Zayeden Lopez

I woke up feeling like shit today, I was really sweaty, and my breathing was heavy. I remembered father telling me that his wife had work outside the town for two days, so I guess they left early this morning. As for Dylan and Devin, I think dad dropped them off at Mrs Jones for a while. I didn't have time to babysit those wide animals.

I got up and sat on the edge of my bed. I felt really hot even though the air conditioner was on 18. I shook my head, trying to clear my vision a bit. As I ran my fingers through my hair, it felt damp and wet, which was really confusing. My throat felt dry, so I decided to go get a cup of water, but I needed to make sure not to bump into Amelia... I want nothing to do with her. Especially not now.

As I stumbled out of my room, a wave of dizziness hit me, the world spinning around me. I cursed under my breath, feeling the sweat trickling down my forehead and my clothes sticking to my skin. I felt hot and queasy all over, and my throat was parched.

I leaned heavily on the wall, casually stopping to catch my breath as I made my way downstairs. I think I was sick or something, I did have a trashy immune system. And maybe it was the weather changing or something.

Unfortunately, Amelia was awake. She was standing on the balcony like she always liked to do. I don't think she noticed or heard me through. I was breathing like a dog that has been running for hours.

I desperately longed to avoid any interaction with her. I simply wanted to be alone, but the weight of our unspoken anger hung heavily between us. Maybe the universe felt like testing my patience today. Just as I tried to sneak past her, I stumbled, the floor feeling unusually shaky under my feet.

I didn't bother to see if she noticed. It's not like she was going to talk to me after what I've done. Plus, I did want to talk to her either.

I continued walking until I finally reached the kitchen, but my head was throbbing with pain. I placed a hand on my forehead, trying to calm myself down a bit. But I couldn't help but let out a groan as I cursed under my breath.

I think I caught a glimpse of Amelia. She was heading upstairs. This whole week, we've been avoiding each other. If she's in a place, I'd leave, and vice versa.

Grabbing the glass, I kinda slammed it on the counter because I almost fell. But I shook my head and headed towards the fridge. I took out the water bottle. But it surprisingly felt really cold on my skin. It was as if I was heating it up or something.

Amelia didn't leave, though. I could see her staring from the corner of my eye. Did I look that pathetic? I was sure she would want me to suffer because I really made her suffer.

I tried to ignore her and poured some water into the cup, but my hands were literally shaking. My vision kept blurry and unblrruing. I blinked a couple of times before grabbing the cup and drinking some of the cold, soothing water.

I could literally hear my heartbeat in my head. It was pounding so loudly. My vision blurred but didn't go back this time. Instead, I felt my whole body getting heavy, and the glass slipped from my hand, falling right into the ground and shattering into millions of pieces.

As the glass shattered on the floor, a wave of dizziness washed over me, and everything around me suddenly became fuzzy. I stumbled, trying to grasp onto the counter for support, but my strength seemed to slip away as my body began to give out. "S-shit!" I muttered under my breath, my voice barely more than a hoarse whisper.

I was going to fall right into the shattered pieces of glass in front of me. I wanted to stop myself from falling but couldn't. It was as if gravity was pulling me against my will. I closed my eyes shut tightly, excepting to feel unbearable pain any moment. I don't know why, but her name was the first thing that came to my mind at that moment. "Ameli-..." I whispered.

I kept my eyes closed for a few moments, I was surprised I wasn't on the floor right now. Instead, I was leaning on her. When th f-ck did she get here? Did she expect that I was going to faint? I was still half unconscious, and my body was literally betraying me. I only felt heavier and leaned on her even more now.

I heard her let out a pained whimper, the last thing I saw... was blood trickling from her foot. She... stepped on the glass with her bare foot... for me?

I knew I was going to lose consciousness soon, and if I fell on her, I was going to crush her with my weight and press her body on the glass pieces on the floor.

With what felt like the very last ounce of strength, I pushed myself up, finally freeing her from the weight of my body. I wobbled unsteadily, trying to keep myself upright and avoid falling back onto her again.

"You-" I managed to croak out, my voice cracking as I looked at her bleeding foot. "Why did you... you idiot..."

"Zaid- Wait! You can't - " I think I heard her say something. But her voice was so distant a faint.

After that, I stumbled back, away from her. And fell right into my back. Everything faded away completely. And I was laying there completely unconscious.

Amelia Wilson

I almost had a panic attack when I saw him fall on the ground, we were home alone, and I had no freaking idea what I should do, but I quickly went to his side, completely ignoring by bleeding foot, and tried to lift his head up the ground. Placing my hand on his forehead, I felt his burning skin under my cool touch.

I saw this happen before when I was with mom while she was working in the emergency room. So I shook my head. There was no time for panicking right now. I needed to make sure he was okay first.

First, I made sure he was breathing, and he was but a bit heavily. Then I got some cold water and splashed it into his face, trying to wake him up. "Hey... Zaid, please come on... I swear I am gonna cry if you don't wake up, I don't know what to do." I whispered, my voice strained. I was under so much stress, and I needed him to be okay no matter what.

Soon, I saw his eyes flutter open. They were really unfocused and glassy. But I was relieved that he finally woke up. "Can you hear me?" I asked softly.

He let out he soft breath, then nodded. I helped him to sit upright, but he had to lean his back on the wall. He weakly rubbed his eyes. Trying to make himself focus. "You... you're hurt..." He whispered thickly.

I glanced at my foot. It wasn't so deep, but it sure was bleeding more than necessary. But I needed to reassure him first. "I am fine, I will take care of it later. Could you please try to get up? I will help." I muttered as I was kneeling down in front of him.

I could see from his face that it was taking everything for him to keep himself awake. But he muttered a simple, "Okay." And he started to try to get up.

I helped him up slowly, and he leaned a bit on me for support. Him being really tall and heavy, and carrying half of his weight was not as easy as I had thought it would be, especially with my injured foot.

But I ignored it and helped him upstairs. It was just a couple of stairs, so it was fine. He didn't say a word the whole time, though. I guess he was barely even conscious, I helped him to the bed and quickly went to the bathroom to get some bandages for my foot.

I got it treated and picked up the broken glass from the kitchen. After that, I went back to his room. He wasn't in a condition where he could be left alone.

Despite the situation, he was completely out of it. His whole body was burning with a scorching fever, and his clothes were drenched in sweat. He was lying on his side, breathing heavily with his eyes closed. His hair was matted to his forehead, and he let out occasional whimpers of discomfort, as if every movement or touch was painful for him.

Even though I couldn't forgive him for what he made me go through. But I wasn't cruel enough to leave him in a vulnerable situation like this. "Hey... Do you think you should go to the hospital?" I uttered softly as I kneeled down in front of his bed.

He didn't respond immediately. Instead, he shook his head weakly. "N-No.... I'm fine..." he managed to croak out, his voice hoarse and strained. But his attempt to act like he was fine was clearly not working because he looked completely exhausted.

I rolled my eyes at his stubbornness. Typical of him to act tough when he was clearly unwell. "Yeah, sure. You're just fine," I retorted sarcastically. "Let me check your temperature, at least." I said before placing my palm on his forehead.

He flinched the minute my hand touched his forehead, but he didn't really have any strength to resist it. "Oh God... it got worse,"

He pushed my hand away and groaned in annoyance. "I am fine... j-just leave me alone." He muttered in a low, pitiful whining sound.

I felt really bad for him. He looked really weak and tired. "Um... wait for a minute, I'll go grab some stuff real quick." I uttered as I stood up, wincing slightly as I put weight on my injured foot.

Suddenly, I felt a really weak tug on my shirt as I was about to walk away. "You don't have to... you're hurt..." He whispered thickly with a cough.

I turned to him. "It's okay, I'll just go get some medicine. It's alright..." I whispered gently this time, I was really angry at him before. And he saw me get hurt and just turned his back on me... but I just couldn't bring myself to let him suffer alone.

He shook his head weakly. "I... don't need... you t-to take care of me..."

I raised an eyebrow at his stubborn refusal. "Oh, really? Do you have any better options?" I asked, crossing my arms. "You can hardly sit up on your own, and you can't even keep your eyes open for too long. You're in no position to be giving orders."

He let out an annoyed groan and rubbed his forehead. "I... I will figure... it out..." He muttered quietly while exhaling heavily.

I rolled my eyes at him again, "Oh, please. Figure it out? How? By passing out on the floor again? Or maybe wait until you're unconscious from a fever?" I retorted sarcastically.

His grip on my shirt weakened before his hand fell back on the bad. "I... I f-cking hate you..." He whispered with a voice barely audible.

I sighed. He was being really unreasonable right now. "Well, you hating me won't change the fact that you need help, so keep your ass on the bed while I get some medicine." I said as I walked towards the door.

He tried to protest further, "I... I don't-" But his words were cut off with a coughing fit. He let out a hoarse gasp, sounding like he was in pain. His body crumpled a bit, and his muscles trembled.

Seeing him like that, I couldn't help but soften. Even though he was being an absolute jerk right now, seeing him struggling like this tugged at my heart strings.

I went and got him some medicine from the drawers in the bathroom. And a bowl with cold water and ice in it, along with a clean cloth. I needed to try and get his fever down soon. Cause if not, then maybe he should go to the hospital.

When I returned to the room, I found him shifting restlessly on the bed. He was mumbling something under his breath, his words were barely coherent. He was probably hallucinating from the fever.

I approached the bed, slowly setting down the items on the small bedside table. Then I sat down on the edge of the bed, close to him.

"Hey," I said softly. "I brought you some medicine and a wet cloth to bring your fever down. Can you sit up for me?"

He opened his eyes and glanced at me, then placed his hand back on his eyes. "God... just leave me alone, I don't need this shit. And I already feel cold." He muttered annoyingly.

I let out a frustrated sigh. He was truly unbearable when he was sick. "Yeah, you feel cold now, but if your temperature keeps rising, you might end up in the hospital. Then you'll have a whole team of doctors taking care of you, and trust me, you wouldn't like that."

"Now sit up." I ordered firmly.

He groaned in irritation, but slowly, with considerable effort, he managed to push himself up into a sitting position. His head must have been pounding with pain cause he winced as he moved. He leaned his head back on the headboard while breathing heavily. "So f-cking annoying..." He mumbled.

I ignored his complaints, knowing that he was just a stubborn idiot. I grabbed the thermometer from the table and stuck it into his mouth, causing him to grimace. I waited a few moments for it to take his temperature.

With a beep, the digital thermometer displayed the reading, and I frowned as I read it. "Your temperature is 40°. It’s still going up." I told him.

"Whatever... just give me the damn medicine, I swear I feel so hot and cold at the same time." He uttered quietly.

I nodded and unscrewed the cap of the medicine bottle, pouring out the required dosage into the small measuring cup. "Here, take these. It will help reduce your fever." I said, handing him the medicine with the cup.

He took it from me and downed the liquid in one gulp, grimacing from the taste. Then he slouched back on the bed, seeming to be drained of all energy.

I picked up the cloth and damped it into the icy water. "Huh? Hell, nah, that's so cold. How many f-cking times do I have to tell you that I am already feeling  cold." He said as he backed away in the bed.

I let out a long sigh of frustration. "Zaid! Are you a f-cking baby? You know it's for your own good." I grabbed his arm and pulled him closer a bit.  It was easy because he was really weak to protest anyway.

"No, wait-"

He let out a small moan when I placed the cold cloth on his forehead. His body seemed to shiver from the contact. "F-ck!" He mumbled, closing his eyes tightly.

"Stop complaining," I retorted. "This will help bring your fever down. Just hold still for a minute."

"I hate you more now..." He muttered annoyingly. I just ignored him and kept doing what I had to do.

_________

After almost half an hour of me trying to get his temperature down, it was finally a bit better. It was now 38°. He was very exhausted, and he finally drifted into peaceful sleep.

As he slept, he looked almost gentle. His features were relaxed, and the constant agitation and annoyance were nowhere to be seen. His chest rose and fell with every deep breath, and there was a sense of calmness surrounding him.

I let out a soft sigh, sitting on the edge of the bed, looking down at him. My thoughts were tangled, and I couldn't deny that he kind of looked cute like this. But I quickly shook off the thought. This was the guy who hurt me. I shouldn't be thinking about him like this.

Finally, I decided that everything was under control for now. I quietly got up from the bed, making sure not to wake him up. I picked up the cloth from the bedside table and slowly walked out of the room, quietly closing the door behind me.

Thoughts? Do you think this chapter was cute?