Remedy [MxM]

Chapter 07: Life Lesson: Hide in the Pantry, Not Under the Bed

"I need you to hide somewhere."

Frowning, I sat up completely. "Hide? Hide where, exactly?

"Bathroom. No, no wait. Uh, pantry. No, uh. Closet. No." Chris said, sounding like he was thinking out loud as he got off the bed and put his shirt back on. I was still confused, and hadn't moved from the bed.

"I thought you said Eliot wasn't coming today."

"He wasn't supposed to, now please, I need you to get, somewhere. Uh. Under the bed, hide there. You can fit. Just, stay quiet. And don't come out until he leaves." he replied.

Under the bed, really? That was one of the most cliché places to hide. I didn't argue though, and instead I sighed as I got up and found my shirt, pulling it on quickly before lowering myself to the carpet to wiggle under the bed. Luckily for both of us, Chris's bed was high enough off the ground that I wasn't squished, but there wasn't a whole lot of space since "under the bed" seemed to be a popular hiding spot. There was already a suitcase and some books under there taking up a fair amount of space. Nonetheless, I hid and tried to make myself as comfortable as possible. It was likely that Eliot would stay for a while, which meant that, consequently, so would I. Fuck.

I heard Chris open the door front door after he left the bedroom, and there was some quiet talking. The apartment was quiet enough that I could hear the two of them moving around, and I barely withheld a groan when I heard footsteps coming back to the bedroom. Of course they couldn't talk out in the living room or something, of course they'd come back to the one part of the apartment I was hiding in. From my spot I really couldn't make out much of what was going on, but I felt the weight of the bed shift, the mattress pressing down just enough to force me to move out of the way.

There was a second of silence before the bed moved a second time, and I rolled my eyes as I tried to stay out of the way. Really, they couldn't have gone anywhere else? Literally? I was starting to wonder if they'd notice me creep out into the pantry. After a minute though, someone spoke and I felt myself freeze up reflexively, wondering if I'd been caught.

"What's wrong?" Eliot asked. Chris must've done something, or said no to something I wasn't paying attention to. There was a small hesitation before he answered.

"My side hurts."

"So? I'll be gentle." Eliot mumbled.

"Eliot, really." Chris continued. "Can we just watch a movie or something? I really don't feel like it."

Eliot stayed quiet for a minute, then snorted. "You think I don't know?"

There was another brief hesitation, one that had me wincing because it was just that badly timed. "Don't know what?"

"That you're seeing someone behind my back!"

I was very aware of what it sounded like when someone had been hit, and there was the unmistakable sound of someone being slapped following Eliot's outburst. There was a few seconds of silence before Chris's voice picked up again, sounding pained. "I'm not seeing anyone."

"The fuck you aren't! I know you are! Laina said she sees you leaving with some guy all the time!"

"Your sister is watching me?" Chris asked angrily. Bad idea. Eliot hit him again, harder this time and making Chris fall off the bed. I could hear the sound of him hitting the floor somewhere to my right and winced a second time. Part of me wanted to reach out and see if Chris was okay, but I knew that would only make things worse. So I kept my hands to myself, and stayed as quiet as I could.

"Don't fucking yell at me! You want to see someone else? What, am I not good enough anymore?"

There was the sound of someone being grabbed, most likely Chris. "Eliot, no, I said I don't want to."