Don't Count On It

Chapter 7

I open my eyes and smile. It's the first time I've been truly happy in a while. Am I happy-go-lucky? Yes. Happy? Not until now. I jump up and get dressed. I throw on light colored jeans and my old t-shirt that reads "swell maps" on the front. Murdoc probably wasn't up yet and I didn't want to wake him. I went downstairs and decided to clean the house. Then, I remembered that we don't have any cleaning supplies. I threw myself on the couch and started my daily routine of eating old pizza and watching MTV. I fell asleep a couple of times throughout the day. I waited for Murdoc but he never came downstairs. I suddenly heard noise from upstairs. I ran up there to see if I was actually hearing it. It was Murdoc coughing. He coughs sometimes because he smokes but this was different. I open the door a crack but I can't see anything.
"M-Murdoc?" I called out. I flipped on the light to see Murdoc in a way almost identical to my dream. He was coughing up blood, it was coming out of his nose, and there was a white substance all over his bed, his shirt, and his face. He was gasping for breath and appeared to be drowning in his own blood. He clutched his chest and looked desperately over at me. I was so fucking scared.
"C-call 911!" Murdoc barely gasped out. I grabbed Murdoc's cell phone and called the ambulance. I wasn't sure what was happening with him but I'm sure they'd know. An ambulance arrived quickly and carried Murdoc out on a stretcher. The man driving the ambulance motioned for me to get in the back with Murdoc. I sat next to him. He was fading in and out of consciousness.
"You'll make it through this, Murdoc. If anyone's tough enough to survive, I know it's you." I said as I stroked the side of his blood-covered face. Murdoc then grabbed my hand firmly, hard enough to almost break it.
"That s-son of a bitch, Death, isn't getting me this time. He hasn't before and I-I'm not letting him now." Murdoc growled. Murdoc splurted more blood and grasped his stomach. He looked as if he was fighting off a demon. Or an angel in Murdoc's case. You'd think the demons would be on his side. Murdoc then, passed out. He was still breathing so, I wasn't too worried. We reached the hospital and the nurses rushed him to a room. The doctor immeadiately came in.
"Can you step outside the room for a moment please?" The doctor asked, kindly. I didn't want to argue so I went out into the ugly dull hallway. Tremors ran through my whole body. "Alright, you can come back in, son." He said. Murdoc's eyes were lightly opening and closing.
"What's wrong with him?" I questioned desperately.
"Amphetamine overdose. According to his medical history, Murdoc has done speed a lot in the past and recovered. It looks like he's had a relapse. He ingested it orally and nasally. We're going to pump his stomach, give him overdose meds, and see what happens."
"Alright, thank you, doctor." I said. I went in to see Murdoc. His eyes were fully open.
"I feel like shit, D." He groaned.
"I know." I pushed his hair back.
"You want to know how I got anablephobia?" Murdoc asked me. I wasn't sure if he was completely coherent.
"Yeah."
"If you look up at that god damn, never-ending sky...the blood runs into your lungs." He finished his sentence then coughed a disgustingly bloody cough.
"Murdoc, you can't keep doing this. Why'd you relapse? You had been doing so well." I questioned him.
"I-I was thinking about how we're going to have to break up when Noodle and Russel come back. I'll be all alone again and we'll have to live forever knowing that we had a chance at happiness and fucked it up. I needed something to make me feel better." Murdoc exclaimed raspily. My black eyes started to fill with tears. I wasn't sure if I should smile or cry.
"We don't have to keep it a secret, you know." I told him.
"2D, I lo-" Murdoc was cut off by the nurses wheeling him off to another room to get his stomach pumped.