All We Know Is Falling
Day Eighteen: In Love And Death.
“Morning,” Ian mumbled as he prised his eyes open, facing Sean’s brown eyes. Sean smiled, rubbing his eyes. Ian turned around to look at the clock, and upon noticing it was 11 in the morning, told Sean he was getting up, and went and got in the shower. It was only 2 minutes before he felt Sean’s arms wrapping around him, so they proceeded to share some time in the small shower with wet and sloppy kisses.
Ian eventually got out of the shower, before wondering around trying to find clothes on Sean’s floor that he could wear. Sean lay on the bed watching him, towel covering his waist, commenting that Ian should go visit his family naked, because he shouldn’t be made to put on clothes.
Ian eventually chucked a pile of clothes on Sean, and put on the cleanest and least offensive clothes he could find, whilst telling Sean to get dressed too. Today was the day that Ian presented Sean to his Mum and family. They knew that Ian had a boyfriend since Ivy, because Ian and his mum were so close they knew everything about each other. They just hadn’t met Sean yet, only spoke over the phone for updates on Ian’s health.
After an hour’s journey in the car, Ian and Sean pulled up outside the small family house Ian’s family lived in. It was only about 15 minutes away from the apartment as the crow flies, but if there was one complaint about Wales that both Sean and Ian had, it was the crappy road system.
Ian knocked on the door, laughing as Sean tripped on one of the loose stones. The door opened to a red-faced Mrs Watkins, shushing Ian, and inviting them in. On the sofa, white and ghost-like, was Ian’s sister. She looked pale and was in a deep sleep.
“What the fuck is going on?” Ian whispered, while Sean rubbed his back instantly and naturally as instinct. Ian was already getting worked up, and Sean knew it was his place to comfort him.
Ian’s mum went red, trying not to cry at Ian’s reaction. She knew he was going to over-react, but she didn’t know he was going to get angry. She was embarrassed that she hadn’t told him already. She could only whisper and mumble now, scared that he would shout and wake Lisa up.
“She’s ill, Ian. Has been for a few days.”
“Then where the fuck was my fuckin’ phone call? You know, the one that goes, “Ian, dear, your sister’s ill, come down and visit.” Eh Mam? What’s wrong with her?” Ian whispered, his voice still raising. He whispered louder, and more fiercely, and Sean rubbed his back harder, and took his hand with his free hand.
“The doctor is coming down soon. He visited yesterday, took some blood, and did some tests. He’ll be here in about an hour and a half. Go sit down with Lisa if you wish. Just don’t wake her up.”
Ian took Sean’s hand and walked over to where Lisa was lying. She looked very pale, her skin so washed out it looked almost white. He lips were a light shade of pink, not even standing out from her face. Her eyes were shut lightly, and she was breathing deeply, her chest rising and falling. Her breaths sounded somewhat wheezy, as if her throat was tight.
Sean looked at Ian as he took in how ill his sister actually was. Ian’s face was heartbreaking, as he forgot about everything that had happened to him recently and looked at Lisa with new heartbreak. This was beyond pain. Ian’s eyes showed that he was grieving already, as if he thought she wasn’t going to wake up.
Ten minutes later, Lisa’s eyes fluttered open. Ian breathed a sigh of relief and his sister tried to work her lips into a smile. She sort of succeeded, or did so enough to convince Ian. He smiled back, and his hand became sweaty in Sean’s. Sean moved his thumb round in circles in the middle of Ian’s palm. He knew this always calmed Ian down, he had done it a couple of times before when Ian was down about other things.
Lisa looked towards Ian and Sean’s interlocked fingers with a smile, trying to open her mouth and get her voice to work. She licked her lips with her greyish tongue, to moisten them and make it easier for her to speak.
She finally managed to croak out a small, “See, ma, I told you so.” Her voice was dry and weak, and she struggled to smile after finishing her sentence. Ian’s mum came over to her, and placed a small kiss on her forehead, noting that it was very cold and pale, “Shush, sweetie, save your energy.”
Lisa smiled, and opened her mouth again, “But look Ma. Ian. Sean. Hands.” She laughed slightly, coughing when her breath caught. Ian’s mum coughed too as her breath hitched in her throat when she saw Ian and Sean’s hands, linked tightly. Ian giggled, and Lisa tried. Sean went a bright shade of red, and ran into the kitchen to get Mrs Watkins a glass of water.
Lisa grinned as best as she could, “I bet he’s glad he’s part of the family now!”
Ian smiled and stroked her hair, “I’m sure he is with a sister-in-law like you,” he said, with a wink.
The doctor pulled up to the door in his smart red Ford Estate. His wife thought it was the perfect car for the job, but what a lie that had been. While he was in his “serious” car, the other doctors were in Porsches and nice cars. He was seriously angry about it.
He pulled up to number 23, and knocked calmly on the door. His palms were clammy, as he hated call-outs. They were always depressing, and he hated it if there was bad news. As it went, this one wasn’t so bad.
He could hear laughter behind him as the Mother of the family opened the door. He walked in to see a frighteningly pale young girl laying on the sofa, with a lad who looked like a bit like her, only healthier, and a blonde haired boy sitting next to them.
He walked over to Lisa, asked how she was feeling, and put his hand on her forehead. He looked down at the notes made, and say the temperature matched with the notes. He was invited to sit down by Mrs Watkins, and did so, on the lesser comfy of the chairs, leaving the bigger and fluffier chair for the mother. The two boys sat on the floor, facing the doctor. Ian was holding hands with Lisa, and Sean was holding Ian’s hand tight. The doctor struggled to keep his eyes off of the two, because he didn’t want them to feel he was staring because of their fingers being interlocked.
He read out the notes on Lisa, starting with the symptoms. She nodded along to all of them, making a couple of corrections, or trying to. Ian filled in a couple of sentences, while Sean made it his personal errand to get water for Lisa and coffee for the Doctor and the Watkins’. He felt out of place, like he was intruding, but Ian reassured him when he sat back down, by whispering that he was doing fine.
Eventually the doctor told Lisa what was wrong: “ME. Sometimes called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.” He coughed, “It just means that you’ll feel tired a lot. I know that doesn’t seem so bad, but it can get awful. Some days you’ll feel worse than others, some days you’ll wonder what the hell I was on about. Just take it easy. Don’t do anything that stresses you out. If anyone tries to annoy you, tell them to get lost.”
“Here that Seanie,” Ian smiled, “Lisa has a medical reason to not talk to you!” Sean slapped Ian on the arm, lightly.
“Basically, some days you will be in bed until 12 in the afternoon. You’ll feel tired but most of the time you won’t feel replenished by sleep. Food and water will have to be constant if you are to keep your energy up, that’s why you’re so cold now.”
“She didn’t feel like eating.” Mrs Watkins cut in.
“I know. She won’t. She’ll get her appetite back. Just force her to have some soup or something.”
Once the doctor had gone, Lisa breathed out a sigh and forced down a bowl of soup, then retiring to her room. Ian’s mum rubbed her forehead, feeling frustrated, “Thanks, boys, for coming over. I guess today was a bad day for us to be introduced properly Sean. Come over some other time when Lisa’s feeling a bit better, eh?”
“Yeah, we will,” Sean nodded. Him and Ian made their way out to the car, Sean slipping into the drivers seat this time. Ian fell into the passenger seat, after giving his mum a kiss on the cheek and waving goodbye. He slipped down into his seat and as Sean drove them both back to the flat, he fell into a deep sleep. When they got back, Sean lifted him into the wheelchair, by the flat doors, that the cleaners had been told to leave there. He wheeled the still sleeping Ian into the elevator, and then when they got into the flat onto the bed. He pulled off Ian’s shoes and jeans, careful to avoid the bandage, and then snuggled up beside Ian in the bed. He knew this had been the longest sleep Ian had had in a while, because he knew that Ian was sleeping roughly at the moment. He also knew that Ian would wake up in the night from nightmares, and that he would have to calm him down. Sean didn’t care though. He would just be happy when everything went back to normal. He missed normal Ian, and although he was glad something’s had changed, he couldn’t wait for Ian to be himself again.
Ian eventually got out of the shower, before wondering around trying to find clothes on Sean’s floor that he could wear. Sean lay on the bed watching him, towel covering his waist, commenting that Ian should go visit his family naked, because he shouldn’t be made to put on clothes.
Ian eventually chucked a pile of clothes on Sean, and put on the cleanest and least offensive clothes he could find, whilst telling Sean to get dressed too. Today was the day that Ian presented Sean to his Mum and family. They knew that Ian had a boyfriend since Ivy, because Ian and his mum were so close they knew everything about each other. They just hadn’t met Sean yet, only spoke over the phone for updates on Ian’s health.
After an hour’s journey in the car, Ian and Sean pulled up outside the small family house Ian’s family lived in. It was only about 15 minutes away from the apartment as the crow flies, but if there was one complaint about Wales that both Sean and Ian had, it was the crappy road system.
Ian knocked on the door, laughing as Sean tripped on one of the loose stones. The door opened to a red-faced Mrs Watkins, shushing Ian, and inviting them in. On the sofa, white and ghost-like, was Ian’s sister. She looked pale and was in a deep sleep.
“What the fuck is going on?” Ian whispered, while Sean rubbed his back instantly and naturally as instinct. Ian was already getting worked up, and Sean knew it was his place to comfort him.
Ian’s mum went red, trying not to cry at Ian’s reaction. She knew he was going to over-react, but she didn’t know he was going to get angry. She was embarrassed that she hadn’t told him already. She could only whisper and mumble now, scared that he would shout and wake Lisa up.
“She’s ill, Ian. Has been for a few days.”
“Then where the fuck was my fuckin’ phone call? You know, the one that goes, “Ian, dear, your sister’s ill, come down and visit.” Eh Mam? What’s wrong with her?” Ian whispered, his voice still raising. He whispered louder, and more fiercely, and Sean rubbed his back harder, and took his hand with his free hand.
“The doctor is coming down soon. He visited yesterday, took some blood, and did some tests. He’ll be here in about an hour and a half. Go sit down with Lisa if you wish. Just don’t wake her up.”
Ian took Sean’s hand and walked over to where Lisa was lying. She looked very pale, her skin so washed out it looked almost white. He lips were a light shade of pink, not even standing out from her face. Her eyes were shut lightly, and she was breathing deeply, her chest rising and falling. Her breaths sounded somewhat wheezy, as if her throat was tight.
Sean looked at Ian as he took in how ill his sister actually was. Ian’s face was heartbreaking, as he forgot about everything that had happened to him recently and looked at Lisa with new heartbreak. This was beyond pain. Ian’s eyes showed that he was grieving already, as if he thought she wasn’t going to wake up.
Ten minutes later, Lisa’s eyes fluttered open. Ian breathed a sigh of relief and his sister tried to work her lips into a smile. She sort of succeeded, or did so enough to convince Ian. He smiled back, and his hand became sweaty in Sean’s. Sean moved his thumb round in circles in the middle of Ian’s palm. He knew this always calmed Ian down, he had done it a couple of times before when Ian was down about other things.
Lisa looked towards Ian and Sean’s interlocked fingers with a smile, trying to open her mouth and get her voice to work. She licked her lips with her greyish tongue, to moisten them and make it easier for her to speak.
She finally managed to croak out a small, “See, ma, I told you so.” Her voice was dry and weak, and she struggled to smile after finishing her sentence. Ian’s mum came over to her, and placed a small kiss on her forehead, noting that it was very cold and pale, “Shush, sweetie, save your energy.”
Lisa smiled, and opened her mouth again, “But look Ma. Ian. Sean. Hands.” She laughed slightly, coughing when her breath caught. Ian’s mum coughed too as her breath hitched in her throat when she saw Ian and Sean’s hands, linked tightly. Ian giggled, and Lisa tried. Sean went a bright shade of red, and ran into the kitchen to get Mrs Watkins a glass of water.
Lisa grinned as best as she could, “I bet he’s glad he’s part of the family now!”
Ian smiled and stroked her hair, “I’m sure he is with a sister-in-law like you,” he said, with a wink.
The doctor pulled up to the door in his smart red Ford Estate. His wife thought it was the perfect car for the job, but what a lie that had been. While he was in his “serious” car, the other doctors were in Porsches and nice cars. He was seriously angry about it.
He pulled up to number 23, and knocked calmly on the door. His palms were clammy, as he hated call-outs. They were always depressing, and he hated it if there was bad news. As it went, this one wasn’t so bad.
He could hear laughter behind him as the Mother of the family opened the door. He walked in to see a frighteningly pale young girl laying on the sofa, with a lad who looked like a bit like her, only healthier, and a blonde haired boy sitting next to them.
He walked over to Lisa, asked how she was feeling, and put his hand on her forehead. He looked down at the notes made, and say the temperature matched with the notes. He was invited to sit down by Mrs Watkins, and did so, on the lesser comfy of the chairs, leaving the bigger and fluffier chair for the mother. The two boys sat on the floor, facing the doctor. Ian was holding hands with Lisa, and Sean was holding Ian’s hand tight. The doctor struggled to keep his eyes off of the two, because he didn’t want them to feel he was staring because of their fingers being interlocked.
He read out the notes on Lisa, starting with the symptoms. She nodded along to all of them, making a couple of corrections, or trying to. Ian filled in a couple of sentences, while Sean made it his personal errand to get water for Lisa and coffee for the Doctor and the Watkins’. He felt out of place, like he was intruding, but Ian reassured him when he sat back down, by whispering that he was doing fine.
Eventually the doctor told Lisa what was wrong: “ME. Sometimes called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.” He coughed, “It just means that you’ll feel tired a lot. I know that doesn’t seem so bad, but it can get awful. Some days you’ll feel worse than others, some days you’ll wonder what the hell I was on about. Just take it easy. Don’t do anything that stresses you out. If anyone tries to annoy you, tell them to get lost.”
“Here that Seanie,” Ian smiled, “Lisa has a medical reason to not talk to you!” Sean slapped Ian on the arm, lightly.
“Basically, some days you will be in bed until 12 in the afternoon. You’ll feel tired but most of the time you won’t feel replenished by sleep. Food and water will have to be constant if you are to keep your energy up, that’s why you’re so cold now.”
“She didn’t feel like eating.” Mrs Watkins cut in.
“I know. She won’t. She’ll get her appetite back. Just force her to have some soup or something.”
Once the doctor had gone, Lisa breathed out a sigh and forced down a bowl of soup, then retiring to her room. Ian’s mum rubbed her forehead, feeling frustrated, “Thanks, boys, for coming over. I guess today was a bad day for us to be introduced properly Sean. Come over some other time when Lisa’s feeling a bit better, eh?”
“Yeah, we will,” Sean nodded. Him and Ian made their way out to the car, Sean slipping into the drivers seat this time. Ian fell into the passenger seat, after giving his mum a kiss on the cheek and waving goodbye. He slipped down into his seat and as Sean drove them both back to the flat, he fell into a deep sleep. When they got back, Sean lifted him into the wheelchair, by the flat doors, that the cleaners had been told to leave there. He wheeled the still sleeping Ian into the elevator, and then when they got into the flat onto the bed. He pulled off Ian’s shoes and jeans, careful to avoid the bandage, and then snuggled up beside Ian in the bed. He knew this had been the longest sleep Ian had had in a while, because he knew that Ian was sleeping roughly at the moment. He also knew that Ian would wake up in the night from nightmares, and that he would have to calm him down. Sean didn’t care though. He would just be happy when everything went back to normal. He missed normal Ian, and although he was glad something’s had changed, he couldn’t wait for Ian to be himself again.