Cal found himself awake very early in the morning. He stretched his feet out of the duvet before realising that Ethan wasn't there. He remained quite for a moment before hearing a strange noise. He leaped out of the bed, grabbing a t-shirt off of the floor. Pulling it on as he walked towards where the sounds were coming from. He opened the bathroom door to find his little brother hunched over the toilet bowl. His eyes squeezed tightly shut. He knocked on the door gently before approaching. He placed a hand on his brother's back.
'Are you alright?' He asked worriedly. Ethan nodded before lifting himself into a more comfortable position and throwing up into the toilet. Cal sighed rubbing his back in small circular motions. He could understand how he was feeling because he would normally be in his position dealing with a hangover. But this was somewhat different because instead of alcohol being the problem it was drugs. Ethan pulled the chain when he was finished and gingerly stood up. He wobbled slightly so Cal wrapped an arm around his waist to steady him.
They carefully walked to the living room. Ethan tried to walk to the sofa by himself but stumbled and fell. Within seconds Cal was by his side. 'I've got you' he whispered before helping him lie down. When he fell he hit his head on the corner of the coffee table and had a deep laceration on the side of his face. Cal grabbed the medical bag from behind the sofa where he had left it the night before. He took some gauze out and held it on his brothers head. This made Ethan wince slightly. His headache only got worse. 'I need to stitch it mate.' Cal explained.
Ethan frowned deeply. 'Do you have to? Why can't you just leave it? You know I hate needles.' Ethan muttered. Cal smiled. His brother was back to his old ways, still being afraid of needles meaning that the drugs were wearing off! This annoyed Ethan more, 'are you enjoying this?' He scowled. Cal couldn't help but laugh, it was such a transformation from the vulnerable state he was in only the night before. Cal prepared the equipment for suturing the wound on his brother's head. 'Right, are you going to let me do this quickly so we can have breakfast before midday?' He joked, making Ethan smiled. He nodded in response before holding a pillow over his face only allowing the injury to show.
Within minutes Cal has meticulously stitched the wound without hearing a sound from his brother. He had flinched when Cal injected the local anaesthetic but remained calm throughout. They sat down for breakfast but as soon as Ethan ate so much as a morsel of food he ran to the bathroom to throw up again. It continued like this for a couple of days. He hadn't eaten in nearly a week and was becoming weaker and weaker. Cal insisted on going to the ED to get some supplies to help Ethan feel better. He knew it was too late to try anti-nausea tablets so he fetched the necessary equipment to give Ethan a saline drip.
Whilst Ethan slept on the sofa, Cal set up the stand and the tubing. He carefully inserted the cannula trying not to wake his sleeping brother. Ethan woke when Cal was attaching the tube to the cannula. 'Hey sleepy head, I'm just giving you some fluids. You just rest.' He murmured as he gently hugged his brother. Cal was just grateful that his brother was no longer in distress. 'You'll probably feel better tomorrow' he whispered hopefully as his brother rolled over and went back to sleep. Cal lay next to him, his arm wrapped around him, before he too was asleep.