Chapter 7

Edd woke sweating and in pain. The pain had been growing in his abdomen over the past few days. He'd thought nothing of it for the first day or two, blaming the cafeteria food, but awakening in severe pain and sweating made him worry. He groaned and reached for a thermometer.

Kevin stirred when it beeped. "Edd? What's wrong?"

He looked at the thermometer grimly. He voice shook and sounded rough. "I don't mean to cause alarm but—I think I need to go to the hospital. Now." He bent over and groaned again.

Kevin was up and at his side immediately. "What's wrong?"

When the pain was bearable again, he said, "My stomach hurts a lot. And—and I think I'm going to be sick." He handed over the thermometer, still reading 101.2 degrees as another wave of pain washed over him, making him curl up on the bed and moan.

With gentle hands Kevin made Edd lay flat on his back and pressed on his abdomen lightly, determining where the pain came from. He set his mouth in a firm line when he found Edd couldn't take even the lightest touch on his lower right side. He reached for his phone and dialed campus security. "I think my roommate's appendix is going to burst, we need to go to the hospital." He waited while they agreed to meet the boys outside of the dorm building. He slipped on a pair of flip flops, grabbed a pair of shoes for Edd and two sweatshirts. "Come on Edd, we need to go downstairs. Then we'll get to the hospital."

Edd tried to stand but the pain made it nearly impossible to hold his weight and he stumbled at the door.

Kevin scooped the boy up and carried him down the hall as he moaned into his chest. He tried to make shushing noises and be comforting while the elevator slowly moved down to the first floor. He pressed his lips to the boy's forehead, confirming what the thermometer had already told him: he was burning up.

The campus police vehicle sat parked outside the building waiting for them. "You the kid with the sick roommate?" the officer said.

"No, I'm the kid who just killed his roommate. No shit he's sick, don't ya see him?"

The officer nodded and opened the back door for them. Kevin gently set Edd in the back seat, closed the door and went around to the other side to climb in. He let Edd curl back up in his lap as the officer pulled away from the curb and toward the hospital. He stroked the hair peeking out the side of his hat on the trip and kept making shushing noises. "Shhh…Edd, it's going to be okay. Don't worry. You're going to be okay. I won't let anything happen to you. Shhh…you're okay. You're going to be just fine. I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

Edd reached for his hand and gripped it tightly.

Kevin waited for Edd to come out of surgery impatiently. He paced the floor and ran his hand through his hair so many times he was sure he'd start to bald. Edd's trademark hat hung loosely out of the pocket of his zip up. The first few hours had been filled with testing to confirm Kevin's guess of appendicitis and then prepping him for surgery. Edd had insisted Kevin remain with him, holding his hand until he'd been forced to leave when the anesthesiologist arrived. So he paced the floor until the doors opened and a doctor said that he could go in and see him.

They had asked about his parents, but Kevin had assured them Edd was over the legal age and they weren't available to come in, as Edd had mentioned they were out of the country the day before. Edd lay in his bed still sleeping. Kevin walked over and took his hand back. When the hour was decent he texted Wilhelmina to let her know the Edd was in the hospital but okay. She texted him back in a panic but after three reassurances that he would be fine and be leaving the next day, she calmed down and said she'd get a ride over later in the afternoon. He asked her to get a few things from their room if she were able and she agreed. He then typed out a few emails on his phone to explain to his professors and Edd's that they wouldn't be in class due to a medical emergency. He received one reply almost immediate from his Statistics professor saying that if he were not the one in the hospital he should come to class; he sighed loudly but stayed with Edd, who still slept.

When he finally woke, Kevin was half dazed with exhaustion but still held Edd's hand tightly. He'd slept a little, but found it hard to get comfortable in the chair next to Edd's bed. Edd looked at him with his eyes bright and smiled. "Thank you," he rasped.

Kevin pulled a cup of water off the table next to him and helped Edd take a drink. "What're you thanking me for?"

Edd shook his head. "Getting me here. Everything."

He smiled. "Of course, Dork. I wasn't about to let you die."

"But you didn't have to stay either. You could have gotten some sleep. Or gone to class. Really you should ha e gone to class."

Kevin thought Edd's brain must still be foggy, his vocabulary had diminished, but he wasn't going to mention it. "And leave you here all by yourself? No way. I wouldn't think of it. You're more important anyway." He took the hat out of his pocket and put it back on the nerd's head. "And cute too. What does class have to offer that I can't get here?" He leaned forward and brushed a kiss across Edd's lips.

A knock came from the door. "Hey," Wilhelmina walked in with a bag slung over her shoulder. "How're you feeling?"

"Better now. The incision still smarts but the pain is much more bearable. What do you have in that bag?"

"Kevin asked me to grab a few things from your room. Your RA let me in. I brought you some clothes and your laptop, and Kevin's laptop. And if you'll give me a few minutes I'm going to grab the three of us some food. Oh, Kevin I brought you a change of clothes too. And both of your toothbrushes. I wasn't sure if you needed them or not but I thought it couldn't hurt."

"Thanks, Willy."

She gave him a wry look at the nickname but left for food quickly. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Any requests?"

Kevin pointed at Edd. "He needs something healthy. Fruits, vegetables, or white meats. Light food. Doctors orders."

She nodded. "Can do. Back soon. Hey Kev, you might want to go to the bathroom, to clean up. Just a suggestion."

He nodded and turned to Edd. "You going to be okay for a second?"

"Of course. I need to email my professors anyway to let them know of my condition and when I can be back in class."

He smiled. "They already know about your surgery. I emailed them when you got out. I'll be right back." He took his toothbrush and a clean shirt out of the bag Wilhelmina had left and walked to the bathroom. When he rounded the corner out of the room, he saw Wilhelmina standing at the end of the hall. "Willy, you okay?"

She nodded. "I just—" She kissed his cheek. "Thank you. I heard that you carried him out of the room from your RA."

"Y-yeah, I guess so. I mean, what else was I going to do with him? He couldn't walk. And he was in so much pain."

"I know. And I know you've known him a lot longer than me, I just would have missed that kid if anything had happened. You could have texted me earlier if you had wanted."

He shook his head. "I didn't want to worry you."

"You could have used the company."

He smiled and nodded. "If anything like this ever happens again, I'll call you first."

"Thank you. I'm going to go get food now. Just, thanks again."

When Kevin returned to Edd's bedside, with clean teeth and a new shirt, Edd was typing furiously on his laptop. Kevin looked at the screen and saw a lab report. He took the back of the screen and slowly started to close the computer.

"Kevin, I must insist you desist whatever it is you're trying to do. I need to email this lab report to my professor by the end of next week and—"

"It can wait. You just had surgery. Please put the computer away."

A nurse bustled in to check Edd's charts and fluids. She smiled at Edd. "Your friend taking good care of you, sweet pea?"

He blushed. "Boyfriend. And he is."

Kevin took the opportunity to take away the computer and replaced it with his hand.

"Well good for you two." She said it in a tone that clearly meant she didn't think it was good at all but both of them ignored it. "Try not to get hot an' heavy for at least a week, preferably closer to ten days. We don't need you rushin' back here because your stitches burst."

Kevin glared at her as she left the room. "I wasn't planning on hot and heavy anytime soon," he mumbled.

Edd squeezed his hand. "Don't listen to her. I know you wouldn't do anything that could put us back here. You've been taking more notes about doctor's orders than I have."

Kevin smiled.

"Plus, I think I remember you saying you wouldn't let anything bad happen to me."

Edd was released the next day and Kevin and Wilhelmina were there to pick him up. Kevin had done everything he could to stay the night in the hospital with Edd. When the nurse had threatened to call security to get him to leave, Edd and Wilhelmina encouraged him to leave, saying he could come back first thing in the morning. It had been a long night alone in the dorm. Wilhelmina had offered to come over but he had declined her offer. He thought about inviting Jason over to watch the Manchester game but found he didn't really have the energy.

He walked over to Wilhelmina's room early the next morning so they could get back in as soon as visiting hours started. He knocked on the door and was greeted by the sight of the girl he'd taken home two weeks ago. She seemed to go red.

"Oh um—hi. I'm here for Wilhelmina?"

She nodded and opened the door. Kevin walked in while Wilhelmina pulled a shirt on. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah. Sorry, couldn't get myself out of bed this morning." She picked up her purse from the back of her desk chair. "How'd you sleep?"

"Not great." He glanced at the girl behind him. "You'd have thought I'd sleep better than I did."

"You were practically asleep on the ride back."

He shrugged. "Couldn't fall asleep once I got back to the room. Spent most of the night with the TV on and a bottle of Lysol in my hand."

"Alright. Well let's get going then. See you later, Elle!"

They walked out the door. Outside was quiet, few cars moving down the street. The air was crisp and chill with hints of fall clean on the air. Fog rolled across the quad, sticking to their skin and laying on their tongues. Birds could be heard calling to each other and in the distance the maintenance crew could be heard mowing the lawn somewhere. It seemed as if the entire campus were still sleeping.

"You'd think a bomb just dropped."

"Saturday mornings," he said with a shrug. "Can't say I'd normally be up quite this early."

"Yeah, I wouldn't either." They walked quietly toward the parking lot. "Sorry about—back in the room. It didn't occur to me that I should have warned either of you."

"Don't worry about it. Didn't bother me. As long as she doesn't—"

"She doesn't." She glanced at him quickly.

"It's not that I don't want people to know," he mumbled.

"I know." She chewed her lip. "I'm not judging either of you for keeping it to yourselves. That's your decision."

Edd was waiting for them, dressed and ready to go, when they arrived at the hospital. He still moved slowly, and the doctors repeated their instructions to ensure healing to both Edd and Kevin, Wilhelmina taking notes in the background. They insisted on wheeling him out to Wilhelmina's car and made him hold his abdomen with the flat of his hand when he stood, emphasizing how important it was to support the wound. Kevin sat next to Edd in the back seat, an arm slung around his shoulders. The drive back to campus took little time and getting Edd back to his room even less.

"Okay, I hate to say it guys, but I need to get to the studio, I have to work on a project. Will you be okay?"

Kevin nodded. "I'll let you know if we need anything."

"Okay." She kissed Edd on the cheek. "I'll see you soon. Get some rest. And try to make sure he does too, I don't think he slept at all since he got you to the hospital."

Edd shot a concerned look over to Kevin, who rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. "Thank you for everything."

She smiled at the thin boy. "Of course. I'll stop by later tonight."

When she left, Kevin picked Edd up and placed him on the raised bed, before climbing up next to him, careful of this stitches.

"Kevin, what're you doing?"

"I just want to be near you for a while." His voice was raspy and heavy with sleep. He pulled Edd so that his head lay on his chest. He took deep, steady breaths, comforted by the weight of Edd on his chest, the heat of his body against his own. "Is that okay?"

"Of course." Edd's lips pressed into his neck, hand lying lightly on his chest, tracing symbols into the skin.

They fell asleep that way, and Kevin slept deeply, for what felt like the first time in a week.