Michael's face was scrunched up in pain, one hand pressing to him head and the other holding a paper towel to his nose, which was leaking red. Suddenly, the door opened, and Michael flinched.
"Oh, sorry, I was just-. Are you okay?" Brad asked, watching Michael as he tried to discreetly wipe his nose once more. Michael nodded, head down so Brad wouldn't see the blood. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"You don't look fine." Subtlety was never one of Brad's strong suits. Michael tossed the bloody paper into the trash next to the sink. Michael looked up at Brad. "I'm fine," he said a little more forcefully.
A sudden burst of pain exploded in his head and he groaned, hands flying up to grip his skull and he dropped to his knees. Distantly, he could hear Brad calling his name and another trickle of something warm and wet began to stream from his nose.
"Scofield? Scofield?" Michael took in a shuddering breath as the white hot pain died down. But the residual pain was still very extreme, pounding through his head viciously.
"I'm okay," he said hoarsely, pushing Brad's hands off of his shoulders. Brad huffed. "Right. You're a stubborn man, Scofield." Michael stood up, swayed for a moment before grabbing more paper towels and pressing them against his face.
Brad watched as the blood stopped and Michael cleaned his face up, looking halfway normal again, except for the haggard look on his face. "What's going on, Michael?" Brad asked.
Michael swallowed. "You don't tell me, I could go ask Sara," Brad suggested. Michael clenched his jaw, eyes slipping closed as an exasperated sigh escaped his nose. "If I tell you, you won't tell anyone, understand?"
Brad nodded. "Perfectly."
"It started out as nosebleeds. But then the headaches started. Both got worse, really intense and painful," Michael explained, looking everywhere except at the person he was talking to. "My mother had the same thing." Brad blinked.
"She dies at age thirty-one. The age I'm at now."
Brad raised both of his eyebrows. "You're dying?!" he whispered loudly. Michael pinched the bridge of his nose. "Maybe. Until I know for sure, I say no."
The former-guard blinked, then slowly nodded. "Okay. I won't tell anyone."
Michael bowed his head once. "Thank you."