Page 60 of Something Blue

You don’t need to come.

But if you do, I unlocked the door.

I’m in my bedroom.

He grabbed his things and headed inside. He gasped the second he opened the door. Clothes from their date night were strewn all over the floor. Old dishes were piled in the sink, and the trash had multiple piles around it. He sighed and focused on feeding her first.

He found her bedroom in the back of the small apartment. It was relatively clean, but the covers were clumped up at the end of the bed, and she was lying curled up in a ball on a pillow.

The whole scene was laughable, but he was too worried to even smile. He ran over to her, feeling her head and neck. She was burning up. After giving her the medicine, he tucked the covers around her and made her drink a few sips of ginger ale. Even though she fought it, she eventually ate half her soup before falling back asleep.

When she was snoring softly, he went to the front room and got to work. He cleaned and put away dishes, straightened and vacuumed, started a load of wash, and sanitized the kitchen and bathroom. He collapsed on the couch after a few hours and promptly fell asleep.

He felt someone shaking his shoulder. “Andy, wake up.”

His eyes flashed open, and he looked into Sadie’s scared eyes.

Suddenly he jumped to his feet and inspected her. “What’s wrong?” He touched her forehead. “Are you okay? Your fever’s gone down. Does anything hurt?”

She took a step away from him and smiled. “I feel much better. The fever must have broken when I was asleep.” She looked around the room. “You cleaned in here, too?”

He blinked and looked around blearily. “Yes. I can’t believe you didn’t call me…or someone.”

She dropped her head, but he promptly lifted it up again. “It’s fine. Everyone gets this way when they’re sick.”

The alarm on his watch went off. “Time to go.”

Her eyebrows lifted. “Already? I haven’t even had a chance to thank you.”

Suddenly, he was very alert. “Can we get back together?”

“Nice try,” she said, though she showed a hint of a smile.

“Well, then thank me by eating and taking care of yourself.” He stretched and then headed for the door.

“I wanted you to know, Chase’s last day here is Friday, and I told him I would visit my mom’s grave and go to lunch with him.”

He stiffened, but didn’t say anything. He wasn’t ready for a verbal beatdown.

“So, we probably won’t be able to get together that night like we planned. Hopefully, you haven’t scheduled anything with your parents.”

He bit his tongue, not wanting to hurt her. The board meeting was on Friday, and then he’d be leaving for a conference. Still, he wasn’t going to stand in her way. “If that’s what you want, it’s okay with me. Have a good time together.” Then he turned and left without another word.

* * *

The next night, Andy came down with a headache and a fever.

He called his assistant first thing. “Cancel my appointments for today and tomorrow. Hopefully, I’ll be better by the board meeting tonight.”

“What’s wrong? Are you sick? You never take work off. Should I bring something?” Tanner immediately peppered him with questions, but he was too tired to respond.

“Bye.”

After hanging up, he crawled into bed and pulled the covers over his head, which spun with pain. He was in and out of sleep for the next few hours. At one point, he thought he heard the phone ring, but it was only in his dream.

A cold hand pressed against his forehead, and his eyes flew open. Sadie was in his dream, too.

“You’re in my dreams, too?” He sobbed into his pillow. “I can’t escape you.”

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