The Golden Couple

Chap. 21

And then it went off again.

My digital clock read 1:13 AM as I powered up my phone, the light blinding me for a moment.

I let out a groan, dropping my phone on my face.

This was not going as planned.

I sat up, rubbing my eyes and turning the brightness down on my phone as I unlocked it.

I had three texts from Bryce, all in the past four minutes.

You're probably asleep, but you should come over.

Seriously, can you come over?

I need you.

I slipped out of bed, throwing my hair up into a bun as I slipped my feet into a pair of flip-flops.

I slipped out my back door, my car keys in hand.

It took me less than 10 minutes to get to Bryce's house, the streets clear.

Surprisingly there weren't any people on the roads at 1:18 AM.

I parked my car in Bryce's driveway, making my way to the backdoor and lifting up the plastic turtle's shell, helping myself to the hidden house key.

Bryce wasn't in his bedroom, but his TV was on, Leave it to Beaver playing on a low volume.

Apparently they play old-time black and white TV shows at 1:21 AM.

Dawson came into Bryce's room. He came trotting over to me, shoving his nose into the palm of my hand.

I was scratching behind his ears when Bryce came stumbling in behind him.

"You didn't answer my text," he pointed out.

"What's the matter?" I asked, as he climbed into bed.

"Day five of chemo," he informed me, lying out across his bed. "That's the one."

My poor baby.

I climbed into bed next to him, resting his head in my lap and running my fingers through his hair.

Well, half-head of hair that is.

"Where's your mom?" I asked him.

"She had a conference in Boston. She'll be home next Tuesday."

Of course she did. Her son just started chemo and she couldn't be bothered to stick around.

We laid in Bryce's bed together for the remaining episode of Leave it to Beaver, intertwined in a comfortable silence.

And then as an episode of The Beverly Hillbillies started up, Bryce bolted out of his bedroom, his hand slapping his door frame as he headed towards the bathroom.

I went out to the kitchen, finding his anti-nausea pill which I'm sure he hadn't taken yet.

I pulled an ice pack out of the freezer, letting it sit out as a sliced a lemon in half.

These were the two things my mom always did for me when I was feeling nauseous, and they always seemed to take the edge off.

I went back to Bryce's room, setting the lemon on his nightstand so that he could smell it, but it wasn't overpowering.

I set his anti-nausea pill and a glass of water next to the lemon so he could take it when he was ready, which would be when he was sure he wouldn't throw it back up.

That wouldn't be too helpful.

Bryce eventually came back into his bedroom, I'm sure after he'd emptied his stomach and brushed his teeth.