* * *
“Oh my god.” Jonah closed the distance between them and dropped to a crouch beside Sacha. He put one hand to his forehead and clamped the other around his wrist, checking his pulse. “Sacha? What’s wrong?”
Sacha’s eyes flickered as Jonah counted his racing heartbeat. He groaned.
Jonah tightened his grip. “Hey. It’s me. Jonah. Open your eyes, Sacha. Look at me.”
Sacha took a deep, shuddery breath. One eye opened fully, the other stayed hooded, drooping slightly, unfocused and bloodshot.
“That’s it.” Jonah squeezed his hand. “Can you tell me what’s wrong?”
“I’m fine,” Sacha slurred.
“You’re really not. Your heart is beatingreallyfast.”
“Is nothing. Too much caffeine. No food. It get better soon, now I finish.”
“Finish what?”
“Work.”
Jonah glanced at Sacha’s open laptop and an overwhelming urge to throw it out of the window swept over him.
He settled for slamming it shut, cloaking them in darkness.
Sacha hummed and let his eyes fall closed again.
Jonah shook him. “Don’t do that. You need to stay awake so I can get you some help, okay?”
He started to stand.
Sacha grabbed his arm. “No, I don’t need help. Is just migraine,luchik.Please don’t go.”
“Sacha—”
“No.” Sacha dug his fingers into Jonah’s forearm. “Please. It will pass, I promise.”
Jonah pried Sacha’s grip loose and took his hand, squeezing it again, harder than before. “All right, all right. But you can’t stay on the office floor. We need to go home, get you comfortable, okay?”
Sacha raised his head, slow, like it was weighted with concrete. He finally met Jonah’s gaze with reddened eyes. “My home.”
Jonah blinked his surprise. “You want me to come to your place?”
“Yes. For lots of reasons. But…” Sacha tapped his temple. “For medicine. I keep it at home.”
“This has happened before?”
“Since I was young and car accident. There is problem in my brain.”
Sacha’s speech dragged as if he was drunk, and each word hit Jonah in slow motion, impacted him with brutal force. It bothered him more than he could say that he hadn’t known this about Sacha. All this time they’d spent in each other’s company, and he’d had no idea. “Okay. Let’s get you home, then you can tell me more about it.”
“Why?”
“Because I fucking care about you,” Jonah snapped. “Stop fighting me.”
Sacha smiled a little, but it didn’t last. His colour was terrifying, and only the distant memory of Lily’s premenstrual migraines kept Jonah’s fear at bay.He’s not dying. Take him home. Get him his medicine.
He found Sacha’s coat and his bag, and helped him stand. “Your laptop is staying here.”