“Again?”
Jamie sighed. “It fucking sucks, especially since he can’t really treat himself in the state he’s in.”
“I’ll check on him,” Dakota nodded, pressing a hand against Jamie’s upper arm. “Don’t overwork yourself, ‘k? Let Steve and Ian pour the stuff if they offer.”
“I will,” Jamie said.
Inside, Dakota poured some pretzels into a small bowl, retrieved a bottle of water from one of the lower cupboards and rummaged through the medicine cabinet until he found the migraine medicine. Once sure he had everything Erik could possibly need, he made his way out into the living room, then down the hall, toward Jamie’s old room where Erik was now staying.
At the door, Dakota knocked, leaned forward, then asked, “Erik? You awake?”
The bedspring creaked and Erik mumbled something under his breath. A brief moment later the door opened to reveal Erik, naked, save for his boxer shorts and a look of complete misery.
“Hey,” Dakota smiled, hoping to push past the initial discomfort of Erik’s appearance. “How are you feeling?”
“I still feel like shit,” Erik said.
“Jamie wanted me to check on you. Can I come in?”
Erik pulled the door open all the way and started back for the bed. Dakota took the action as a welcoming one and stepped into the room. “I brought you a snack,” he said, setting the bowl on the end table. “And some pills.”
“Already took some,” Erik grumbled.
“Did you drink any water?”
“No.”
“Have you eaten anything?”
“Not really.”
“That’s probably why you’re sick,” Dakota sighed, pulling the sheet up over Erik’s waist. He grabbed the bowl and held it before the man. “Eat something.”
“I don’t want to.”
“It’s food. I got for you.”
“I’m not hungry, Dakota. My head’s ready to explode and I feel like I’m gonna throw up.”
“You’re probably dehydrated,” Dakota sighed, substituting the bowl of pretzels in his hand for the bottle of water. “At least take a drink. A little water’s not going to hurt you.”
“Can you just leave me alone, please?”
“Drink the water.”
“Whatever,” Erik growled, snatching the bottle away. “I’ll drink the fuckin’ water. Now will you please leave me alone?”
Dakota took a few steps back, taking extra care to make sure that Erik would drink the water. “If you need something, just call.”
“Whatever,” Erik grumbled.
When Dakota closed the door, he thought he caught the older man mumbling something under his breath before he left.
“How’s Erik?” Ian asked.
“Cranky as hell,” Dakota said, shutting the front door behind him.
“Nothing new I guess.”
“That’s not really funny,” Steve said, chuckling as Ian slugged his shoulder. “He was the same way coming here.”
“Cranky as hell,” Ian said, “couldn’t say something without him biting your head off.”
“He’s just sick,” Dakota said. “He can’t help it.”
“I know,” Steve said. “The least he could do is try to be a little more pleasant.”
When Jamie came up and offered him a look, Dakota simply shrugged. Jamie chuckled in response. “I guess you know what’s going on then,” Dakota said.
“He’s been my best friend for years. I know how stubborn he is.”
“He wouldn’t even take a drink of water until I practically forced him to.”
“That’s Erik for you. He’ll do whatever he wants if he isn’t going to get in trouble for it.”
“But he’s sick.”
“It doesn’t help that he’s a nurse. Or was, I should say. He went through enough training for it.”
“Doesn’t really matter,” Dakota said, looking back at the house. “Someone should probably go in and check on him later though. I don’t think it’s the best idea if I do it.”
“You don’t think his headaches will get any worse,” Ian began, “do you?”
“I don’t know.” Jamie ran a hand over his forehead, looked between the three men before him, then turned his eyes back at the house, toward the furthest window on the left. “I’ve never had a migraine. All I know is what Erik’s told me, but from what he’s said, they usually don’t last more than a day or so. I’m guessing this is just from stress.”
“What could he be stressing out about?” Steve frowned. “We’re already here.”
“Erik’s got a lot of history you don’t know about, Steve. I just hope that backstory isn’t creeping up again.”
Two walls stood by the time night arrived.
Marked by the day’s progress, Jamie, Steve and Ian entered the house just as the last bits of light faded from the sky and collapsed on the couch, breathing heavily and stripping out of their clothes with the pained groans of men with stiff joints.
“God,” Jamie gasped, looking down at his hands. “Shit.”
“Fuckin’ hell,” Ian said. “You got concrete burns.”
“I thought I was wiping it off,” Jamie said, grimacing as he curled and uncurled his fingers. “Damn.”
“You ok?” Dakota asked.
“It hurts like a mother, but I’ll live.”
“What are we supposed to do for it?”
“Soak it in water, I guess.”
Dakota turned and started into the kitchen. While Jamie called out, saying not to waste the water on his hands, he crouched down, rummaged through the cupboards, then pulled out a few bottles of water and a small pot before considering the gas-powered stove before him. “Does the stove work?” he asked.
“It should,” Jamie said. “Dakota, don’t waste water on my hands.”
“Your hands are gonna fry if you don’t do something,” Ian said. “Using a little water isn’t going to hurt us any.”
“Right,” Dakota said, jumping as Ian stepped up beside him. “You scared me.”
Ian reached forward and opened a top cupboard. “You know where the vinegar is?”
“No.”
“It’s here somewhere,” Ian grunted. He balanced the weight on the tips of his toes and pushed a few boxes out of his way, then settled his weight back onto his feet when he found what he was looking for. “Pour some of this in here.”
“What does vinegar do?”
“Neutralize the chemical in the concrete.”
“Something tells me you’ve done this before,” Dakota said, upending the bottle and pouring the vinegar into the pot.
“I used to work construction before…well… I got more involved in other activities.”
“You don’t have to talk about it.”
“I mean, I’m cool with talking about it,” he said, pausing as Dakota started a burner, “but it’s not something I’m proud of.”
“We all have moments like that, Ian.” Dakota dipped a finger into the water, then a second when he couldn’t tell an initial difference. He waited a moment before dipping another in, dividing his attention between Ian and the timer above the stove. Once he deemed the water warm enough, he turned off the burner, removed it from the stove and dumped it into a separate bowl, complete with the extra vinegar. “Thanks for helping me with this, Ian.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“Now we just have to get someone to use it,” Dakota laughed, raising his voice so Jamie could hear him.
“I will,” Jamie chuckled, nodding as Dakota set the bowl before him. “I’m not going to waste water.”
“You better not.”
“Thanks, babe.” Jamie grimaced as he eased his hands into the water. “We’ll have to see if we can find some gloves in one of the other houses.”
“Did either of you get burns?” Dakota asked, turning his attention to Steve and Ian.