Be My Salvation (Ereri/Riren)

VII

I want to apologize in advance for the shitty quality of this chapter. I wrote it through writer's block, but I know that's not really a valid excuse. I also want to apologize for taking so long to write this chapter in the first place. I suck, and I'm sorry. >.<

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For the next several days, Eren spent the hour he was allowed on the computer researching ways to take care of a cat, all the while regretting not doing it sooner. It all seemed fairly simple, and thanks to her days in the hospital being trained by the people there, she adapted easily to her new litter box in the corner of Eren's side of the closet - covered as not to get litter everywhere - and she quickly learned to keep her scratching to her posts rather than the carpet and furniture. Lucy, thankfully, welcomed her with a wagging, playful tail (though was clearly chagrined when Zoë wasn't allowed to follow her outside).

The little Siamese slept comfortably beside Eren's head on his pillow or curled up into his chest while he laid on his side, purring and keeping him warm until they both fell asleep. Most of the time when she wasn't exploring the nooks and crannies of the house or playing with another member of the household, she remained faithfully by Eren's side, earning mild teases about being 'part dog' from Levi, to which Eren rolled his eyes but smiled at anyway.

Zoë especially stuck near Eren the night he started to feel sick, not a week after she'd come home with them. His stomach had felt like it'd been constantly churning since lunch, though only did he feel the nausea hit when he laid down to sleep that night, not having said anything to anyone about it in hopes the feeling would go away. He laid curled up around her, trying to concentrate on the soothing vibrating of her constant purring as she attempted to help him feel better. Even with eyes squeezed shut and lying completely still, his head felt like it was constantly spinning or rocking back and forth as if he was on a boat and the waves were relentless...

Don't throw up, he told himself over and over. Just go to sleep. It'll be gone when you wake up.

And sleep he finally managed to do, though it didn't last long and his eyes were flying open as bile rose and assaulted his taste buds. He stumbled out of bed clumsily, as quickly as he could with his hand flying to cover his mouth. For the first time since living there he hated that the bathroom had to be on the complete opposite end of the hall. He nearly tripped over his own feet, tumbling in and accidentally knocking the door against the wall before falling to his knees and getting violently sick into the toilet, just barely making it.

Halfway through, he couldn't decide what was worse - the horrid feeling of nausea seemingly radiating through his entire body or the fact that he was probably waking everyone in the house up due to his unattractive heaving.

"Eren?" he heard from behind him once the heaving was no more than coughing and sputtering due to the foul taste. "Are you alright, hon?"

It was Petra's voice; he wanted nothing more than to curl up and disappear, hating that he'd woken her up when tomorrow was such an important day for her.

He couldn't respond as she leaned next to him, gently rubbing his back and brushing his hair from his face. The coughing had stopped and he was left with nothing but the aftertaste of everything he'd eaten that day mixed together.

"Eren, sweetie, how are you feeling?" she asked again. "Do you want some water?"

He only managed a small nod, leaning away from the contents of the toilet as he shakily reached up to flush it away. Despite having gotten rid of it all, he still felt pinching in his gut and an uneasiness behind his eyes.

"Mikasa, go get a bottle of water from the fridge, please?" Petra asked.

Horrified, Eren's head snapped in the direction of the door to see Mikasa just walk away, leaving Marco alone in the doorway until Levi came into sight.