Page 47 of Where the River Meets the Skye

“River, you look awful,” Skye said, appearing at his side. “What do you need?”

“Tylenol,” River said, barely managing to get the words out, his eyes squinting as he gestured towards the kitchen cabinet.

“Go lay down,” Skye said. “I’ll bring it to you.”

River didn’t argue. He made his way to his room and collapsed onto the bed in the dark. He’d never had a headache of this magnitude before. The pain was so intense it was overwhelming. His whole head felt hot. The top of his head and his temples were throbbing, stabbing, like they were aching to get out. It felt like his skull was being crushed. He was having shooting pain in his ears, and his eyes were hurting. He was hoping that if he took some medicine and got some sleep this would all be over in the morning, nothing but a bad dream.

But when the alarm clock went off the next morning, the splitting migraine was still there, pounding against his skull again as soon as he was conscious. He tried to get up and get ready for work, hoping it would go away, but it didn’t, and he decided he had better call in sick because there was no way he could make it through the day like this, let alone drive. He took more Tylenol and went back to bed, this time with an ice pack over his head to try and dull the pain that was radiating throughout his skull, setting it on fire.

When he awoke several hours later, the pain was still there, a pounding force against his head, like something living inside was screaming to get out. At this point he was wondering if he should be going to the ER, or Urgent Care at least, but he didn’t feel well enough to get there and he certainly wasn’t going to call Skye and ask him to come home from work for this. So he got up to use the bathroom, and then went back to bed, grabbing another ice pack, because that seemed to be the only thing providing him with any relief. The Tylenol wasn’t helping at all, he was realizing. He was tempted to take ibuprofen. He’d done it before when he was desperate, feeling like the risk wasn’t all that great and chances are he’d be fine, but Skye didn’t approve and he hated to let him down. He knew he was only thinking of River’s well being and safety when he asked him not to mix the meds.

He was feeling nauseous and hot and cold all at once as he lay there with his eyes closed, trying to block out every sound, the curtains in the bedroom drawn tight to keep the sun out. His eyes were hurting, his ears were throbbing, his head was pounding, and he realized he hadn’t had anything to eat or drink all day other than the water he’d used to take his Tylenol, so that forced him to push himself up and out of bed, because maybe, just maybe being more hydrated would help.

He managed to get two full glasses of water down and then collapsed into bed once again, resting on his back, one ice pack at the base of his skull and the other draped over the front of his head, trying to get some relief from whatever this was. And he managed to doze off again.

He woke briefly at one point to gentle fingers stroking his jaw and a strong arm around his waist. “Skye,” he murmured, nestling into the warm body behind him and dozing off again.

River almost cried when the morning came and his headache was still in full force. It hadn’t started out that way. He’d felt like it was getting better as he’d gotten out of bed and started to get ready for work, but the more he moved around, the quicker it found its way back.

“River, are you okay?” Skye asked, noticing his boyfriend’s distress as they ate their breakfast.

“No,” River said in dismay. “I can’t get rid of this damn headache, Skye. I don’t know what’s going on. I’ve never had a migraine like this in my life.”

“Do you need me to take you to the doctor?” Skye asked.

“I don’t know,” River said, honestly. “I don’t know what they would do for me. And I really don’t want to waste the money. So, I guess not. Can you take me to work, though?”

“River, you can’t be serious, you look like shit.”

“I already called in sick yesterday. I can’t take two days off in a row,” River insisted. “Maybe it’ll get better throughout the day. I have to try. Please?”

Skye sighed. “Okay.”

But when he dropped River off at work thirty minutes later, River felt even worse, and when Skye texted him around four o’clock asking how he was doing, River replied, Not good :(, which was an understatement, because when Skye arrived at six o’clock to pick River up he practically had to carry him to the car. And when they got home ten minutes later River was shaking as they walked inside, holding onto Skye’s arm to try and support himself because his eyes were hurting so badly he couldn't keep them open, and it felt like someone was stabbing knives into the sides of his head and squeezing it in a vice all at the same time. He felt nauseated again, and his body was aching. And to top things off, his damn tailbone was hurting too.

River stood in the entryway, delirious, as Skye unbuttoned his coast and slid it off for him, taking his scarf and his gloves as well, and then in a moment, he was in Skye’s arms, being carried to his bedroom and placed gently on the bed, as Skye slid his shoes off.

“Do you want dinner?” he heard his boyfriend ask.

“If I’m awake, maybe,” he mumbled. “Ice pack?”

“What?” Skye asked, leaning closer.

“Ice pack,” River repeated, pointing to his head. “For my head. Please. And, Skye, I’d like to try some ibuprofen. I can’t do this anymore. I’d like to see if it will help.”

“Okay,” Skye said, reluctantly. He returned a moment later with the ice pack and the ibuprofen, along with a glass of water. He waited for River to swallow the medicine, then pressed a kiss to his hair and left the room.

CHAPTER 22

Skye

The ibuprofen did not help, and neither did the Excedrin, or the Aleve, or alternating between Tylenol and ibuprofen, or drinking more water, and River’s migraine had lasted days now. He’d made it through the end of the work week, but was in bed all weekend, absolutely miserable. He’d tried going to Urgent Care just to see if there was any sort of infection that might be causing it, but they couldn’t find anything and didn’t have any answers for him other than to follow up with his primary care doctor. So that’s what he did the following Monday. Skye drove him because his head was still pounding and his eyes were still burning and he could barely see straight half of the time.

They suggested doing lab work, and an MRI and MRA just to make sure it was nothing serious. So, once again they were back, doing tests, waiting on results, scared and nervous, not knowing what was going on, or why.

Why River? Skye thought. Why him? Why the man I love? Why does he have to be the one in pain? Why do we have to be the ones going through this, over and over again? Is this going to be our lives? Doctors and questions and endless struggles? He found himself sitting in the waiting room where River was currently having his MRI done on a Saturday morning, and he let his head fall into his hands, letting out a deep breath. Every time they caught a break, it seemed, something else happened. Every time they took a step forward they would take two steps back. And he was sick of seeing his boyfriend hurting. Especially when he felt like there was nothing he could do to help. He’s twenty-eight, for Christ’s sake, but health issues, and chronic pain, and trauma, Skye was realizing more and more, didn’t care how old you were. They didn’t discriminate. And the person who looked the healthiest on the outside, could be the one suffering the most on the inside.

He wasn’t sure if he was relieved or not when the results of the MRI and MRA both came back normal, and so did the blood work. Sure that meant there was nothing serious, which was great, but then why was River still in so much pain? It had been two weeks now, and his migraine only ever let up when he was asleep. So if he wasn’t at work, that’s what he was doing. Skye didn’t blame him a bit, but he missed him terribly. He just wanted his boyfriend to find some relief. They did get a referral for a neurologist that the doctor recommended they see, so River scheduled an appointment with them, but it would be another month before he could get in to see them.

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