You were in the living room, watching TV. Nathan was going to be coming home from work at any moment. You were going to get started on dinner when he arrived.
The door opened. You turned and saw him, entering the house. His usual bright green eyes were now dull and lifeless, his usually happy and boyish face looked absolutely spent. He was wearing a blazer, skinny jeans, expensive shoes, his game over shirt and a snapback. You went up to him and took his jacket off, putting it on a hook.
"Hey, how was work?" you ask. He walked and collapsed on the couch.
"The worst. I feel gutted right now," he replied.
"Oh, no. What happened?" you asked him, sitting next to him on the couch. He rested his head on the back of the loveseat closing his eyes.
"My throat is absolutely wrecked, Andrea," he said to you.
"Is it the same thing that-"
"I had to get surgery for? Yeah, it is. I’m really bloody tired of this. I thought it had been solved. This is the worst."
"I’m really sorry, Nathan, I really wish I could do something about it."
He just stayed there, eyes closed and head resting on the back of the loveseat, like a statue. You didn’t really know what else to say. You just stayed there, holding his hand. You rested your head on his shoulder silently. He put one arm over your shoulders and held you close.
You two don’t know how long you just stayed like that.
"Thank you," he finally whispered to you.
"It’s no problem. If your voice could survive the last collapse, it’s going to survive this one."
"Scooter is giving me a week off from work, for rest."
"So you’ll be staying with me?"
"Yes," he said. He opened his eyes and smiled at you. You smiled back. A whole week alone with Nathan? This is going to be fun.
He closed his eyes again and rested his head on yours. He must have been really worn out from the day. You wondered what they could have possibly done to make him this tired.
"I’m so scared, Andrea," he said to you without opening his eyes.
There was a long pause. His voice sounded so strained, so weak and small, it pained you.
"I’m so scared that this is the final one. The final blow that’ll just take down my entire career. I got lucky that the last surgery was a success. But this one… This one could be the one that ends it all."
You didn’t say anything. What could you say to make him happier? You thought for a moment.
"We can stand so tall together," you whispered to him. He looked into your eyes, with a faint look of fear for his career mixed with amusement at the fact that you were singing him his own song.
"We can make it through the stormy weather," you continued.
He smiled. “We can go through it all together, do it all together, do it all," he picked up where you left off. He sung it with riffs, and his voice was raspy. Every girl on the planet would go crazy when Nathan riffs, but now that his voice was rough, it made him sound so attractive. You blushed and bit your bottom lip.
He noticed. He was smug and looked at you, jokingly seductive. You looked away, hiding your face.
