“Oh, stop it, you pervert! The guy has a freaking fever; give him a break.”
Anton giggled. “I know, I know. But are you blind? Oh, my gosh, this is a wet dream come true. Would you be mad if I took a selfie?”
I threw him a murderous glare. “Anton, shush!” This wasn’t the time or place to be ridiculous. Seriously.
He held up his hands, still beaming madly. “Okay … Geez, it was only a question.”
Rolling my eyes, I looked at him, hoping he would be more useful, instead of drooling over River’s physique.
“What else can I do to lessen the fever?”
“Let me google it,” Anton offered before pulling out his phone and typing on the screen. “Okay, wait—okay, so how about you get a cold towel and put it on his forehead?” he said as he scanned the page. “It says here to make sure his head is always cool. But if he’s worse, wouldn’t it be easier to call nine-one-one? I mean, what if this is something else? He’s been very bad lately, and he might’ve had a bad reaction, you know.”
He made an excellent point.
“He made me promise not to.” My hands were tied for the time being. “If he’s not any better tomorrow, I’ll definitely call one.”
“Well, you better get to being the best nurse in the world. He’s dangerously hot. This could turn into something else, Cara.”
“I know.” It was dangerous to be toying with his wellbeing, most especially after the lecture I had spewed on him earlier. But … he made me promise, and I was going to keep it until I knew I couldn’t help him anymore. “Keep your phone next to you just in case I panic.”
“Will do, Sprinkles.” He gave me a tight hug before kissing my cheek. “Try to get some rest, too. You look like shit. Still pretty, but tired.”
“Thanks.” I laughed as we slowly walked out of the bedroom.
Anton had to be somewhere, so I was beyond grateful that he took a moment out of his schedule to drop by.
After Anton left, I restlessly cleaned. It was a good effort to keep my mind off things. It took me about an hour to finish and polish everything back to its pristine condition before I joined River upstairs.
The second I stepped foot in his room, I heard him cough a few times.
Rushing to his side, I asked if he needed anything.
“Can you get me something to drink? I’m thirsty,” he croaked out, barely opening his eyes.
“Of course.” Pouring him a glass of water, I held it to his lips as he took small sips. After he was done, he let out a ragged breath before dropping his head back to the pillows and taking hold of my hand, halting me from moving away.
“I’m sorry,” he rasped out before closing his lids again.
Two words, and my heart melted, all the pain we had caused each other ebbing away.
“I’m sorry, too.” I knew he couldn’t hate me for long. We never could.
Setting my alarm so he wouldn’t miss a dose in six hours, I cautiously maneuvered myself next to him as I intently viewed his chest, making sure he was still breathing.
While the world carried on about their day, I found peace in the most unconventional of places. And as the minutes ticked, my eyes began to droop. Not before long, sleep caught me, as well.