiltily. I put my hand to his head and noticed it was indeed burning up. His t-shirt was even covered with sweat. “Oh, honey. I’m sorry, I just… I’m sorry.” I kneeled down by him, rubbing his back as he emptied yesterday’s food into the toilet bowl. The house was cold and both of us were only in boxers and t-shirts, therefore he was shivering like mad.
“It’s okay.” He whimpered, sitting up.
“Do you want me to move you?” I asked quietly, handing him a washcloth that was lying on the sink.
He shook his head, wiping his face and then wiping off his mouth. “I’m not done.” He moaned, taking a deep breath.
I got up, opening the bathroom window a bit. Even though it was cold, he was sweating. “Why didn’t you wake me up? I’m sorry I snapped. I thought you were… well…”
“No, I know. It’s fine. I don’t blame you.” He sighed, reaching over to flush the toilet. “I don’t know where this came from, I just woke up and was about to vomit.”
I sat back down by him, wrapping my arms around him to comfort him. “I’m sorry.” I kissed the top of his head. “Hey, let’s see if you can make it to bed…”
He nodded and stumbled into the room, collapsing in the middle of the bed. “No, come here. Don’t leave.”
“I’m just getting some water and a trash can incase you need it, baby. I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t wake up my dads.” He muttered, rolling onto his stomach and burying his head in my pillow.
I quietly left the room and proceeded downstairs, turning on lights as I went. I put ice in a glass and got him some water, got a plastic bag, and looked around the kitchen. What else did you do for someone who had vomited?
I didn’t know and of course my first instinct was to run and get Frank, but it suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks. In a few weeks Frank wouldn’t be there to run to. It would be me and Aiden, alone. If I was sick, he’d be doing this for me. Just like I was now. Maybe this was a test, to see if I could handle being responsible for my husband. This would prove whether or not Aiden really could trust me with his life, with his everything.
I took a deep breath, grabbed the thermometer, and shoved the plastic bag into a desk-side small trash can. It was never used, anyway. When I got to the room I opened the window more to let some fresh air in, set the drink on the table, and rolled him over.
“Mmmh, no. What?” he moaned.
I kissed the top of his head and said, “Let me see what you’re temperature is.”
He opened his mouth and put the thermometer into it. For as much as he was sweating, he didn’t have a fever. He saw this and groaned in annoyance. “Not even a fucking temperature?!”
I laughed quietly. “Maybe it was something you ate?”
“Fuck.” Was all he responded with, rolling over onto his stomach again in the center of the bed.
I turned the lamp off and lay next to him, draping an arm over him. He rolled over, snuggling into me and nuzzling his head in the crook of my neck. He uttered a few words into my neck, but I wasn’t sure what so I just wrapped my arms together around him and kissed his cheek. His breath was hot on my neck, but soon he rolled off of me and curled into me, dead asleep. I rubbed his stomach absent mindedly until I fell asleep.
Aiden’s POV
I didn’t wake up until two the next day. I sat up, fully prepared to vomit. The trash can was still at my side of the bed, unused, and the thermometer and water was still there as well. I reached for the water drinking half of the glass in one gulp, even though it was stale as fuck.
“Ugh.” I stood up, surprised I didn’t feel worse than I actually did. I stumbled down the stairs. Dad was vacuuming underneath the furniture, Daddy was dusting, and Eric was in the computer room doing an assignment for a class. “Good afternoon to you all too.” I muttered quietly, going into the kitchen. There was already a sandwich on a plate for me. I felt a rush of gratitude for my dad, who was in the kitchen with his butt in the air trying to get the dust from underneath the couch. I had to laugh, I couldn’t help it. I wondered if, when Eric and I left, he would start wearing pink aprons and curlers in his hair.
The visual made me fall to the ground from my seat at the table— I’d just sat down with my sandwich and a can of Ginger Ale— and clutch my stomach, laughing. Daddy ran into the room, looking around. He eventually found me on the floor, lying down and clutching my stomach. He looked back towards the living room and must’ve seen what I did; only he didn’t look like he wanted to laugh. He looked like he liked what he saw. Which is disgusting. He’s my father, for Pete’s sake. I muttered this, no longer wanting to laugh anymore. Now I kind of wanted to vomit again.
He laughed at me, obviously not bothered by my comment. “Eric said you were sick last night, are you doing okay?”
I shuddered and said, “I was doing great until I saw that look on your face.”
“Hey, I am just as sexually active as you are.” He pointed out, looking me straight in the face.
Hell no. He did not just say that to me. My eyes widened triple their size and I stared at him in horror. He smirked in a ‘Yeah, I’ve still got it’ kind of way and walked back into the living room without another word. And then he slapped my dad’s butt.
Oh. My. God.
Why are they acting like this?
Maybe they want Eric and me to move out. Either that or they have gotten very comfortable being themselves around us. This makes me uncomfortable. I hope I never hear Dad squeal like that again, or I may seriously have to wash out my ears with acid.
I grabbed my sandwich after standing up and headed to the computer room, needing to get away from the porn show going on inside my living room. I pulled a chair up by Eric and smiled. “Morning.”
“Afternoon.” He corrected, kissing me. I looked at him, with his dark hair and his bright gray eyes. He was still in sweat pants, but now he had on a college hoodie as well bearing the words: University of Toronto. How was it that he could look sexy in sweat pants without his hair even brushed, yet I had to get ready for hours to look passable?
“Thanks for the water and getting up with me last night. It was very sweet of you.” I smiled at him.
“I’ll expect the same from you.” He laughed, leaning over to kiss me again.
“My parents are hardcore making out. Is it Valentines Day? If it is, I am sooo sorry. I forgot.”
“It’s January.” Eric snorted. “They’re just weird like that lately. They were when you went away to college. I walked in on them practically having sex on the couch.”
My eyes widened and I stared at him, open mouthed. “Really? You never told me about that.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t pretty ‘hardcore.’” He shrugged. “Personally, kissing you right now is probably way better than what they’re doing on the couch in there.”
I smiled. “I doubt it. Sex is better than kissing.”
“Not for me.” He hugged me. “I’ve gotta get this done, though. I have to send it to my teacher by 5. It’s almost three…”
I nodded and sat back quietly, watching him and eating my sandwich silently. I heard several bangs and shuddered. “That is so nasty… yuck.”
Eric laughed. “You do it too, you can’t complain too much.” He said, pressing the “Save” button. I had been awake nearly two hours by time this happened, and it was now four.
“I can think of something I would like to do.” I grinned mischievously.
“Your parents are doing it in the next room, no way. No way, that is just weird.” Eric gasped, standing and shaking his head walking towards the door. “Push send on that, please?
“Oh, but they always do it.” I moaned, pushing the send button and wondering why he hadn’t done it himself. “Message sent. Okay.”
“Thank you… besides, after last night should we really have sex so soon? I don’t want to be coming and you puke on me.” He grimaced at me, sticking out his tongue.
“Hey, better my puke than anyone else’s, right?” I asked sweetly, giving him what I hoped was an adorable grin.
“Even I am not that romantic.” He said seriously, and walked out of the room. I walked next to him, grasping his hand. “Seeing as our home has turned into a sexy-time place, would you like to go look at apartments or houses? If you want to do it, we should go ahead and go for it now. Otherwise, we’ll back and out live here until we’re thirty years old.”
“Alright. Let me change.” I said, and ran upstairs to our room. I tugged on jeans and a sweater as quickly as I could, and then ran back down the stairs grabbing a water bottle. He immediately grasped my hand and we walked out together…
Eric’s POV
Oh. My. God.
We did not just buy a house.
We did just buy a house. We can’t move in for three months but Aiden and I bought a house. With Frank and Gerard’s help, but…. We bought a house!
We fully intended to get the book and look at apartments for renting near the campus. Until Aiden saw a picture in the first few pages of a small three bedroom house for sale.
So he called his parents and asked if they would take us to see it.
And they did!
They bought it for us on the spot. I didn’t even know that you could buy a house in one day! I guess them being famous helped a bit.
This has been the weirdest day of my entire life. I can’t even think straight, I just keep picturing the stone gray house and the cute little swing on the porch and the deck in the back. Oh yeah, and the mailbox that is right next to the door! So you don’t even have to walk down the street to get the mail when you get home from work and school! All you have to do is open the lid when you get to the door!
I’m a house owner.
Well, technically I guess Frank and Gerard are two-house owners. But that doesn’t matter, because I own the house with Aiden, whom I love more than I’ve ever loved anything at this very moment.
Oh my God and the bathrooms were amazing!
Three months need to pass. Like, now.
Two Hours Later
The kitchen was awesome too! Only I kind of want to paint the walls.
Ten Minutes Later
The closets were huge, too! I bet we could even have sex in them, they are that big.
Okay. I have to stop now or I’ll have a heart attack. Or get hard. Damn.
Eric’s POV
It was the middle of the night and I heard vomiting. I had woken up to the noise and sat up, wiping my eyes, before it hit me. I was immediately filled with anger and I stormed into the bathroom that was connected to our room.
“Aiden, what in the fuck—.” I began. My instant impression was that he was throwing up to lose weight. That was why he’d been getting better at eating.
“No.” He gasped out, leaning over the toilet. “I’m sick…”
I approached him, somewhat guiltily. I put my hand to his head and noticed it was indeed burning up. His t-shirt was even covered with sweat. “Oh, honey. I’m sorry, I just… I’m sorry.” I kneeled down by him, rubbing his back as he emptied yesterday’s food into the toilet bowl. The house was cold and both of us were only in boxers and t-shirts, therefore he was shivering like mad.
“It’s okay.” He whimpered, sitting up.
“Do you want me to move you?” I asked quietly, handing him a washcloth that was lying on the sink.
He shook his head, wiping his face and then wiping off his mouth. “I’m not done.” He moaned, taking a deep breath.
I got up, opening the bathroom window a bit. Even though it was cold, he was sweating. “Why didn’t you wake me up? I’m sorry I snapped. I thought you were… well…”
“No, I know. It’s fine. I don’t blame you.” He sighed, reaching over to flush the toilet. “I don’t know where this came from, I just woke up and was about to vomit.”
I sat back down by him, wrapping my arms around him to comfort him. “I’m sorry.” I kissed the top of his head. “Hey, let’s see if you can make it to bed…”
He nodded and stumbled into the room, collapsing in the middle of the bed. “No, come here. Don’t leave.”
“I’m just getting some water and a trash can incase you need it, baby. I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t wake up my dads.” He muttered, rolling onto his stomach and burying his head in my pillow.
I quietly left the room and proceeded downstairs, turning on lights as I went. I put ice in a glass and got him some water, got a plastic bag, and looked around the kitchen. What else did you do for someone who had vomited?
I didn’t know and of course my first instinct was to run and get Frank, but it suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks. In a few weeks Frank wouldn’t be there to run to. It would be me and Aiden, alone. If I was sick, he’d be doing this for me. Just like I was now. Maybe this was a test, to see if I could handle being responsible for my husband. This would prove whether or not Aiden really could trust me with his life, with his everything.
I took a deep breath, grabbed the thermometer, and shoved the plastic bag into a desk-side small trash can. It was never used, anyway. When I got to the room I opened the window more to let some fresh air in, set the drink on the table, and rolled him over.
“Mmmh, no. What?” he moaned.
I kissed the top of his head and said, “Let me see what you’re temperature is.”
He opened his mouth and put the thermometer into it. For as much as he was sweating, he didn’t have a fever. He saw this and groaned in annoyance. “Not even a fucking temperature?!”
I laughed quietly. “Maybe it was something you ate?”
“Fuck.” Was all he responded with, rolling over onto his stomach again in the center of the bed.
I turned the lamp off and lay next to him, draping an arm over him. He rolled over, snuggling into me and nuzzling his head in the crook of my neck. He uttered a few words into my neck, but I wasn’t sure what so I just wrapped my arms together around him and kissed his cheek. His breath was hot on my neck, but soon he rolled off of me and curled into me, dead asleep. I rubbed his stomach absent mindedly until I fell asleep.
Aiden’s POV
I didn’t wake up until two the next day. I sat up, fully prepared to vomit. The trash can was still at my side of the bed, unused, and the thermometer and water was still there as well. I reached for the water drinking half of the glass in one gulp, even though it was stale as fuck.
“Ugh.” I stood up, surprised I didn’t feel worse than I actually did. I stumbled down the stairs. Dad was vacuuming underneath the furniture, Daddy was dusting, and Eric was in the computer room doing an assignment for a class. “Good afternoon to you all too.” I muttered quietly, going into the kitchen. There was already a sandwich on a plate for me. I felt a rush of gratitude for my dad, who was in the kitchen with his butt in the air trying to get the dust from underneath the couch. I had to laugh, I couldn’t help it. I wondered if, when Eric and I left, he would start wearing pink aprons and curlers in his hair.
The visual made me fall to the ground from my seat at the table— I’d just sat down with my sandwich and a can of Ginger Ale— and clutch my stomach, laughing. Daddy ran into the room, looking around. He eventually found me on the floor, lying down and clutching my stomach. He looked back towards the living room and must’ve seen what I did; only he didn’t look like he wanted to laugh. He looked like he liked what he saw. Which is disgusting. He’s my father, for Pete’s sake. I muttered this, no longer wanting to laugh anymore. Now I kind of wanted to vomit again.
He laughed at me, obviously not bothered by my comment. “Eric said you were sick last night, are you doing okay?”
I shuddered and said, “I was doing great until I saw that look on your face.”
“Hey, I am just as sexually active as you are.” He pointed out, looking me straight in the face.
Hell no. He did not just say that to me. My eyes widened triple their size and I stared at him in horror. He smirked in a ‘Yeah, I’ve still got it’ kind of way and walked back into the living room without another word. And then he slapped my dad’s butt.
Oh. My. God.
Why are they acting like this?
Maybe they want Eric and me to move out. Either that or they have gotten very comfortable being themselves around us. This makes me uncomfortable. I hope I never hear Dad squeal like that again, or I may seriously have to wash out my ears with acid.
I grabbed my sandwich after standing up and headed to the computer room, needing to get away from the porn show going on inside my living room. I pulled a chair up by Eric and smiled. “Morning.”
“Afternoon.” He corrected, kissing me. I looked at him, with his dark hair and his bright gray eyes. He was still in sweat pants, but now he had on a college hoodie as well bearing the words: University of Toronto. How was it that he could look sexy in sweat pants without his hair even brushed, yet I had to get ready for hours to look passable?
“Thanks for the water and getting up with me last night. It was very sweet of you.” I smiled at him.
“I’ll expect the same from you.” He laughed, leaning over to kiss me again.
“My parents are hardcore making out. Is it Valentines Day? If it is, I am sooo sorry. I forgot.”
“It’s January.” Eric snorted. “They’re just weird like that lately. They were when you went away to college. I walked in on them practically having sex on the couch.”
My eyes widened and I stared at him, open mouthed. “Really? You never told me about that.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t pretty ‘hardcore.’” He shrugged. “Personally, kissing you right now is probably way better than what they’re doing on the couch in there.”
I smiled. “I doubt it. Sex is better than kissing.”
“Not for me.” He hugged me. “I’ve gotta get this done, though. I have to send it to my teacher by 5. It’s almost three…”
I nodded and sat back quietly, watching him and eating my sandwich silently. I heard several bangs and shuddered. “That is so nasty… yuck.”
Eric laughed. “You do it too, you can’t complain too much.” He said, pressing the “Save” button. I had been awake nearly two hours by time this happened, and it was now four.
“I can think of something I would like to do.” I grinned mischievously.
“Your parents are doing it in the next room, no way. No way, that is just weird.” Eric gasped, standing and shaking his head walking towards the door. “Push send on that, please?
“Oh, but they always do it.” I moaned, pushing the send button and wondering why he hadn’t done it himself. “Message sent. Okay.”
“Thank you… besides, after last night should we really have sex so soon? I don’t want to be coming and you puke on me.” He grimaced at me, sticking out his tongue.
“Hey, better my puke than anyone else’s, right?” I asked sweetly, giving him what I hoped was an adorable grin.
“Even I am not that romantic.” He said seriously, and walked out of the room. I walked next to him, grasping his hand. “Seeing as our home has turned into a sexy-time place, would you like to go look at apartments or houses? If you want to do it, we should go ahead and go for it now. Otherwise, we’ll back and out live here until we’re thirty years old.”
“Alright. Let me change.” I said, and ran upstairs to our room. I tugged on jeans and a sweater as quickly as I could, and then ran back down the stairs grabbing a water bottle. He immediately grasped my hand and we walked out together…
Eric’s POV
Oh. My. God.
We did not just buy a house.
We did just buy a house. We can’t move in for three months but Aiden and I bought a house. With Frank and Gerard’s help, but…. We bought a house!
We fully intended to get the book and look at apartments for renting near the campus. Until Aiden saw a picture in the first few pages of a small three bedroom house for sale.
So he called his parents and asked if they would take us to see it.
And they did!
They bought it for us on the spot. I didn’t even know that you could buy a house in one day! I guess them being famous helped a bit.
This has been the weirdest day of my entire life. I can’t even think straight, I just keep picturing the stone gray house and the cute little swing on the porch and the deck in the back. Oh yeah, and the mailbox that is right next to the door! So you don’t even have to walk down the street to get the mail when you get home from work and school! All you have to do is open the lid when you get to the door!
I’m a house owner.
Well, technically I guess Frank and Gerard are two-house owners. But that doesn’t matter, because I own the house with Aiden, whom I love more than I’ve ever loved anything at this very moment.
Oh my God and the bathrooms were amazing!
Three months need to pass. Like, now.
Two Hours Later
The kitchen was awesome too! Only I kind of want to paint the walls.
Ten Minutes Later
The closets were huge, too! I bet we could even have sex in them, they are that big.
Okay. I have to stop now or I’ll have a heart attack. Or get hard. Damn.