Sleepless

Chapter One

Chris walked into the room like he did every Saturday morning.

He sat down beside the bed, as usual.

The woman looked over and smiled at him.

“Good morning, Christopher,” she said.

“Good morning, Gigi,” he smiled back.

But she could not see his smile.

She had been blind for many years.

Her family placed in her the nursing home when they decided they could no longer handle taking care of her.

They rarely visited, except for the occasional holiday.

But Gigi didn't mind.

She had friends in the place, even if they weren't much of an entertainment.

And every Saturday morning, she had Chris to talk to.

Every Saturday morning, Chris volunteered his time at the nursing home.

Most of the time he would be there for a few hours before Jonny came.

He and Jonny would always talk with Gigi.

They thought she was hilarious.

She would tell them stories about her life, her late husband and her children.

She'd tell them about the grandchildren she barely saw.

She'd tell them about the mischievous things she did when she was young.

Jonny and Chris would listen intently, appreciating every word.

They'd share stories of their own, too.

Stories of their attempts to start a band, and the obstacles they kept facing.

They'd talk about their neighbors in the small flat they shared.

And they would talk about how tough their college courses were.

The three of them loved spending their Saturday mornings together.

Today, everything was going as it normally did.
Except Jonny wasn't going to be coming in to visit.

And Chris's eyes were filled with tears.

Chapter Two

It was late at night.

Jonny snuck into the flat, though he had a bit of trouble being stealthy.

One problem was that he was drunk, and his perception was less than perfect.

He bumped into the table by the door, making an obnoxiously loud noise.

The bigger problem, though, was that Chris was standing in the living room, glaring at him.

“Why?” he simply asked.

“Why what?” Jonny slurred.

“You know what.”

Chris folded his arms across his chest, trying to appear more angry than upset.

Jonny stumbled over to the couch and collapsed.

“So, I went out, what do you care?” he said.

“I care that you're out getting drunk at all hours of the night when you know that tomorrow we have class and if you don't pass this exam, you're going to fail.”

Chris stood still, catching his breath. Then he quietly continued, “And I'm worried about you.”

“There's nothing to worry about,” Jonny stubbornly said.

Chris sat down beside him.

He looked at Jonny with sad eyes.

“Promise me it won't happen again,” he whispered.

“What do you mean?” Jonny asked.
“I mean, promise me that you won't go out at night like this anymore. At least until we've finished school.”

Jonny thought for a while.

It was hard to do, since he was so drunk.

But he tried.

“Fine,” he eventually said, “I won't go drinking until classes are done.”

Chris nodded slowly.

“Thank you,” he said.

Chapter Three

Two nights after the previous incident, Chris went to bed at his normal time.

The dim light on the clock said 10:00.

He laid his head down on the pillow, but he knew he wasn't going to be able to fall asleep.

Jonny had not yet come home.

Chris knew where he was.

He knew what Jonny was doing.

It ripped him apart inside to know that for some reason, Jonny felt it necessary to harm his body with the disgusting liquid that was alcohol.

He didn't want to see Jonny suffer.

He didn't want to see Jonny fail his classes because of this new-found addiction.

But most importantly, he wished that Jonny would just talk to him about his problems.

After all, they were supposed to be best friends.

Someone to lean on when they were feeling down.

But instead of relying on Chris, Jonny just went out and drank his life away.

What worried him most was the thought of Jonny taking one too many drinks.

Chris was well aware that alcohol poisoning really did happen.

There had already been a few deaths on campus because of it.

He didn't want Jonny to become one of them.

Chris laid in bed for three hours before he heard the sound of the front door.

But he decided not to get up.

Yelling at Jonny while he was still drunk wasn't going to do any good.

Instead, he would wait for morning.

Jonny would probably be hung over, but maybe the blaring headache being increased by Chris's grating voice would teach him a lesson.

So Chris continued to lay in his bed.
He closed his eyes and tried in vain to get some rest.

“You promised me,” Chris quietly said as Jonny entered the kitchen.

Jonny took a seat in one of the chairs and laid his head down on the table.

“I feel like shit,” he said.

“You should. Did you ever think that maybe it's a punishment?”

“Please, Chris, don't start,” Jonny begged.

“I wouldn't need to start if you'd stop!” Chris yelled.

Jonny slowly lifted his head.

“Can we please talk about this another time?” he asked in a gruff voice.

“What if there isn't another time?” Chris asked. “Jonny, what if you go out tonight and you don't come back?”

“What?”

Chris stood up and walked over to where Jonny was.

He bent down so that he and Jonny were eye-level.

“I'm just worried about you,” he said. “Don't you remember what happened to those girls last semester?”

“That's not going to happen to me,” Jonny said with confidence that Chris thought he should not have had.

“You don't know that,” Chris quietly said.

“And what about you, huh?” Jonny asked. “You don't look like you're all that healthy these days, either. You're pale, a little thin, and you've got bags under your eyes the size of Texas.”

Chris did agree with Jonny on that one.

“But the only reason I look like crap is because I spent the last week, including all of last night, worrying about you,” Chris told him.

Jonny sighed.

“Well, you won't have to worry about me anymore,” he said, “I'm moving out.”

Chapter Four

“You're what?” Chris asked, disappointed.

“I'm moving out,” Jonny repeated, “so you can go get some sleep now.”

Jonny stood up, pushing his chair back with so much force that it almost fell over.

He realized that the quick motion would only further agitate his pounding headache, but he didn't care.

He walked out of the kitchen and towards the door, Chris following behind closely.

“Where are you going?” Chris asked.

Jonny stopped with his hand on the knob and he turned around.

“My parents' house,” he said. “I'll stay there until I can find another place.”

Jonny opened the door and was almost halfway out when Chris spoke again.
“Wait!”

Jonny stopped again and looked expectantly at Chris.

“What?” he asked, dozily.

“It's Saturday,” Chris said in a small voice.

Jonny just looked at Chris for another few moments.
“Tell Gigi I'm sorry,” he said, and left.

The sound of the door closing was like a gunshot to Chris.

The bullet pierced right through his heart and he fell to the ground.

He meagerly tried to crawl up against the wall.

It seemed like forever before he finally reached it.

He leaned back and tears began to flow freely down his cheeks.

Despite his best efforts, he lost the very thing that he was trying to save.

He lost his roommate.

He lost his best friend.

Worst of all, he lost the love of his life.

Chapter Five

Gigi was in the middle of telling Chris about the time she stole a car when she was in her teens.

She was actually making up the whole thing, and there were some very ridiculously untrue details thrown in.

But Chris didn't catch any of them.

He was too distracted thinking about Jonny.

Gigi knew he wasn't paying attention, which is why she told the story.

When she stopped, she waited patiently for Chris to realize.

It was nearly five minutes before he did, but Gigi didn't mind.

She understood that he was troubled.

“You and Jonny had a fight, didn't you?” she asked.

He looked up at her with great surprise.

“How did you know?” he asked her.

“Christopher, Christopher, Christopher,” she replied, “I'm blind. I'm not senseless.”

Chris raised an eyebrow. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“I could spend five seconds in a room with the two of you and have no doubts whatsoever that you are in love,” she said.

“I...” Chris stammered for a bit. “It's not like I intended on-”

“Oh,” she interrupted, “no one intends on falling in love, they just do. And it's painfully obvious that you have.”

Chris frowned and looked at his hands.

“He told me he's moving out,” he sadly said.

“And you're just going to sit here and let him?” she asked. “Sit here, talking to a boring old woman, while the boy you love is out there trying to remove himself from your life- you're not even going to try to stop him?”

“I don't think I can stop him,” Chris told her.

“Oh, Christopher,” she said, shaking her head, “you are so young. Now is not the time in your life that you should be wasting on wishing. You should be out there, chasing after what you want.”

“What do you think I should do?”

Gigi reached out slowly and placed her hand on Chris's shoulder.

“I think you should tell him how you feel,” she said with a wink. “And maybe he will tell you how he feels.”

Chapter Six

The door was big and scary.

Chris had only ever been to Jonny's parents' house once before, when he was helping Jonny move in.

Jonny had been so excited to be living on his own, without his parents.

He had told Chris that he never wanted to come back to this place again.

But his words had crumbled just like his promise to Chris.

Chris slowly lifted his arm and knocked.

At first he was worried that maybe no one would be in.

Then he worried that maybe Jonny would know it was him and just ignore the knocking.

But the door opened eventually, and Jonny's mother greeted Chris with a smile.

“Hey, Chris,” she said. “What can I do for you, sweetie?”

“Is Jonny here?” he asked. “I'd like to speak to him, if that's all right.”

“I'm sorry, he's not feeling too well right now,” she frowned. “But if you'd like, you can come in and wait for him to wake up. I've made some tea, I could pour you a cup, and we have plenty of food around, too.”

“That's very kind of you,” Chris halfheartedly smiled. “I would like to wait, but I'll pass on the tea and such, thanks.”

Jonny's mother opened the door to let Chris in.

They settled in the living room, where Jonny's father was sitting, reading the newspaper.

“Honey, Chris is here,” she said. “He's waiting for Jonny.”

“Hello, Chris,” he said as he lowered the paper. “You might be waiting a while.”

“That's all right,” Chris said, taking a seat and clasping his hands in his lap. “I've got nothing better to do today, anyway.”

“Really?” he replied. “You'd think a boy like you would have a million other things to do rather than sit around and twiddle your thumbs. Don't you have a girlfriend or anything?”

“Uh, no,” Chris said, blushing a little.

“Well, you should change that! They can be nagging and clingy at times, but even I have to admit that nothing's better than knowing that you have someone who cares about you that much.” He leaned forward and made a strange gesture with his hand. “You know?”

“Yeah,” Chris said with a nervous laugh.

“Chris, dear, are you sure you don't want anything to drink or eat?” Jonny's mother asked him.

“I'm sure, thanks,” Chris smiled. “But, uh... I do need to use the restroom.”

“Of course, it's right down that hallway,” she said, gesturing out the doorway, “first door on the left.

“Thank you,” Chris said.

He stood up and began to make his way out of the room.

When he turned the corner into the hallway, he nearly stepped on a lump curled up on the floor.

He soon realized that lump was a person.

And not just any person.

Jonny looked up at Chris with anxious eyes.

“I thought I heard your voice,” he started to explain, “so I came downstairs to see.”

“I need to talk to you about something, Jonny,” Chris said.

Jonny slowly stood up next to Chris.

“Chris, I'm scared,” he whispered.

Chris nodded, the tears welling in his eyes once more. “So am I.”

Chapter Seven

“I don't really want to move out,” Jonny admitted.

He and Chris were now sitting upstairs in his room.

“But,” he continued, “I'm not sure living with you will do me much good, either.”

“Why?” Chris asked.

Jonny tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out.

Instead he sighed, and said, “It's complicated.”

“Do you know why I'm so worried about you Jonny?”

Jonny looked up at Chris and shook his head.

“It's not because you're my friend,” he said. “It's not even because you're my best friend. It's because I love you. I'm in love with you.”

Jonny gaped, unable to think clearly.

Chris looked at him wearily.

“I don't know what I would do if I lost you,” he said in a cracked and broken voice.

Jonny was frozen for only a few moments longer.

Then he started to laugh.

It was not the reaction Chris expected or wanted.

He felt like crying again as he waited for Jonny to explain his odd behavior.

Jonny stopped laughing when he noticed the look on Chris's face.

“This is gonna sound so stupid,” he said with a smile on his face.

“Chris...” Jonny shook his head and laughed again. “I'm so sorry.”

“How is that stupid?” Chris snappishly asked.

“No, that's not what's stupid. What's stupid is everything else!”

Jonny realized that his vagueness was not getting through to Chris, so he sighed.

“The only reason I started drinking was to ignore that... well, that I suddenly found myself unable to think about anything else other than you,” he quietly said. “I'm so sorry.”

“You won't move out, then?” Chris asked.

Jonny shook his head.

“And you won't drink anymore?”

Jonny shook his head again.

“And you'll kiss me?”
Jonny smiled and leaned forward, brushing his lips against Chris's.

“All right,” Chris pleasantly sighed. “I guess I can forgive you.”

“Good,” Jonny smiled. “Let's go home.”

“Actually, I think there's somewhere else we need to go first,” Chris said.

“Since if it hadn't been for a certain elderly woman, I'd probably be at home crying right now.”

“Christopher, I'm proud of you,” Gigi said before he and Jonny were even entirely in the room.

“Gigi, I can never thank you enough,” he happily replied, “for helping me realize that I can't just sit around and wait for things to happen.”

“Yes, Gigi, thank you so much,” Jonny agreed.

He moved his arm and slipped his hand against Chris's.

“You boys are very welcome,” she smiled. “It's always nice to have dreams, but there's no point if you're sleepless.”

THE END