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I had no idea how I managed to get through the day. More than that, I tried to repress the last twelve hours of my life, quietly hoping I would return home and find that everything had been a dream. Those kinds of things did happen on TV shows and stuff, and I was willing fate to go my way for once.
Instead, I sat through another intervention meeting, gratefully letting Sadie take the lead since my brain was too muddled to function. She called me out on it, asking if I’d been hit over the head or if I actually knew how to speak in comprehensive sentences. I wasn’t ashamed to admit that I was a bit of a mess. Afterwards, I changed my clothes at work and headed to my union meeting, where, amazingly, I managed to speak like a grown-up, pay attention and not completely lose my mind.
It was almost six in the evening when I stumbled off the Tube and headed home, quietly praying for everything to be normal. I wasn’t geared up for confrontations. I didn’t fancy company. Didn’t know how to explain.
I stuck my key in the door and carefully slid it open, putting my bag down on the floor before peeking around the corner to find…
Con Telford sitting up in my bed with my TV blanket tightly wrapped around his shoulders and a panic-stricken look on his face.
“I tried to leave, honestly,” he said quietly. “I’m so sorry. I got up to get dressed and ended up…disgracing myself in your bathroom. I’ve tried to clean up, but I couldn’t find more kitchen roll, and I didn’t know where to put the bin.”
“Don’t worry,” came out of my mouth, butIwas worried. I sat on the edge of the bed and put my hand against his forehead.
He was warm but not burning up anymore.
“I took all your paracetamol,” he said. “Every four hours. I’ll replace them, I promise.”
He looked weak, sad and deathly ashamed, which I just couldn’t bear.
“Have you eaten?”
He shook his head, then nodded, embarrassed. “I stole that blackberry smoothie from your fridge and ate some cereal. I was starving. Turned out I couldn’t keep it down, hence the mess in the bathroom, and now I just want to lie down and close my eyes, and everything…hurts.”
I could imagine.
He wrapped the blanket tighter around himself and leaning awkwardly towards the headboard.
“If I make some toast, do you want to give it a try?”
He coughed and shuffled down a little. I stroked his fringe out of his eyes. It was instinctive and too much. I was as bad as him. I couldn’t help it.
“Matt?” He feebly grabbed my wrist as I tried to get up. I sat down again.
“It’s fine,” I said, trying to anticipate what would come out of his mouth.
“I really appreciate…all this. Work’s insisting I go in tomorrow, but I—”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I grunted out. “You can’t go to work like this.”
“A breach of contract and a major production delay and having everyone on set hate my guts? I’ll have to.”
“Con.” I wanted to stroke his hair again. What the hell was I doing? He wasn’t a child or one of my students, not that I would have stroked a student’s hair, but I dealt with sick youth. Distressed youth facing end-of-the-world kind of issues that required gentle words and compassionate strokes of arms and small gestures of comfort. Again, Con was no child. “You look like death,” I said.
“Yeah.” He attempted a grin. “I looked even more like death earlier, puking my guts up. Not my finest moment. If you have any more paper towel, I’ll clean it up better.”
I shook my head at the thought of him doing anything physical in his state.
“I owe you for dragging you here instead of dumping you at your hotel. In my defence, you could barely walk, and this place was closer.”
“I have no idea where I am.” He laughed, looking a little bewildered.
“Back of the gym, down the alleyway. Cardiac Road. Stupid street names, I know, but the gym and all these apartments were built on the site of an old hospital. The road outside the gym is Lung Street. This is 4 Cardiac Road. Second floor.”
“Oh. Still not sure.” He was trying hard to smile, confusion written all over his face.
“So I am truly holding you hostage here. Just like in that show of yours.” I smirked.
He did smile at that one. Thank God.
