I was nearly out of food. I couldn't buy any more since I didn't have a job yet. In my best attempt to conserve the little bit of food I had left, I hadn't eaten in days. I'd rather have a few bites this week, and a bit more to spare, than a full meal once and nothing ever again.
It made my stomach hurt like hell, I was constantly lightheaded, constantly nauseated, but there wasn't much to be done. I need to save what I have.
I put on some clothes, but they weren't exactly clean, due to the absence of water at my house. The cleanest I had. I walked as slowly as possible out the door, meeting Kevin. He seemed taken back by my appearance, but didn't comment on it immediately
"Hey, Sunshine..." He greeted me
"Hey.."
"You feeling okay? You don't look so good, Man.."
"I'm sorry.."
"No, I just mean.. you look like you might be sick or something.."
"I must be tired.. I'm feeling fine" I insisted
"Alright.. didn't sleep too well?" He started walking and I followed
"No, I guess not."
He walked much faster than I did, despite that he was recently in the hospital. I'm not sure if he was going quickly or if I was just going very slowly. I was severely shaking from the lack of food, but disregarded it, trying to catch up to Kevin. I jogged up to him as quickly as I possibly could have.
"Wait up!"
My knees were wobbling as I tried to catch up to him.
"You alright?" He turned around to wait for me
"Yeah... just.. just a little slower, I..."
As I attempted to catch my breath, I felt my knees give out, everything in my vision flipping to a shade of gray.
My eyes snapped open to find Kevin hovering above me, shouting my name.
"Connor! Connor, Buddy, are you okay!?"
"Uh.."
"Sunshine, what the hell happened to you?!"
"I-I don't.. What's going on?"
"We were walking and you collapsed! A-Are you okay?!"
"Yeah, I'm fine..." I attempted to stumble to my feet, but Kevin held me back down
"What happened? Did you get enough sleep? Did you get enough food? Are you sick? Did you take any medication?" He seemed terribly frightened
"I-I don't know."
"Did you eat today?"
"Not yet."
"Yesterday?"
I shook my head
"Jesus Christ, Connor, when was the last time you ate?"
"Uh.. three days ago... Maybe.. I-I'm not sure..." I looked away
"Connor..!" He scolded
"I'm sorry!"
"Why haven't you eaten?"
"...I'm running out of food"
"What do you mean?"
"I can't afford to buy food.."
"Are you serious?" The concern in his eyes grew
I nodded once again
"Alright, come on." He said, pulling me onto my feet, turning me back around "I'm taking you home" He replied, keeping a firm grasp on me in case I collapsed again.
"No, I'm fine, I-I can go to school.."
"Nope. I'm bringing you back.. then I'm going to run home and get you some food."
"No, don't.. I can't take your food."
"Too bad. You're eating."
"Kev..."
"No arguments. You need to eat."
"But-"
"I said no arguments."
He walked me back to my house, opening my door for me, propping me up as he brought me into the living room.
"Come on.." He sighed as he sat me down on the couch "I'll be right back. I'm going to bring you something to eat. Don't stand up, don't walk around, just stay right here. Okay?"
He hurried out from the house, into the direction of his own place.
I layed my head back on the edge of the couch, closing my eyes. I waited for around ten minutes, pushing through another wave of nausea, before Kevin returned.
"I'm back.. you doing alright?" He asked as he walked back through the door
"Yeah.."
"Good. Here, eat this." He handed me a peanut butter sandwich
"Thank you..." I sighed, taking it from him and taking a small bite
He nodded and sat down next to me, setting his hand on my leg, staring at me, still clearly nervous.
"Don't be worried. I'm alright now.." I said in attempt to relax him
"I'm gonna worry about you, nonetheless, Connor. I-I get really scared about what might happen to you.."
"Nothing's going to happen to me, Kev. I promise."
"I can't seem to believe that when things like this keep happening... But this isn't the time to talk about it. Just keep on eating.
"I'm sorry I put you through this.."
"No. Don't you dare be sorry for something that your father got you into."
"Not just this... Everything. All the bullshit I make you deal with."
"Connor, your mental health isn't something you need to apologize for. I want to help you. But I'm being serious, I don't want you to talk about this right now. I just want to focus on you staying healthy right now, okay?"
I nodded, moving closer to him, putting my head on his chest. He kept his hand on my thigh.
"Keep eating.." He whispered
I took a few more bites from the sandwich, my hands still shaking quite a bit.
"Thank you for bringing me food..."
"Of course. What are you going to do about meals from here, on out?"
"I'm not sure."
"Well, until you figure it out, I'm going to keep bringing you some. As long as you need, I mean it, I'm glad to help you."
"I'd hate to take your food... I'd feel so guilty."
"Connor, you need to eat. I don't care if it's my food as long as you're eating, I'm happy to do it, I don't want you feeling guilty for a single minute."
"...I love you, Kevin."
"I love you too. Now, promise me you'll tell me if you ever need food or anything at all?"
"I promise." I nodded, taking another bite of the sandwich.
"Atta'boy..."
"Are you gonna go to school?"
"No. Not today. I'm gonna hang back and take care of you."
"You don't have to... I don't want to be a bother, I can take care of myself."
"I know you can. But I want to help you."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. Now, can you at least finish half of the sandwich for now?"
"Yeah.. I can do that."
"Thank you. Do you need any clothes washed?"
"Yeah.."
"Where are they? I'll get them washed at my house."
"You don't have to do that.."
"Yeah, well, I'm going to."
"...They're upstairs."
"Alright. I'll bring those with me when I go home, okay?"
"Thank you.. You're too sweet to me."
"Sure thing, Sunshine. Are you feeling any better?"
"A little.."
"Good. I'm glad. Are you still hungry?"
"Not at all."
"That's alright.. I'm proud of you, Hotshot"
I nodded, and set the other half of the sandwich down on the coffee table and wrapped my arms around Kevin's waist. I could feel his firm stomach from beneath his shirt. He ran his hands through my hair softly, humming a bit.
"You might not wanna do that" I chuckled
"Why not?"
"It's been a while since I've gotten to wash my hair"
"Oh shit, you're right" He giggled, pulling his hand from my hair and locked lips with me, placing his hand under my chin. He pulled away after a couple seconds "..You know, you have really nice eyes"
"Is this some sort of pickup trick? " I chuckled softly
"I'm serious.. I really like them."
"Yours are nicer."
"Are you serious? Sunshine, my eyes are brown. They aren't as pretty as yours."
"That's debatable.. I think brown eyes are beautiful."
"I think they're boring."
"Well, I like them.. I could look at them for hours."
"Well, thank you. I still stand by my belief that yours are absolutely gorgeous, though."
"Oh well. I still think yours are nicer, and nothing's gonna change that"
"You're sweet."
"You're hot."
"Oh, shush."
"Make me" I teased
He rolled his eyes, and pulled me closer to him, his chest pressing against my side, quickly locking lips with me.
"Does that work?"
"...Maybe if you try it again"
He chuckled and kissed me again
"Better?"
"Better"
"Good. I don't wanna keep kissing you" he jested
"Well, just for that, you've gotta kiss me again.. You've brought this upon yourself, sir" I popped another kiss on his lips, finally beginning to feel much better
"Cruelty"
"Call the ASPCA, I'm abusing my Kevin"
"..You're so fucking weird"
" I happen to think I'm delightful"
"Well, you are pretty damn delightful"
"Yes, I am.. do you want the rest of my sandwich?"
"Nah. Thank you, though."
"Are you sure? I'm full."
"I'm alright."
My phone rang.
I picked it up off the table, looking for a contact name, but it was an unknown number.
"Hello?"
"Hello, is this Connor McKinley?"
"Yes, who is this?"
The conversation continued. It was the animal shelter I had recently applied at.
"I've gotten the job?!" I gasped as they told me "Oh my god, thank you! I-I've gotta run, but thank you so much!"
I hung up the phone, grinning
"Who was that?' Kevin asked me
"It was the animal shelter. I got a job!"
"Really? Connor, I'm so proud of you!" He immediately pulled me into a tight hug
"I'm so excited!" I giggled
"I'm excited for you!" He let go of me, smiling widely
I stared at him for a couple seconds, happily, before wrapping my arms loosely around his neck, kissing him again, making him fall backward onto the couch a bit.
He laughed, kissing me back.
"I'll be able to afford food, Kevin! And water!"
"God, I'm so proud of you!"
I hugged him again, smiling relentlessly. He kept me in his arms, not letting go of me until I was ready.
"I'm so fucking proud of you, Connor.." He grinned
"I love you"
"I love you too, Sunshine"
I couldn't even fathom how happy I was. I've never had a job. I've never gotten paid for anything in my life. But, it's finally happening. Things are starting to look up for me. Slowly but surely, things are starting to look up.