Mini story - Poor Health

A Story by Tis

Wanted to write out a quick prompt

“Are you done ranting?” Cole asked with impatience and slight irritation, leaning heavily against the counter of his lab, his arms shaking with the effort. he stared at Alain who, moments ago, had been going on another long rant about his health, before being interrupted by Cole himself. what did it matter to him anyway? Cole was a grown man, what he did and how he did it was HIS business, he didn't need to be berated like some little kid!.

Alain stood there, shocked, he and Cole had this discussion many times in the past, in fact, they had it every time Cole was like this, visibly tired from lack of sleep, body noticeably thinner, most likely from skipping meals, it seemed like it was an effort for Cole to simply stand up, never mind run tests in the lab. Every time it went the same, except this time.

Normally Alain would rant for a while, Cole would simply nod his head, He would continue ranting, Cole would prepare some tests and then start asking him for his help, Alain would ask him, or even plead to him to, at least, eat something that day, Cole would agree.... although he rarely went through with it. But this time, he had been stopped mid-rant.

Alain snapped himself out of his daze “excuse me?!” he said, Cole turned around, resting his forearms on the counter and looking straight at Alain “The ranting, are you done yet? Because I hired you as a lab assistant, NOT A DOCTOR!” Cole shouted, tears threatening to fall down his face, he was panting heavily and shaking, if it was from anger or fatigue, neither of them knew, maybe it was a bit of both.

Alain squinted his eyes and clenched his teeth, he felt ebbs of anger within himself, how could Cole be so... so selfish! Couldn't he see what he was doing to, not only himself, but others around him! How Roxie looked at him with sad, tired eyes, as if she'd seen this a thousand times before, How Alex would avoid looking at him, as if he was a bad omen, How even Mike fell silent in his presence, as if a single word would blow him away, how could he not see it?! How could one man be so blind! Could he not see how even Alain himself looked over his shoulder, checking on him, waiting for the day the man dropped dead where he stood!

Alain took a deep breath, but he knew now was not the time for anger, especially when his friend was in such a state, so he tried his best to keep the anger out of his voice, at least for now. “You may not have hired me as a doctor but I still am one, and your friend, you can't expect me to just sit by while you ruin your health!” as soon as those words left his mouth Alain winced, that last part came out a lot angrier than he had meant it to.

Cole groaned, rubbing his temples in little circles, it was honestly getting harder for him to keep his head clear, his vision going dark around the edges, and he really didn't want to deal with this today “if I want someone to get on my back about my health, I'll go have a chat with my sister THANK YOU VERY MUCH!” Cole replied, He didn't need this, there was always someone, always something! If it wasn't his health, it was something else, Cole knew what he was doing, at least, that was what he kept telling himself, he's lived through much worse...

“I may not be able to do much Cole, but I REFUSE to let you continue without at least doing something! This isn't something I can ignore!” His face fell, something about those words broke Cole, flashes of memories past, long black hair and red filled his vision, Cole broke eye contact, shaking his head before looking at the floor, “you can learn to, others have” Cole muttered, he tried in vain to stop the tears, but now they were freely flowing down his face.

As soon as those words left his mouth, all of Alain's anger was snuffed out, replaced with an even greater concern for his dear friend. There was silence, as he searched for something to say, search for something that would make it better. Cole let out a choked sob, the tears falling faster, his body trembling with an even greater force then before.

Alain couldn't take the overbearing silence, save for Cole's sobbing every now and again, he couldn't take seeing his friend like this, and so broke the silence “Cole...” he took a step towards him, “Don't...” Cole whispered, his voice cracking, he tried to recompose himself, wiping the tears away, he pushed off the counter “Lets jus-”

Without the counter to support him, he was only able to take one step towards Alain, before both his legs gave out, his eyes widened in shock and surprise as he fell towards the tiled floor of the lab with a yelp. Alain, being quick on his feet, was there to catch him before Cole could hit the ground.

With both men now sitting on the ground, Alain gave Cole a quick check over before asking “Are you okay?” it came out slightly panicked, Cole shook his head, tears once again streaming down his face, and with a sob Cole held onto Alain's shirt, burying his face deep into the fabric as he continued to tremble, the little composure he had found previously, lost once again.

As sobs wrecked through Cole's body, all Alain could do was hold him, rubbing little circles into his back gently, after a couple of minutes, Cole finally broke away, rubbing his eyes “Yeah.... yeah.... I'm fine... Lets just...” he looked around before sighing, “lets just take the rest of today off”