Undead

The Devils Piss. (352)

I sit down on Kai's bed and pinch my nose as my thoughts run wild. I can already begin to feel a light headache kick in. I look around the room. It's looks cozier than my own and cleaner too but then again, between school runs and rushed breakfasts and food runs through the day, he may have more time on his hands to clean then I do.

I flick on his bedside lamp and light immediately pools onto the carpeted floor and even the furthest corner of the room. I watch my shadow feet on the carpet as they dangle off the side of the bed. I love Kai's room. I rarely get to stay here except maybe over the weekends when there isn't a school morning rush but I've always enjoyed the peace and quiet with him but now that I'm in this room alone with the quiet I grow uncomfortable and I realize that I like the chaotic noise and mess at home.

I take the bottle out of my pocket and tilt it towards the light so I can read it easier. I scan quickly over the warnings attached to the bottle label.
Please use cap measure provided.
Do not exceed 4 doses per 24 hours.
Do not take of pregnant or breastfeeding.

I open the childproof lid of the bottle and smell the contents inside. Although I seen the color of the medicine inside I wasn't prepared for the smell of butter chemicals. The smell wafts up my nose, almost stinging it and it remains there even after I pull away.

I disregard the bottle cap and slowly lift the bottles to my lips. Before it reaches my lips I feel a pang of guilt in my stomach. Guilt for Kai. Though I know I haven't even addressed it to him, I'm here now and so I tip the bottle back and gulp back a mouthful of what genuinely tastes like the devils piss.

After three mouthfuls I feel it settle uncomfortably in my stomach along with that guilt. After another two gulps I feel sick and I rest the bottle on the bedside locker before considering taking more.
I lie my head back on the pillow and squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for the sickness to pass. It doesn't. I sigh and lift the bottle again, swigging more back.

It's only after I retch for the second time I look down at the bottle. It's almost empty. I can't throw up. I need this to work. So instead of finishing the bottle and risking throwing it up, I rest the bottle back on the locker.

I pull back the covers on the bed and slip inside. I turn to put the cap back on the bottle but I'm thrown back down onto the pillow with a wave of tiredness. No, not tiredness, drowsiness. I hold onto my consciousness for as long as I can until I feel my eyes flicker closed and I realize I don't want to fight my tired eyes.

*****

I wake to the sound of my own teeth chattering and I find my hands reaching out desperately for more blankets. I find myself curled into a ball to keep warm and my shoulders are so hunched forward that I can already feel the pains and stiffness in my back.

I don't open my eyes, though I'm not sure if it's because I don't want to or because I simply can't. I can hear a loud buzzing in my ear that muffles any other sound that could be around me. I feel like I'm underwater.

My eyes snap open and I gasp loudly in fear that maybe I am underwater. I sit up in the bed and stare around the room. It takes my eyes way longer to adjust than it should. Especially with the light still on beside me. When the room finally stills it takes me another while to realize this isn't my room, it's Kai's. I look beside me but he's not here.
Funny, I don't remember falling asleep in his bed.

A giggle bubbles to my lips.
"How did I get here ?"
My own voice takes me by surprise. It doesn't sound like me at all. It's slower. I only know it's me talking because I had to fight with my lips to form those words properly. They didn't want to work with me.

My teeth are still chattering despite the pool of sweat I woke up in. My arm feels heavy as I lift it to swipe at my clammy forehead. I can only guess I'm covered in sweat because of my restless heart. She pounds so hard against me I wonder how I'm able to catch my breath. Surely I should be winded by her force. My heart must be convinced it's running in a marathon as it sprints, leaps and bounds inside my chest, searching desperately for a way out.
Despite my tiredness, another laugh falls from my lips.