Perised

Chapter 15

After a good night's sleep with no nightmares, I wake up in my bedroom with a slight hangover. Over the hallway I can hear Melissa groaning in agony as she wakes up. I pull my limbs out of bed and head towards the bathroom to get some water. In the corner of my eye, I notice Melissa trying to get out of bed as well and the second she stands up, she rushes into the bathroom before me and starts to retch. I immediately turn around in fear of vomiting too and head for the kitchen instead, still in my stripy blue pajamas.

While walking downstairs I notice that Joe still lies at the couch, fast asleep. I start to tip toe but a heavy snore from Joe startled me to a stop. My heart is racing, so, I grab my chest and whisper 'Calm the fuck down you idiot.' And continue to tip toe into the kitchen. Joe is still snoring until a creak from the floor under my feet startle him, making him snort. I laugh a little as I hear a grunt and some fidgeting around until he continues. I roll my eyes and proceed to walk into the kitchen. Starting breakfast, I make some sandwiches with eggs and avocado, cook coffee and set the table.

 
The snores in the living room stopped and as I start to clean the counter, Joe limps into the kitchen. He takes one look at me and says sarcastically 'You look pretty hungover.' Chuckling, I throw a piece of eggshell on him and continue to clean. Disgusted, he frowns and jumps slightly to the side. However, he still hurts and twitches slightly. Melissa hasn't come down the stairs yet, so I figure she's still feeling sick in the bathroom.

He smiles a little crooked smile as he walks clumsily over to the table. As he reaches his destination, he grabs a chair and struggle himself into a sitting position. When seated, he asks, 'You a chef or something?' I answer with a cocky 'Yeah, I actually am, but this is not my recipe, it's my mom's.' his mouth makes an impressed curve and mumble 'huh, awesome.' As Joe's eating, Melissa finally found her way down the stairs uttering a 'huuuurh' kind of sound and place herself by the table. Her expression says it all with her eyes half-closed and her hands holding onto her messy curly haired head while her elbows rest on the table. She tries to mumble a few words, but they are unrecognizable until she pulls herself together and tries to repeat what she was going to say, 'My head is spinning and pounding.' I laugh, so does Joe and I chuckle 'Yeah, you kind of went all in yesterday with the wine.' She grunts and mumbles 'Totally worth it... At least there's food and coffee on the table.'

After we've eaten Joe leans back in his chair for a few moments. He seems content as he breathes peacefully with closed eyes until that happy face transform into a serious one. Melissa turns her attention to him and ask, 'What's wrong?' Furrowing his brows, he answers, 'I have to go back.' Confused, I say 'You just came here, and you're in no condition at all to go.' With his best effort, he squints his eyes in pain as he reposition his body. His attention turns to me as he says, 'I have to return and take care of some stuff, don't worry about me I'll be alright.' Melissa, sensing the tension in the air, has stopped eating and stare at us, confused. I continue 'Seriously, you can't even sit straight without feeling miserable, you have to stay!' He groans as he tries to lift himself to a standing position from the chair 'This is none of your business Hannah, just let it go.' I dart up in frustration 'Can't you just stay and heal? Why are you like this?' He's become angry and says between gritted teeth 'Because it's still none of your business!' He limps his way to the hallway. I follow, still trying to make him stay, but he is adamant to leave. As we enter the living room, I try to hold him back by grabbing his arm. He clenches his jaw, trying to devour his agony, but pushes me away, reach towards a painting with his hand and say 'Just leave it, ok? I'll come back again and check on you sometime.' He points his finger on the canvas and disappear.