☀︎ colby ☀︎
"hey," i chuckled, sam approaching me with his head down. he looked up at me with tears in his eyes and i frowned, pulling him into a hug. what on earth?
"what's wrong?" i asked, hearing him let out a heavy sob as he clung onto my hoodie.
"my throat hurts, my stomach hurts, everything fucking hurts. i threw up in the toilets, and the pain is starting to get bad again. i just want it to stop," he cried, and i couldn't help but feel bad for him. i held his chin up with a single finger and held my other hand on his forehead, feeling nothing but heat.
"oh god, you're really burning up. c'mon, let's get you home. i think you've got a fever," i explained, him nodding and sniffling, wiping his eyes with his sleeve and leaning into me slightly as we walked, my arm over his shoulder and reed and devin watching from a few feet away.
"i-if i'm sick i don't wanna make you sick," he shook his head, looking up at me as we turned a corner.
"it's ok, honestly. as long as i'm making sure you're ok, or at least trying, i don't mind," i smiled, him nodding and looking back ahead of him as we walked.
"everything's starting to hurt, oh my god," he breathed, lifting a hand to grip his hair as he hiccuped.
"baby, breathe. it's not far, do you want me to carry you?" i asked, moving his hand away from his head. he nodded with a whimper, and i moved my hands to pick him up bridal style. i lifted him up and he wrapped his arms around my neck, burrowing his sweaty forehead into my chest.
"oh, dear," i mumbled to nobody in particular, upset at the sight of the boy clinging onto me. on top of everything that had happened, now he was ill?
☔︎
we entered the house and i carefully put sam down on the sofa, my dad still at the school, as he was every evening.
"could you tell me what hurts, sammy?" i said softly, seeing him roll onto his side and clutch his stomach.
"everything," he frowned, a whine to his voice and tears rolling down his cheeks.
"ok, what hurts the most?" i asked, couching down and moving the hair away from his forehead, feeling the skin that lay there, which was still just as hot as before.
"m-my head and stomach," he sniffled, looking at me with eyes filled with pain.
"i'll get you some advil, stay here," i mumbled, him nodding and closing his eyes as i walked through to the kitchen.
"colby, i think i'm gonna hurl," i heard him say croakily, and i panicked for a second, thinking about what to do. i ran back into the room, helping him up quickly. he didn't quite make it to the sink before he started to puke, but most of it went into the sink anyway.
"it's ok," i said softly, his body jerked as more came up, and i rubbed his back slowly.
"i'm sorry," he sobbed, holding his hair in his hands as he leaned over the sink.
"no, no, you can't help being ill. i'll clean it up, don't worry. here, take... this, go sit down. i'll bring you water and advil in a sec," i explained, pausing when i had to search for the bucket we had, passing it to him. he nodded, wiping his sweaty forehead and then his lips before starting to walk away.
"if you're hot, take it off," i suggested, noticing how his skin was pretty much completely covered in a layer of sweat. he turned to look at me when i spoke, and nodded again, leaving the room with the bucket in his hand. i looked down at the puke on the floor with a quiet sigh, before grabbing what was needed for sam.
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absolute in doubt is stuck in my head
