For Shits and Giggles (complete first draft)

Chapter 32

The first few nights at the hospital were bliss. A decently comfortable bed, large windows with plenty of sunshine in the mornings, the food wasn't all bad, and the nurses were kind and attentive. Best of all, was Splendid. For four straight days Splendid spent the night in her room, sometimes on the too-small couch, other times with Giggles in her bed. During the day, he only left to use the restroom or to pick up one of Giggles food cravings.

There were moments he did want to leave. He wanted to go find Cuddles, wring him by the neck, and then leave his body for the rats to pick apart. But he didn't. At least not yet.

"I got you something," he smiled, walking back into her room with a white bag stuffed with burgers, fries, two vanilla milkshakes, and an apple pie.

"My food," Giggles sang happily and sat up in the bed. She felt great. The only thing lingering before she could be discharged was the IV in her arm. She'd been severely dehydrated, but after three days of mostly liquids and close monitoring, she was feeling more hydrated and alive than ever. The first two days it was extremely hard to eat anything solid, her stomach wouldn't keep it down. It would have been faster, easier even, to just let herself die. To let the magic of the Tree restore her body to normalcy. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence anymore– medically assisted suicides. Broken bones, debilitating migraines, undiagnosable aches and pains, they all went away overnight. Some people were scared to die and opted for the traditional Hospital route, others welcomed the accelerated recovery. For Giggles, the more time she spent away from home, away from the real world where consequences waited for her, the better.

She hadn't asked Splendid how he found out about her affair with Flippy. If Splendid knew, surely Flaky did too. But she didn't ask. And Splendid didn't bring it up again. None of that mattered while she was in the Hospital. Right now, she was ready to gorge.

"This ish sho good," she said through a mouthful of salty fries. She washed them down with a gulp of milkshake, then bit into the burger. Ketchup dripped onto her lap.

Splendid laughed at the delightful expression on her face and sat on the cushioned chair next to her bed. "The food goes inside your mouth," he teased, reaching up to pluck a small piece of lettuce from her chin. He watched her blush and then giggle, wiping her own mouth with the back of her hand.

"Sorry," she laughed, taking another sip of milkshake. "I was really hungry."

"Don't apologize," Splendid chuckled, lifting his body off of the seat so he could lean in across the bed. He planted a kiss on her lips.

Giggles blinked, swallowed the leftover milkshake in her mouth. She tried hard not to blush as he settled back down into his chair. Her heart was racing— this felt like a dream. It was something she'd wished for since college. She had almost given up on it over the years. But there he was, casually kissing her lips as they laughed over cheeseburgers and fries.

"I got you something else," Splendid smiled wide from ear to ear. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small, rectangular box with a green bow on top.

Giggles took it, "What is it?" She shook the box lightly in one ear, smiling.

"Open it and find out."

She did. Inside was a new, shiny, cellphone.

Her eyes widened. "Oh, Splendid. This is... you didn't have to."

"Of course I did," he leaned forward again, still smiling ear to ear. "How else are you supposed to call me when you're in trouble?"

This time, Giggles kissed him. "Thank you, I love it."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and they hugged. He pressed his nose to her cheek, she kissed him again. He kissed her. Her hands wandered to his hair, then his cheek. She brushed his arms with the tips of her fingers, he pulled her in closer.

He pressed his forehead to hers so he could look into her eyes, "I'll never let anyone hurt you again. I promise."

Giggles looked into his eyes. She had told him everything about the night Cuddles kidnapped her. She told him how violently Cuddles had thrown her phone when he heard the two of them laughing together. She never meant for Splendid to blame himself.

"Listen," Giggles began, sitting up again. She took both his hands into hers. "I've decided... my eyes. I'm going to do it."

Splendid's face fell, "What?"

"I'm going to do it. I'm going to give the Tree my eyes so we can finally be free of this."

"But," he pulled back. "Giggles you can't, you don't even know if what he said is true."

"It's the best we've got," she looked down at her lap. "I talked to one of the doctors here. Enucleation he called it... surgically removing my eyes."

Splendid was speechless, his face frozen in shock.

"He said the procedure itself would be painless, just some discomfort as the sedation wears off."

Splendid stood from his chair, paced the hospital room, "That's insane!"

"What have I got to lose," she exclaimed as she watched him, "If it fails, I'll just kill myself and then I'll have my eyes back!"

He kept walking, "But what if it doesn't! What if you're stuck like that forever?"

Giggles was taken slightly aback, "That's okay! It's worth it to me. I want to break this curse, even if it means losing my eyes forever. You'll still love me, won't you?"

At that, he stopped pacing completely. "Of course I'll love you," he sat back down in his chair, took Giggles' hands. "I'll love you until the day I die. It's just," Giggles felt his hands tensing. "I can't stand that it's you who has to sacrifice something. Because of him," he spat.

Her eyes softened, she wrapped her hands around his. "I'm not the victim in all of this," she whispered. Splendid glared at her. "What I did to Flaky... maybe this is my punishment."

He didn't say anything.

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door. They both turned to look. Flippy's foot poked through the door first, then Flaky's. She was wearing her Sunday best– even though it was a Wednesday– a knee length dress with lacey sleeves and white stockings. Flippy had his arm wrapped around her slender shoulders. Behind them followed Handy, and then Petunia with a bouquet of flowers in her delicately gloved hands. Giggles' chest felt hollow as they piled into her room, her eyes darting to Splendid as if pleading for help.