HORNS (BoyXBoy)

Chapter 90

Chapter Ninety

Aerin's birthday came and went quicker than lightning.

I wish I could say it was extravagant and fun and that I had a blast, but unfortunately I wasn't there for most of it since moving around hurt even more than it had before I'd gone to sleep. The party started at eight in the evening on the fifteenth, and around nine I'd carefully made my way downstairs with a bit of help from Richard to sing Happy Birthday and give him his presents.

They weren't super fancy, just a couple of soft and baggy sweaters in shades of pastel pink and yellow that I'd thought he would find comfortable and simplistically stylish. The dining room had been crowded with people all having a good time, but I'd hardly noticed. I was only there for maybe fifteen minutes, tops, before I hobbled my ass back to bed and went back to sleep.

Only... I somehow wound up conking out for about two days straight.

I only knew as much because I found myself staring at the holo clock on my nightstand when I next woke up, and it blatantly said that it was around noon on the seventeenth. I also had to pee so badly that I was shocked my bladder hadn't burst. I shifted my legs and carefully sat up with every intention of going to the bathroom, but I stopped when I saw the IV in my arm.

My attention, although inhibited and a little muggy with how long I'd slept, flitted to the machine holding up a bag full of blood that was directly connected to my arm. I stared at it stupidly for a few seconds, then looked around.

Sometime while I was out, a variety of medical instruments had been moved into my room and hooked up to myself and Echo, who was relaxing in bed beside me watching videos on MeTube with a pair of headphones in his ears. His eyes were, to my surprise, brown rather than red.

He was in a state where he could feel.

I touched my chest, blinking at the slight twinge of an ache that went through it.

"Good morning," Echo greeted, turning his dark eyes on me; they crinkled when he smiled, face lifting into subtle but genuine pleasure. "You've been sleeping for a long time."

"I have to pee," I said in a gummy tone, realizing that my mouth was dryer than ash. I made a face and smacked my lips, because I could tell I needed to brush my teeth. "I have to pee and take a shower and brush my teeth. I feel gross."

"Then do so. The stand holding your intravenous blood drip has wheels," he said, reaching out to caress my ear before returning to what he was doing. "I would recommend removing it from your arm before you hop in the shower, though. That could pose a problem."

I made a noncommittal noise and pulled the tape off my arm, followed by the needle. I grit my teeth as it came out because it stung and it felt weird, but the wound healed up behind its exit without even a drop of blood to mark its departure. I tossed the blankets off my legs and stood up, clutching myself and trying not to dance because I really had to take a leak.

I pretty much galloped to the nearest bathroom, which was the main one next to the sitting room in the entry hall all the way downstairs. Once I did my business and washed my hands, I took some time to brush my teeth and scrub my tongue off because I needed it and I could tell I had bad morning breath.

I think the weirdest part was the fact that I felt tired the entire time I was scrubbing, so much that I had trouble keeping my eyes open. I went back to the room to grab a fresh change of clothes so I could shower, hoping to wake myself up, but it didn't work. If anything, my fatigue worsened once I actually got under the hot water.

"Ugh," I muttered, leaning forward and pressing my palms against the pristine marble wall to curb the strain of my own weight. I sagged for a bit, ears and tail drooping, hooves scuffing the floor of the Jacuzzi tub. "Why the fuck am I so sluggish and tired? It's hard to move."