Angelo’s bewildered gaze followed him. “Who’s that?”
“A friend. Don’t worry; he won’t raid your toy box. Can you sit up?”
“No.”
“Try. Wrap your arms around my neck.”
Angelo obeyed and Rhys eased him upright, keeping hold of him as he swayed dizzily and his eyes drooped again.
Rhys gave him a moment, then reclaimed his focus. “What’s wrong? Is your ME bad?”
“Yeah.”
“How long have you been like this?”
“I—I can’t think.”
“All right, mate. Don’t worry. It’s okay.” Rhys was familiar enough with Angelo’s condition that he didn’t expect any coherent answers just yet. He checked him for signs of genuine danger to life, then worked on getting him warm.
Jevon reappeared with a phone. “Dead. I’m gonna plug it in down here, man, okay?”
Angelo nodded. “Thanks.”
Jevon glanced at Rhys, eying the way he was rubbing circulation back into Angelo’s hands. “Should I put the heating on?”
“Please. Maybe the kettle too?” Rhys looked at Angelo again. “When did you last eat?”
“I don’t know.”
“On it.” Jevon disappeared again.
Rhys moved onto Angelo’s other hand. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
“Um...” Angelo leaned back on the couch, frowning as he struggled to process the question. “Coming home from work, maybe? I was fine all day, then I fell off the bus.”
“What day was that?”
“Friday. It’s the only day I take the bus back from Stratford.”
Friday. It was Monday now, which meant that Angelo had been ill and alone all weekend. “Where’s Dylan?”
“Germany. Munich, I think.” Colour was beginning to return to Angelo’s cheeks. “Some Brexit training thing for work.”
“Sounds like Dylan.”
“Yeah. Is he okay? I can’t remember when I last spoke to him.”
“He called me last night.” Rhys ducked his head guiltily. “But I didn’t answer. If I had, I’d have been here sooner. He had to call Harry in the end to wake my arse up this morning.”
“Harry?”
“Yeah.”
Angelo blinked slowly. “I’m so fucking out of it, I thought youwereHarry when I first saw you. I’m so sorry you had a stranger dragging you out of bed.”
Jevon came back as Angelo was speaking. He handed two mugs to Rhys, one with tea, the other with tomato soup. In his other hand was a plate of toast. He set it within Angelo’s reach, and Rhys wondered if he’d leave again.
He didn’t.