Page 24 of Fighting For You
“I’m so sorry about this.” She leaned against the countertop.
“Stop apologizing.” She couldn’t blame herself for passing out, nor would I blame her.Not that she knows this based on the way you’ve treated her lately.“Sit down on the couch.”
Her dark eyes hung on mine for a second before she moved back to where I’d put her minutes ago. The fact she didn’t argue made my pulse notch higher.
Holding out the water, I ordered her to drink.
She tilted up her chin like she might defy me, but then grabbed the jar and took a small sip. While she swallowed, I slid her bangs back on her head with one hand and swiped the thermometer over her brow.
“This is weird,” she said, her voice unsteady.
I swore when the display flashed. “You have a temperature of one oh three.”
Her eyes grew wide, but stopped short when she winced. “What?No. I’m fine, I?—”
“Stop now and tell me what’s wrong. Headache? Stomach? Throat?” I demanded.
She exhaled slowly, her eyes closing as she slumped back into the couch. “Um, I’m dizzy? And hot. And freezing. And just so tired, but I haven’t slept. I—I just feel bad. I’m sure it’s the last few days…” She heaved another big breath. “I just need to get home.”
“You’re not leaving here when you can barely keep your eyes open.”
Said eyes popped open again. “What? I can’t stay here. I just need to get home.”
I sat next to her and waited until she turned her head toward me. “I know you don’t like this any more than I do, but it’s not safe for you to drive right now. Take some Tylenol and let’s see if we can get your fever down. Take a nap, and maybe when you feel better, you can head back to town.”
Much like earlier, she didn’t fight me. She took the pills I held out in a gulp, then handed me the water again, letting her head fall back and her eyes slam shut like she couldn’t have kept them open a minute longer.
This was both a relief and a concern because this was not the Jess Korbel I knew—at any point in our relationship. And after the fight we’d had…
I swore internally. I’d been so focused on myself and how much I needed my little hideout, I didn’t notice the signs. She’d been visibly sick upon arrival, but I’d been too flustered and upset simply having her here, in this space, I didn’t see it. If I hadn’t caught her…
“You’ll stay here until you’re better. That’s final.”
She didn’t hear me because she was already fast asleep.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Jess
Iwoke with a start to a darkened room and the crackle of a fire. Behind me, the glow of light gave me enough so I could see the hulking form of Beast resting in the chair perpendicular to the end of the couch where I lay.
Laser beam eyes glinted next to his head. His cat was curled up on one massive shoulder, half on the chair, half on him.Adorable.
Wait.What?
Ow.
Everything hurt. My head. My body ached like I’d run a marathon—maybe worse than after the times I’d actually run marathons. And I was sweat-soaked, my shirt clinging to me, my hair damp behind my neck.
I hadn’t felt this bad in recent memory.
“You should eat something. Then take more meds.” Beast was up, leaning down to take my temperature. Heshowed the little screen flashing one hundred and one. “That’s good. It came down a bit.”
I sifted through the events—I’d arrived, we’d fought, I couldn’t get out what I’d come for or what I meant to say to apologize, and then I’d… passed out. It was murky from there, but he’d made me sleep on the couch.
In a million years, I wouldn’t have imagined this scenario. First, I hadn’t been sick past a basic seasonal cold in a long time. Second… here? Really? Why did I have to end up here and literally pass out?
The wave of humiliation I expected didn’t crash, though. Maybe because, at least from what I could recall, he had been surprisingly… calm. Insistent, yes. Bossy as all get out, of course. But kind of steadying, oddly.
