Page 58 of Unofficial

If she's been sick for this long, is she dehydrated? Does she need to go to the hospital?

Kade weaves in and out of traffic before coming to a stop outside her house. He runs up the front porch and pounds on the door, hoping she's awake to answer. Unlike him, she doesn't have a spare key under the front mat.

Finally, after a few minutes, Jess opens the door. She looks much paler than usual, and her greasy hair sits lopsided on the top of her head.

"Kade?"

"Oh, baby, you look terrible."

Jess smirks slightly. "Thanks. You have no idea what that does to my self-esteem."

"You've been sick since Tuesday? Do you need to go to the clinic?"

Shaking her head, she braces herself on the doorframe. "No, I'm on the upswing. Someone's kid at work had the plague, and their parent was kind enough to carry it to the office. It knocked out four of us, and yesterday I thought I might actually be dying. But today is a little better. No more fever."

"Let's get you up to bed."

"I've taken up residence on the couch. There are so many stairs to the bedroom."

Reaching down, he grabs her and lifts her bridal style, kicking the door shut behind him when he steps into the house. "Everyone should sleep in their comfy bed when they're sick. Let's get you tucked in."

"Kade?" she asks, her arms wrapped around his neck to brace herself.

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing here?"

He walks into her bedroom and forces the memory of her and Landry's shadows in here out of his mind. "I was giving you time to call me after that stupid fight, and I couldn't handle it any longer."

She climbs under the covers, her eyelids drooping. "I mean, why did you come over?"

"Because you said you were sick. And sick since Tuesday. I had to make sure you were okay."

"Why?" she murmurs, fighting sleep, but she loses.

He stares at her for a few moments, waiting to see if she'll open her eyes again. When she snores softly, he sighs. "Because I love you."

Sitting on the bed, Kade continues staring at her sleeping form. Her face is pale with large bags under her eyes, but she's still gorgeous. And she'll never ask for help, which makes him love her even more. She'd rather be the one taking care of everyone than asking someone for assistance.

He moves to the living room and starts straightening up, and he decides to wash the blanket she's been using. Carrying it to the washer, he starts it, hoping the machine doesn't wake her.

"Idiot," he mutters and heads back downstairs to the kitchen to see what he can muster up for her to eat.

The fridge holds produce with mold on it, which tells him just how long she hasn't eaten anything real. She also does her grocery shopping on Thursdays or Fridays, so she hasn't had a chance to get anything she may need, let alone prep it so it doesn't mold in its original packaging. Something she always insisted on doing for him.

He gets to work tossing out everything he wouldn't dare eat, remembering he should raise the bar considering he's the man who ate gas station sushi, and wipes everything down just in case. When he steps back, he sees he threw almost all of her food away, and she has next to nothing left. She's a bit of a health nut when it comes to eating at home, so her cabinets aren't filled with the same processed stuff his are. No cans of soup or boxes of rice.

Walking up to check on her, Jess remains passed out and still snoring slightly. Not that he'll ever tell her she snores. It'd make her too self-conscious, and it adds to her quirkiness.

Kade walks back downstairs, grabs her house keys, and slips out, locking the door behind him. It’s his turn to step up.

Chapter Twenty-One

Jess wakes up in her bed. Looking around her room in confusion, she tries to remember how she got up here. She'd taken residence up on the couch to keep herself close to the sink to make sure she stayed somewhat hydrated.

Kade. He was here, right? Yes, he carried her up here, and said he came over because he was worried about her. She didn't dream it, right? It was so sweet of him, and she hopes it wasn't some type of fever dream.

The bedroom door opens wider, and Kade walks in with a tray in his arms. "Hey, you're awake."

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