Strange old habits

Irvyn kept watching them as she happily was drinking the soup, while aunt Suzy kept feeding her.

"Her mother huh," he looked away from them, muttering to himself. "I wonder how her parents were like." And after that, he slowly walked away from there, making sure the two women inside the room didn't notice him or his footsteps.

He walked out of the house, strolling left and right. But still, the restlessness in him wasn't going away even a little bit. Having no other choice, he fished out his cellphone from his pocket, searched for a contact and dialed that number.

"Hello, Irvyn," a gentle female voice came from the other end of the call.

"Chloe," a deep sigh escaped his mouth, as he was slowly getting out of breath. "Can I come over, for a chat?"

There was complete silence coming from her direction. However, it didn't last for very long because she quickly responded with a tone that was filled with concern. "Are you alright? Are you feeling any discomfort?"

She tried again, but this time she received no response other than some heavy breathing. When she realized what was happening, her anxiety level skyrocketed. "Irvyn! Talk to me, please! Tell me what's wrong."

"I don't know!" He shouted out loud, startling the woman on the other end. "I fvcking don't know! I was doing fine, but suddenly I am feeling restless and out of breath…"

"It's all good. Don't worry, I'll pick you up right there, so don't worry about it."

"N-no, I… I'm going to hail a cab and make my way there. Hold on a minute, "And without even giving her a chance to finish what she was saying, he cut off the call.

– – – – – –

Irvyn stumbled out of the cab, leaving the money that he had fished out of his pocket in a hurry without even checking it, and he rushed towards the small iron gate that was located close to where the cab had stopped. As soon as he walked through the door, he began vigorously ringing the bell until his hands began to hurt. He was able to make out the sound of someone rushing towards him inside the house, which caused the loud thumping sound. He thought that it must be due to the wooden flooring in the entire house, as he remembers. It seems as though she is rushing all the way to the front door.

A woman's voice then emerged from within as if to affirm what he had just thought. "I am getting it, just hold on for a little while longer!" And in a matter of seconds, the door shot open, revealing a woman who was trying to catch her breath.

"H-hi, Chloe," he barely voiced out those words, before fainting on the very doorsteps. Before he was completely out of it, he could see the lady gasping in shock, while hurriedly grabbing him by his shoulders. Thanks to her, he didn't fall on the floor which felt freezing cold to him. But before he could express his gratitude to her, he lost consciousness.

"Oh my goodness." Chloe was quick on her reflexes, and as she grabbed him by the arms just in the nick of time to prevent him from falling over, she thanked God once more for her ability to do so. She did not waste any more time and dragged him inside the house immediately after that.

She lowered him down onto the sofa in her living room in a soft and careful manner. Grabbing his right hand, she pressed her fingers against his veins, and tried to feel his pulse. "Oh gosh, this is bad." She noticed how his shirt was wet to the point of sticking to his body. Just how much he sweated while coming all the way here?

"Hold on there for just a second, all right? I'll go get you something to help you get warm." Despite the fact that he was sweating so much, Chloe could feel how icy cold his hands were. He needs to get his clothes changed quickly, or else he will be catching a cold, which is the very last thing she would want to happen. She dashed out and went into the room that was located in the farthest interior corner, and she returned a short while later carrying a box, a blanket, and a set of spare clothes for him. She positioned the other items so that they were next to him, then quickly opened the box and took out a small tube that was filled with a transparent liquid. After confirming the information on the label, she removed the cap, grabbed a syringe, and emptied out everything that was inside the container.

"This might hurt, Irvyn," Chloe whispered in a low voice, before grabbing his left arm and pulling it towards her. After wiping the area down with an alcohol wipe, she made a small incision in his skin and inserted the needle through his vein. She then injected the liquid that she had taken earlier, gradually distributing it throughout his veins and into his bloodstream.

"Ugh," he let out a pained moan, even though he was still out of it.

"I'm sorry, just a bit more 'kay?" Somehow, it hurt her looking at him getting even this much pain, but she had no choice but to inject the dosage slowly in order to prevent any internal damage or adverse reactions caused by a sudden overdose of the medication.

"There, all done." She took out the needle, and threw the used syringe in the nearby trash can along with the broken tube. "Now all we need to do is…," she proceeded to open up the buttons of Irvyn's shirt, and quickly wiped his body with the towel she had brought with her as well. Changing him into a soft t-shirt she had with her on spare.

"Thank Goodness it still fits him." Chloe gave a glance at the man peacefully sleeping by now on her couch. And she noticed a few more things about him. "Or rather I should say, he got a lot skinnier than before." She let out a sigh, before taking a seat beside him. "Just how much are you trying to neglect yourself, Irvyn?"

– – – – – –

"Ngh… ouch," Irvyn woke up with the bright white light in the room hitting his eyes hard, making it difficult for him to open them, and a sudden pain on his left arm made him almost numb. "Oh… Goodness, what is this pain…"

"You got injected there, and I think you should know why your doses always hurt." Hearing the sudden voice, Irvyn turned his head back, noticing Chloe. She emerged from the kitchen carrying two mugs at the same time, and she walked towards Irvyn. It was clear from the amount of steam coming out of both of the mugs that they contained something warm.

"Feeling better than before?" she handed him one of the mugs, and peeking into it, he was sure of his intuition. It was chicken soup.

"Strange how you always have chicken soup in these coffee mugs," he took the mug, while giving a shrug of his shoulders to her.

"And strange why you never take care of yourself enough, and come to me only when you get out of control," Chloe let out a scoff at him, sitting in the furthest corner from him.