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Eden rolled over in bed; his duvet swaddled around him in a cocoon, and rubbed his hand across his face. He stretched out like a cat, sure he had just heard the kettle being filled in the kitchen, but it couldn’t have been. The clock on his bedside table said 09:27, and he was only still in bed because it was Wednesday. He had no labs on a Wednesday which meant he could have a mid-week lie in. He lay, aware than he could easily go back to sleep, still encased by his warm bedcovers, but he was relatively sure he could hear the kettle in the kitchen beginning to boil. But it was half nine, Jude should have been at school over an hour ago! So either they had a phantom kettle boiler, or Jude was very late and forgoing his morning coffee in place of something else. He sighed and threw the covers off, rolling out of bed, and blearily opened the door into the hallway. Sure enough the boiling sound only got louder as Eden emerged into the hall. The kitchen in the flat he shared with Jude was little more than a box; both of them had favoured larger bedrooms and a living room over a big kitchen. “Jude?” Eden stopped at the doorway to the kitchen as he noticed a bundled lump on the floor covered in Jude’s red fleecy blanket; he edged towards the lump and nudged it with his toe. “Jude?” “Hmmmmmrrfll….” A muffled sound of acknowledgement came from underneath the fabric. “Shouldn’t you be at work? It’s twenty to ten?” He asked, under the blanket movement ruffled and Jude’s head popped out as the cover fell onto his shoulders. Eden almost gasped, recoiling as he caught sight of the translucent hue of Jude’s face. “I got up and got dressed,” he mumbled, coughing as he rested his head back against the cabinet. “But I feel like shit so I phoned in sick…” He closed his eyes; for a moment Eden was speechless, Jude never phoned in sick… At least four times while he’d been on placement Eden had tried to stop him from going into school, and he never listened. So voluntarily phoning in sick was something new, it meant he must really be feeling atrocious. “Why are you sitting on the floor?” Eden said, watching as Jude rearranged his blanket so it was tight around his shoulders, still with his eyes closed. There was quite a long pause and Eden wondered whether Jude had fallen asleep in that squished up position, Jude’s cheeks were flushed pink in contrast to the pallor of the rest of his face. “I came to get some water,” his words ran into one another as he mumbled. “Needed to sit down.” “I’ll get that for you,” Eden said, crossing the tiny kitchen in two strides and picking up a glass. “Mmm, no,” Jude said just as Eden was about it fill it; Eden looked down at him, Jude had opened his eyes, but his focus looked a bit bleary. “M’gonna get boiled water, help settle my stomach.” “Oh, okay.” Eden put down the glass, picking up a mug instead. “Are you feeling sick?” “Little bit.” Jude said, squirming uncomfortably on the floor; Eden poured the hot water from the kettle into the mug. “How are you actually feeling?” Eden asked, watching Jude wiggling where he was sat. “Like hell,” he answered, “everything hurts – my head, throat, stomach. Just everything.” “Have you taken anything?” Jude shook his head. “No, wait – I took a paracetamol at about 4.” There were beads of sweat across Jude’s forehead, and the ashen colour of his face seemed to be getting worse. “You were feeling bad then?” Eden asked, Jude nodded. “Thought I’d sleep it off,” he said, he untangled his hand from the blanket and rubbed it across his face, “but it got worse when I got up.” “Do you want a painkiller or something?” Normally Jude was quick to expound how he was feeling, so the quick, short replies he was getting now made him concerned. Jude shook his head, leaving the mug of steaming hot water on the counter and kneeling down next to him. Up close, he looked even worse and Eden pressed his hand to Jude’s forehead; Jude didn’t even bother pulling away. “God Jude, you’re roasting!” Eden exclaimed, “I’ve got that water for you, but I think you should get to bed before you drink it.” “Mmm…” Jude agreed, “Don’t think I can get up.” “I’ll help, come on,” Eden grabbed hold of Jude’s wrist, anchoring his grip to help him up. “Gently please,” Jude moaned and Eden tried to soften his grip while still being firm enough to get him up. Eden could feel the heat radiating from Jude in waves. “Alright,” Eden said, glancing sideways at his friend. “One, two, three – up.” Eden practically lifted Jude on to his feet, holding on tightly as the blanket fell to the floor and Jude wobbled on his feet. “Thanks.” Reaching his hands out, Jude supported his weight on the kitchen counter and Eden let go, picking up the blanket from the floor. He watched as Jude took a small sip from the mug, noticing that Jude’s hand was trembling. “Shall we get you back to bed?” Eden asked, gently laying his hand on Jude’s shoulder. “Give me a sec,” Jude said; he was leaning forward and breathing slowly and deeply. Now he was on his feet his face had drained of all colour, one of his hands had moved from the counter and was pressing against his stomach. “Jude?” Eden was reading the warning signs. “Would you be better in the bathroom?” Jude shook his head again and took another sip from the mug. “I’m okay, just – hic – wish I could get rid of this queasy feeling.” He was rubbing his stomach very slowly with his hand. “Maybe you should try and get more sleep?” Eden suggested, “Give yourself the chance to recover.” “Yeah, I will.” He took another drink, then doubled over further so his head touched the counter as a cramp tore through his abdomen. “Oh God Ede, I think you’re gonna have to call my mum.” “What?” Eden’s heart jumped into his mouth, panic rising inside him suddenly. “I think – ah – oh god,” His face screwed up and Eden could hear his teeth grinding together through the pain; he was rocking back and forth while leaning heavily on the counter. “Something’s wrong.” “Is it on your right side?” Eden said, remembering the severity of the pain he’d felt when he had appendicitis; if it was that he’d be calling an ambulance rather than Jude’s mum. “No, just – everywhere.” Jude sounded strained. “I’m going to get you some painkillers, then help you to bed and then we can figure out what to do next.” Eden said, trying to keep his voice measured and calm even though he was panicking inside. “Just hold on for a moment.” Eden raced through to his room, yanking out the box under his bed where he kept all of his medicines and first aid equipment. Grabbing the packet of pills he ran back through to the kitchen where Jude was still hunched over. “Here we go,” Eden wrestled with the box, pulling out a strip of pills and popping two out onto the counter. “Take them.” “I don’t think -“ Jude’s voice was thick, “that’s a good idea.” “They’ll get your temperature down,” Eden insisted, “or if they don’t I’ll phone a doctor.” “No – I mean -” Jude’s hand moved from his stomach; a low gurgling noise burbled from his throat and he clamped his hand across his mouth. He was moving quickly but unsteadily, pushing away from the counter, wobbling out of the kitchen. “Come on,” Realising what was happening Eden put his hand on Jude’s shoulder, steering him firmly towards the bathroom; but he wasn’t quick enough. An unexpected heave caught Jude in the hallway and liquid poured out through his fingers, coating his hand, splattering on his t-shirt and dripping onto the floor. “Oh Jude…” “Sorry,” Jude retightened his hand over his mouth, trying to step over the splashes of sick to make it to the toilet. His cheeks puffed out, as Eden felt the muscles in Jude’s back jerk, and he knew Jude’s mouth was filled with another round of sick. Jude’s hand reached out, securing on the edge of the toilet seat; he didn’t need another retch – when he opened his mouth a voluminous wave of puke flowed into the water. “Alright, you’re alright Jude,” Eden rubbed Jude’s back reassuringly, cringing slightly at the gurgling sound emitting from Jude’s throat and the splash of the puke hitting the water. Jude gasped as soon as the contracting stopped, then a belch forced up, beginning another wave of vomiting. Each curl forward of the shoulders became more violent as every new retch became emptier. Still rubbing Jude’s back Eden flushed the toilet so that they both wouldn’t have to look at the contents of Jude’s stomach in reverse. But the heaving didn’t appear to be slowing down. There seemed to be little left for Jude to bring up, only a few small streams of bile then just air, the retching sounding painful against the back of his throat. “You’re okay Jude, I promise.” Eden said, although he was beginning to feel a bit worried. Maybe he should be calling Jude’s mum – or an ambulance to check him over. “Want it to – uuuuurrgh – stop.” Jude struggled, drool was hanging stringily from his mouth and Eden grabbed some toilet paper to wipe his friends’ mouth with. Jude was in a piteous state. His face had gone completely pale, his hands which were gripped on either side of the toilet bowl were covered in sick and trembling fiercely, and Eden could see the muscles in Jude’s stomach and chest still fluttering, continuing the expulsion of everything inside him. “You’ll be done soon,” Eden reassured, mentally thinking that if Jude was still like this in ten minutes he would call for help. “Try and take some deep breaths.” He could hear Jude trying to take some breaths in through his nose, but every time he managed a breath in, a belch would come out and turn into a heave. At least now they were becoming less violent, allowing Jude to catch his breath before another heave would curl him over. Stretching across to the towel rail Eden grabbed a hand towel, while maintaining the gentle rubbing between Jude’s shoulder blades. Eventually the ordeal seemed to be over. Jude was still trembling all over and his face was the colour of death, but his stomach stopped pushing everything out of it. Eden flushed the toilet, gripped Jude’s shoulders and steered him to sit on the edge of the bath. He sat limply, looking exhausted, Eden dampened the towel and took hold of Jude’s left arm and began to wipe away the sick. “How are you feeling now?” Eden asked softly, switching to Jude’s other hand to clean, and trying to ascertain whether he should phone a doctor or not. “Still sore.” Jude coughed, his voice rough and gravelly. “Is it as bad as before?” Jude shook his head, hiccupping weakly. “Good. I’m going to take your dirty top off, lift your arms.” Eden instructed and Jude did so without response; Eden manoeuvred the soiled t-shirt over Jude’s head, dropping it on a heap on the bathroom floor. “You don’t have to do this,” Jude mumbled, closing his eyes, but he sounded grateful. “Ssh, save your energy for getting better.” Eden replied, re-dampening the towel and wiping the puke from his chin. “Think… think I might have got sick on my pyjama bottoms,” he admitted, Eden glanced down to see he was right. “We’ll sort that in a second,” Eden said calmly, “Then we’ll get you to bed and I’ll get you some water.” Jude made a noise of dissent at the prospect of putting something into his stomach, but Eden ignored him, depositing the towel into the pile with Jude’s t-shirt. “Okay, can you stand on your own? Do you want to hold onto my shoulder and I’ll help you get these off.” “I think I can stand,” Jude answered, pushing himself off the bath and slowly stripped his trousers off until he was standing in front of Eden with only his boxers on. “Just leave them here, I’ll put a washing on once you’re settled.” Eden told him, following behind as Jude turned to leave the bathroom. “Oh god, the floor…” He paused as he reached the door, spotting the puddle on the floor. “Just leave it, I’ll deal with it once you’re in bed,” Eden said, steering Jude firmly away. The covers on Jude’s bed were crumpled in a messy heap so Eden straightened them out. “You sit down, I’ll find you some clean pyjamas,” he started, but Jude grunted and shook his head. “Ede, I think I’d rather sleep like this…” He was climbing into his bed, still only in his boxers, looking tired. “If you’re sure,” Eden bit his lip as Jude began to wriggle down underneath the covers. “I’ll go and get you some water, I’ll be back in a second.” Leaving Jude to get comfortable Eden headed back to the kitchen, dodging the puddle of sick, and poured a glass of cold water. “Here we go…” But on opening the door of Jude’s room he discovered that Jude was already asleep, curled on his side with his mouth slightly open. Clearly he needed the sleep. Eden set the water down on the bedside table and tiptoed out of the room. Now he was confronted with a clean up job. Fishing a pair of rubber gloves out from under the sink he set to work cleaning the hallway. Then he put Jude’s clothes and the towel on to wash at the highest temperature the machine would let him, if it ruined the clothes he was sure Jude wouldn’t be too bothered. Then he disinfected the entire bathroom, scrubbing the toilet thoroughly before binning the rubber gloves. When he’d completed the clean up he went into the living room, curling up in his favourite chair; from here he’d be able to hear Jude if something went wrong, but it was comfortable enough for him to fall into a doze. He must have been more tired than he thought, because the next thing he was aware of it was mid afternoon and he could hear a padding noise from the hallway. Jumping to his feet he raced out to find Jude, swamped in one of his oversized jumpers and holding the empty water glass. “Hey,” Jude sounded sheepish; his cheeks looked a little rosier now than they had this morning. “How are you feeling?” Eden asked quickly, scanning Jude up and down. “Better,” Jude nodded, “I’m really thirsty though, I’m going to get some more water. Thanks for helping me this morning.” He smiled weakly. “It’s absolutely no prob-” Eden cut off suddenly. His own stomach had done a strange lurching jolt inside him, and he could feel his mouth flood with saliva. “Eden?” Jude said, his eyebrows rising at the abruptness of him stopping. Eden tried to swallow, but the bitter acid taste was coating his tongue already, and all he could do was lean to the side before his stomach contracted painfully and he choked a stream of vomit up onto the floor – almost in the same spot that Jude had a couple of hours earlier. “Oh shit, I’ve infected you!” Jude sounded horrified; Eden clamped one hand over his mouth, his eyes watering from the sudden onset of sickness. Jude grabbed the other hand and tugged him in towards the bathroom; Eden could feel his stomach roiling uncomfortably, priming itself for the next wave. “Now it’s my turn to make sure you’re alright,” Eden heard Jude say, feeling his friend begin rubbing circles into his back as another wave of puke left his mouth and splattered into the toilet bowl.