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Hunter 10
Omega 20
Hunter sat back against the wall, willing the rock in his stomach to fade. His hair was sticky, clinging to his neck. He scrubbed the tears from his eyes, and tried to figure out what he was supposed to do now.
He was pretty sure it had been at least five minutes since he threw up what he hoped was the last contents of his stomach, maybe he could get up now. Testing that theory, he stood and leaned over the sink to splash cold water over his face. The solid mass in his stomach didn’t move, so he took that as meaning he could go ask for medicine. He hoped they had the pills mother would give him when he was sick, sometimes if he was too nauseous she’d administer it via IV, but that didn’t seem necessary right now.
He stumbled out into the hallway and leaned against the wall as he looked between Echo and Omega’s rooms. He didn’t want to tell Omega that he’d been sick, she’d made dinner and he didn’t want her to be angry that he’d wasted it by throwing up. Especially since dinner had been so good on the way down, he’d prefer not to hurt her feelings. But he’d been told very specifically that unless the house was on fire or someone was dying, he was not to wake Echo up. Waking Echo could lead to a panic attack. Sometimes Echo would lash out and he didn’t want to hurt his little brothers during one of his “episodes”.
Hunter assumed he wasn’t dying and quietly knocked on Omega’s door. The door creaked open, so he stepped in. He moved closer so he was standing closer to Omega and whispered her name. He said her name again, a little louder this time and she seemed to wake with a start.
Omega rubbed her eyes and rolled over to check the time on her phone. Instead she found the shadow of Hunter standing over her. She jumped and felt her heart skip a beat.
“Hunter?” she asked, sitting up, “What’s wrong?”
“I threw up,” he whispered sheepishly.
“Oh, uh,” she tried to think, what was she supposed to do now that he’d already been sick?
“Sorry, I’d have gotten Echo but I know I’m not supposed to wake him up.”
“No, no it’s ok,” she told him quickly, and reached out to place her hand on his forehead. He was definitely warm. “Do you feel any better now?”
He shook his head, “Still queasy.”
Omega tossed her legs out of the bed, “Come on,” she got up and placed a hand on Hunter’s back, “let’s go see if there’s anything I can give you that will help.”
Hunter sat at the island with his head down while Omega climbed on the counter to reach the upper shelves of the medicine cabinet. She was reading a label on a white and blue box when Hunter bolted out of his seat and to the bathroom.
She dropped from the countertop to the floor and hurried after him. He’d made it to the toilet and was dry heaving. Omega rubbed his back, and tried to hold back his bangs for him.
He made one last pained choking sound before Omega helped him to sit on the cold tile floor.
“Do you think you could keep the medicine down if I gave it to you?” she asked, still rubbing circles on his back.
“An IV might be better,” he whispered.
Omega squeezed her eyes tight. She counted to ten and took in a deep breath before she spoke. “Hunter, the medicine mother gave you… it wasn’t meant for you. She never should have had access to it.”
“Why not?” he asked with a frown, “It always worked.”
“I know. But she gave you a drug they give to people who are going through chemo. You shouldn’t have had it.”
“Oh,” he frowned, his forehead creasing in thought, “Why would she do that?”
Omega ran a hand through his short hair, “I don’t know. But let’s focus on the right now. I’m gonna find something you can keep down, and get a pillow so you can sleep on the floor.”
Hunter listened to the muted sounds of Omega’s footsteps as she hurried around. She started in her bedroom, then to the kitchen and back to the bedroom before she joined him again in the bathroom.
She tossed a pillow into the bathtub and knelt beside Hunter to wrap a blanket over his shoulders. “I couldn’t find any saltines, I’ll have to go to the store in the morning.”
He watched her crawl over to the tub and get the pillow. She placed it behind her own head as she sat herself against the wall before guiding him to lean against her shoulder.
“You’re going to stay?” he asked in surprise.
“Ofcourse!” she answered. She slid her phone out of her pocket and sent a text to Echo informing him of the situation, before dialing the school and leaving a message excusing Hunter from class. When she hung up she looked down at Hunter and offered a small smile, “Close your eyes and get some rest.”
He nodded and did as he was told. A moment later he jumped back, a fear coming to his mind.
Omega moved at super human speed, lifting the lid of the toilet, and taking the blanket expecting him to be sick again.
“Will I have to go to the doctor?” Hunter asked nervously.
His sister relaxed, resettling the blanket and sitting back against the wall. “No. The school sent an email that norovirus is going around, and since your immune system has been so,” she paused looking for the kindest word, “sheltered, I expected you and Wrecker would get it sooner or later. If you don’t have any crazy complications you’ll just ride it out at home for a few days.”
“Promise?”
Omega held out a pinkie, “Unless you are on death’s door, you won’t be going to the doctor over a 24 hour stomach bug.”
Hunter frowned at her gesture, but copied it. Omega linked their fingers, and smiled at him before letting go.
“Now try and rest. We’ll move you to the couch before the others get up and need to come in here.”
Hunter leaned into her shoulder again and closed his eyes. “Thanks Omega.”