Need | RP with asinthecity

[pullmysteth]

Riley made a small mumbling sound as he turned his head a little and woke up slowly. It took him a few moments to be able to drag his eyes open just a small amount. His head felt heavy and groggy and he put a hand up to his face to rub his cheek. A quick analysis told him he still felt hot, sticky and nauseous, and he had no idea how long he'd been

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[asinthecity]

Tab managed a smile, and squeezed his hand. "Arse pain." She kept a hold of his hand as she leaned over to get the cup of water by his bed, and kept a finger on the straw so it wouldn't move if he wanted to take a sip.

[pullmysteth]

Riley accepted the drink gratefully and his eyes fell closed as he swallowed the cool water. There had to really be something wrong when a drink of water felt as on par as a damn good orgasm. "I should smack him in his head with his sporran," he said hoarsely, slowly rubbing at his eyes and shifting in the bed to try and get comfortable. He pushed his hand through his hair, sending the curls sticking up in all directions.

[asinthecity]

Tab let go of his hand to try and smooth his curls. She shook her head and frowned slightly. "No, you shouldn't. He did the right thing." She set the drink down and moved off the chair to get in the bed next to him. She wanted to ask if he even knew that Beth had done the same thing, but she refrained. This was here and Riley's time. "I never should've left, big bro. You need me."

[pullmysteth]

Riley's arm automatically went around her waist and he looked down at her. When he spoke, his voice was thick like he was trying to bite back emotions. "I was going to be okay," he insisted.

[asinthecity]

"No you weren't, beanpole." She touched her hand to his face and tried to only glare at him a little bit. She couldn't be angry with him. She could be annoyed though. "And maybe you won't for a while, but that's okay. You don't have to be... I'm going to be here for you though."

[pullmysteth]

Riley swallowed. "I might not get better, Tab," he said in a rough whisper and rested his forehead against hers as he closed his eyes. "I didn't want you to come. If you didn't, I could pretend things were just a hitch in the road."

[asinthecity]

Tab felt a tear slide down her cheek, but she ignored it as she held onto his face. She looked at him, and didn't move as she kept her forehead against his. "You should've let me in on the plan, big bro. And I know you might not get better... But fuck, Riley. You're my family. My only real family. And if you lose hope, then I'm going to lose you."

[pullmysteth]

"I don't know how to make it feel better!" Riley cried helplessly as a couple of tears slipped down his own cheeks. "A few hours ago, I had Lachlan sitting here next to me about jumping out of his skin because he couldn't handle being in a hospital room again, but he came. He nearly died and he sits there worrying about me while I'm sat here feeling like I'm about to explode because I don't know what to do or how to think!"

[asinthecity]

Tab tried to remember to breathe. She brushed the backs of her fingers across his cheeks to get rid of the tears. "You don't have to know, Riley. That's the whole point. It's impossible for anyone to know... Lachlan only knows because he's already been through something like this." She shifted herself closer to him so there was no escape. "And if you explode, you can take me with you."

[pullmysteth]

The floodgates broke again and he hugged her tightly. "Things were supposed to be good. Coming back here was supposed to make it stop hurting," he sobbed.

[asinthecity]

Tab hugged him back, and started to give in to her own sadness. "I know, Riley, I know. I'm sorry... I want to help. I want to make it stop hurting for you."

[pullmysteth]

Riley sat back a little and brushed the tears away from his eyes with his palms. He sniffled and swallowed as he fought the weighted depression and helplessness from engulfing him again. "I caught a stomach bug off the bastard. How can I possibly expect to be lucky enough to have escaped HIV? I-I even considered calling mum," he admitted shakily.

[asinthecity]

"You must be feeling fucked up," she replied with a small smirk. Tab would never consider calling their mother. "If it's nothing more than a stomach bug then I'm almost willing to thank him. A stomach bug is treatable and a lot less lasting than HIV."

[pullmysteth]

"Says she who hasn't been hurling up her insides for seven days straight," Riley mumbled. "If I caught gastro off him, it seems almost impossible I dodged the motherload."

[asinthecity]

"Is it possible that the gastro thingy blocked the motherload? It jumped in first before the HIV could?" Tab didn't pretend to understand any of the medical stuff. She'd been trying to read up on HIV since Riley had been hurt, but every time she started reading she just wound up crying.

[pullmysteth]

"The gastro was a bacteria. The HIV is a blood-borne infection. Contracted two different ways. I likely got the bug from the guy spitting on me or something as opposed to the needle. My immune system, or lack thereof would've tried to attack both but without my spleen, it had no hope. I can only hope the blood on that needle wasn't his." Riley drew a shaky breath. "I can hope to win a trip to Disneyland, too..."