AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Charlotte stirred, her nose rubbing against the starchy cotton of my button-down. Her eyes fluttered open and she jolted, almost dumping herself right back on the floor again.
“Shit, Hayden. What happened? Why am I in the air? How am I in the air?”
“Easy, Char. You fainted right after you got in the door. I’m going to get you to bed.”
“Fuck. Well, put me down. I can walk.”
Ignoring her request, I made my way down the hallway and paused for a second outside of her room. I had the strongest urge to put her in my bed, where I could easily keep an eye on her, but considering this was the most she had said to me in two weeks, she’d be more comfortable in her own room.
I shouldered Charlotte’s door open and set her on the bed.
I took a step back, giving her some space, as she swung her legs so they dangled over the bed and put her head in her hands.
“Dumb question, but how are you feeling?”
“Like I got hit by a truck,” she mumbled, not moving her head to respond.
“Well, that’s probably a combo of the fever and the fall to the tile. I’m just glad I got there before your head hit the ground.”
At that, Charlotte looked up at me.
“Oh. Well, thanks…”
Whatever she was going to say next was interrupted by her sudden rush out the door to the bathroom. The sounds of her retching reached me as I stood awkwardly in her room.
Should I wait here for her to come back? No, I’ll go get her some supplies from the kitchen.
I walked down the hallway, pausing for a moment outside the bathroom door, but it sounded like this episode had calmed down. I filled a glass with water, grabbed some ibuprofen from the cupboard, and snagged the Liquid IV I stashed for after my runs out of the cupboard, mixing it with a cold bottle of water from the fridge. Then I grabbed a clean dish rag and ran it under the faucet, ringing the cold cloth out so it wouldn’t drip all over the floor on my way back to Charlotte’s room. As I gathered everything up, I heard the bathroom door open and the sound of feet shuffling on the carpet as Charlotte made her way back to her room. I followed quickly behind and almost ran into her back as she stopped, stock still, in the middle of her room.
“Char?”
“I can’t decide if I need to throw up again, change out of these sweaty clothes, or just pass out for the rest of the day.”
I eased my way to her left and set the supplies—save the wet towel—on top of her dresser.
“Why don’t you get into bed, and I’ll grab you something more comfortable. Do you want something to drink?”
As I said this, I reached for the top drawer of Charlotte’s dresser. “No wait! Not that one!”
I put my hands in the air and turned around to find Charlotte leaning on the edge of her bed. An eyebrow rose as I took in Charlotte’s pink cheeks, though that may have been the fever.
“So, what’s in that one?”
She rolled her eyes at me, and I couldn’t help my small smile. She may feel awful, but spunky Charlotte was still in there, and it was the first I had seen her in too long. This felt good.
“Just grab a T-shirt from the second drawer, please? The big green Holly Ridge Christmas Festival one?”
I turned back around and grabbed the shirt, noticing how the scent of jasmine and clean linen greeted me as I pulled the cloth out of its folded home. I tried to inhale as deeply as I could while maintaining subtlety and turned back to Charlotte, bringing the glass of water and the pills with me. The vanilla must come from her shampoo or body wash.
“Here you go. And, you should take these and try to drink as much of this as your stomach will allow. You’re burning up. You should try to break the fever.”
“Thanks,” Charlotte said, taking the shirt and laying it in her lap and swallowing the pills and a small mouthful of water gingerly, seeming to not want to test her stomach’s capacity for liquid.
I stared at her throat as she swallowed the water down, noticing how the long lines of her neck led to a swath of creamy skin exposed by her blouse’s scoop neckline.
“Um, do you mind? I’d love to get out of these clothes…”
“Oh, uh, sure.” I turned around, staring at the vent on the wall, starting to count the openings. Anything to avoid listening closely to the sound of cloth rubbing against Charlotte’s skin as she worked her clothes off, the rustling of sheets while she tried to manage without getting up.
