Not Okay
Chapter 2
It had not taken long for Blaine to fall back asleep once the TV had been turned on and Sam had stopped talking to him. His body was still worn out after the nervous wreck he had worked himself into in the weeks in between his meeting with Eli and when he convinced himself to confess to Kurt. When the nurse arrived back thirty minutes later with the soup- she almost didn't want to wake the sleeping teen but she knew he needed the nourishment the food would provide.
"Why don't you wake him- he might be more comfortable with a familiar face about now?" The nurse quietly told Sam recalling the easily agitated state of the sleeping boy before her.
"Sure." Sam approached Blain quietly and stepped a little to the side hand reaching out to his shoulder to shake him awake but also stay out of range of flying hands. He'd seen Blaine box before and had no desire to be on the receiving end of one of those blows.
"Blaine, hey bro, time to rejoin the land of the living- soups on… literally." Sam gently teased as he shook the frail boy.
Despite Sam's attempts to be as non-threatening as possible Blaine still awoke sharply. Fear coated his being and he scrambled back in the bed frantically as if looking for an escape.
"Easy Hun you're safe in the hospital." The nurse now coached trying to calm the frightened boy.
Both Sam and the Nurse continued uttering reassurances until the light of understanding returned to Blaine's eyes and he started to uncurl from the safety huddle he had created.
"Sorry." He whispered once he had calmed enough to speak- his eyes downcast indicating his shame for his reaction.
"Nonsense." The nurse replied in what seemed to be her typical no nonsense manner. "Everyone gets scared sometimes and it seems to me people in hospitals have a built in excuse."
Sam chuckled his agreement and Blaine offered a half smile at her reassurance.
"So I brought you your soup. It's chicken noodle- so nothing to heavy. I expect it to be gone when I return." She remarked quickly setting it on his bed tray and rolling it over to him. She then looked at his bedside monitor and tinkered with the I.V. he had in his left arm before striding back at the room.
After she left Blaine simply stared at the food as if it was something foreign- truthfully it almost was at this point. In the past two weeks food had been the least of his concerns and had often gone uneaten.
"Hey man you heard her eat up." Sam interjected.
Blaine's head shot up in surprise at the comment having almost forgotten he presence of his friend. Nodding in response to the urging he slowly lifted up the spoon and began to eat some of the soup.
It felt like lead going down and he struggled with each bite. About halfway through he couldn't take it anymore and dropped the spoon back to the tray.
"She said to finish it bro."
"I can't." Blaine whispered out desperation filling his eyes and begging Sam not to force him.
"Ok man, if you can't you can't." Sam sensing the truth of his friend's words.
Blaine pushed the tray away the smell of the uneaten food adding to the queasiness his already painfully full abdomen was experiencing.
He pulled his knees to his chest and hugged them trying to relieve some of the discomfort and then rested his head on his knees trying to take slow deep breaths.
Sam watched all of this concerned by how simply eating a meal seemed to shake his friend up so much. He wondered how they had missed just how much Blaine was suffering these past weeks. Were the really all so caught up in their worlds that they couldn't see a friend unraveling before them. In their defense Blaine was excellent at wearing masks, but now that they had come tumbling down Sam couldn't help but wonder why they hadn't seen through them. Silently he vowed to look deeper- not just at Blaine but at everyone around him. No one should have to suffer alone.
I Quiet groan brought Sam out of his thoughts and he looked once more over to Blaine noticing a green hue that had overtaken his pale features. Sam recognized that hue immediately often seeing it on younger siblings who had overindulged in hidden cookies. He searched desperately for a trash can or some form of receptacle knowing what was about to happen. Thankfully he spotted an awful looking pink bowl that was clearly created for moments just like this. In the nick of time he managed to get it under Blaine's chin before the sick boy lost his lunch.
As it happened the nurse returned to this pitiful scene.
"Oh kid. This was not how this was supposed to go." She said gently moving to the small bathroom off his room to grab a washcloth. Wetting it she soon returned and laid it on the back of the teen's neck as he finished heaving up the little substance he had managed to consume.
"Sorry" the sick boy gasped out tears rolling down his cheeks once more. He felt so pathetic he couldn't even do something as simple as eating right.
"No apologizes. Your sick- it happens. I probably should have asked the doctor for some meds for you first seeing as you have been so overwhelmed with things it's really no surprise your body reacted this way. Next time we'll get you some Compazine to settle your stomach before trying to get you to eat." The nurse assured him.
"Just lay back and rest now and I'll dispose of the evidence."
Blaine did as she asked and leaned back into his pillow once more taking shuttering breaths as he tried to calm down. After a few minutes he blinked his eyes open and looked to Sam.
"Thanks for your help."
"No problem bro- I have two kid siblings- I have been on this merry ground more than once."
Blaine smiled "thanks all the same."
"So you tired or you want to do something- I have a deck of cards."
"Umm cards would be okay but maybe nothing to complicated."
"Go fish it is." Sam smiled with a grin.
"I could maybe handle something a bit more complex."
"No way is man- Go Fish my game- I'm practically a world champ."
"Ok then bring it on." Blaine smiled back and soon the two friends were attempting to relax amidst a childhood pastime.