“No,” Luis said, and then realized the conclusion Julien had drawn from his hesitancy. “I’m not uncomfortable with you,” he said, because it felt important to say after what they’d done for him. “I just don’t want to be a bother.”
Karim scoffed. “You’re not a bother, idiot. What do you need from your house?”
Luis looked at him, and Karim stared right back. He had his angry face back on again, his eyes dark. It was stupid to find that such a comfort.
Then Luis got a flash of a memory–Karim in the car, reaching back to pet Luis's hair while he’d been sobbing. Trying to help.
It had been Karim who’d first listened to Luis’s pleas not to go to the hospital. He’d convinced Julien not to take him.
Luis didn’t know how to feel about that. Karim was pricklier than a cactus, but he sure knew how to step up when it counted.
Luis leaned heavily back against the pillows, rubbing a hand over his face. Maybe this was a bad decision, maybe he was fucking his life up by allowing a pair of vampires a glimpse into his personal life, but he wasn’t sure he cared anymore. It was hard all the time, and Luis just wanted it to stop being hard for one second. He wanted to trust them, let them know him.
“Everything I need is in my medical kit in my bathroom in the closet,” Luis said.
“Alright,” Karim said, his shoulders relaxing. “Your house keys are on your keyring?” Karim snatched the keys off the bedside table.
“Yeah, it’s the one with the music notes.”
Karim nodded. “Address?”
They had his address already somewhere on an employment document, but he rattled it off for Karim to put into his phone.
“The kit is big and blue, looks like a lunchbox, you can’t miss it,” Luis said.
Karim nodded. “Got it. If you need anything else while I’m there, text me. Or have Julien text me. Back soon,” he said, and then left.
Luis’s fingers traced the design on the comforter, trying not to think about what he’d just set in motion. Karim wasn’t likely to miss the hoard of medical supplies he had in his bathroom. He’d be unlikely to know what it was all for, because Luis had tons of stuff from hospital stays and doctor visits over the years, but he was definitely going to know that something serious was wrong with him.
And Karim wasn’t known for letting sleeping dogs lie.
“Don’t worry,” Julien said, taking his silence for a worry of a different kind. “Karim will be quick. While he’s gone, is there anything I can get you?”
“No, I’m okay,” Luis said absently. Julien eased his way off the bed to give Luis space, for which he was grateful. “Actually,” he said a moment later, turning over his phone to see the critical battery percentage. “Do you have a phone charger?”
“I do, let me go get you one,” Julien said.
Luis unlocked his phone. Besides the reminders, Luis had five missed calls and a handful of texts from his mother. He scrolled through the messages despairingly. They started normal, inquiring if he was okay, and quickly escalated into all capitalized shouting, calling him a slew of things in Spanish for not responding.
She’d be a nightmare when he finally called her back. Just the thought of it made him tired down to his bones.
Was this what he got for trying something different?
Maybe never leaving his house actually was the better choice.
Chapter Five
By the time Karim returned, Luis was in a slightly better headspace. The food had settled and he and Julien had slipped into companionable silence on their phones, for which Luis was grateful. He was too tired for conversation.
Mostly, Luis was eyes closed relaxing, doing his best not to think about having to do the treatment when Karim returned. As much as he needed to,he didn’t want to.
“This it?” Karim asked.
Luis jumped, eyes flying open. He hadn’t heard anyone come in.
Karim had Luis’s blue medical kit in hand.
“Yeah, that’s it. Thanks.” Luis took it when Karim brought it over, and set it beside himself on the bed. He was still being supported by the headboard, because even being upright was a chore. He felt Karim’s eyes on him, felt his judgement or questions. But seconds ticked by, and none of it materialized into words.
