For a moment, I lay there, hoping the grogginess would dissipate, but it only deepened, draping itself over my limbs like a wet blanket. The ache behind my eyes pulsed in time with my heartbeat, and my breath tasted stale, tinged with the tang of having slept badly despite having slept long. I tried to stretch, to summon some sense of normalcy, but my muscles protested—stiff, as if I’d run miles in my dreams. Or maybe it was the way I’d chased Phoenix through the snow and trudged around in it wearing my pajama pants and a t-shirt under my jacket.
The air in the room was cool, but no longer biting, and yet I shivered. I remembered the wind from the night before, the endless shuddering cold. Now, even bundled in layers and tucked beneath the covers, it felt as though I’d lost something essential in the night—a piece of myself that would only return with time and maybe some cold medicine.
I listened for voices—the comfort of someone else awake, bustling, moving through the house—but all I heard was the distant groan of pipes and the soft creak of the floorboards settling. My head spun a little as I sat up, and I pressed my fingers to my temples. Yep. This sucked.
I didn’t feel well, not in any dramatic, feverish way—more like I’d been chilled and my body decided to remind me of its limits. I pulled my knees to my chest and rested my chin there, uncertain whether I wanted to move at all. Even the thought of standing sent a wave of nausea through me, and I resolved to stay put, at least for now.
It was late—later than I’d meant to sleep. Where were the guys? What had I missed? A faint, sour taste lingered at the back of my throat. I tried to conjure the memory of laughter, of voices in the next room, but the house seemed emptied of them, as if I’d been left behind, a castaway. No. That wasn’t true. They hadn’t done that. This was just me not feeling well and letting those intrusive thoughts I always had into my consciousness.
I just didn’t feel well. Not at all.
I closed my eyes for a moment, listening to the silence, letting myself be tired. I really had no choice.
The door opened and Jeremy stood in the entrance. He frowned at me as he entered. “Hey, I was just coming to check on you.”
I lifted my head. “I didn’t hear anyone. I thought maybe I was alone.”
“Barrett took Phoenix to look at the shed. Now that the snow stopped. Are you okay? You don’t look well.”
I shook my head. “I think I am a little bit sick. Not the flu but like I am being punished for being stupid last night.”
He sat down, drawing me to him into a big hug. I groaned. “No, you’re going to get sick.”
“If I’m going to catch it, I already have. We were snuggled all night.” He kissed my forehead. “You do feel warm. Hold on.” He rose. “I am going to take your temperature.” Jeremy frowned. I rubbed at my eyes. I needed to focus. It was like one thing was happening after another and I couldn’t really focus on any of it. “I don’t know where the thermometer is here. I know where it is in the big house. Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
I hated thinking of him venturing out into the cold. “Jer, you don’t have to…”
He shook his head. “Yes I do. Julian,” he shouted while he left the room. “Alatheia is sick. Come sit with her. I’m going to get the thermometer.”
Julian appeared a second later, concern evident all over his handsome features. “You’re sick?”
“I guess I’m not tough enough for running around in blizzards.”
He groaned, sitting down where Jer had been before. He rubbed my back. “I am so sorry. We’ll call Eric. He’ll tell us what to do. If we need to find a doctor, we’ll go do that.”
I hoped I didn’t need to go to a doctor, although I had health insurance thanks to Kit putting me on the family’s plan since I worked for his mother. Unless that changed because she was gone? I chewed on my lip. “I probably just need some rest.” A thought dawned on me. Barrett had taken Phoenix to look at the shed. “What was Phoenix on last night?”
Jules shook his head. “Would you believe he took a sleeping pill? One he found in the cupboard. Just an over the counter sleeping pill. We now know Phoenix can’t take sleeping pills. And he is horrified and embarrassed. Jer read him the riot act, and Phoenix called Sam. I think that’s all the information I have to fill you in on.”
A sleeping pill? “Why did he do that?”
“Said he just wanted to pass out. Just not to think last night.” Julian kissed my cheek. “Feels like what went on between us was a week ago and not yesterday.”
He was right about that. “I loved it.”
“So much.” He kissed the end of my nose. “I love you.”
Jeremy ran into the room, carrying a thermometer. “Got it. Let’s see how sick you are.”
He rubbed it over my forehead, and it beeped. I felt like the last time I had my temperature taken it was with an ear thermometer. Then again I couldn’t remember doing that at the hospital.
Jer stared at the readout. “Yep. Just over 101. You’re sick.”
This sucked.
20
Jeremy called Eric and returned with instructions to give me fluids and medicine as needed. Now, I was watching television—not a show I recognized though. But I was thinking about thePoor Relationand when I reached over to grab my laptop to work on it, Julian nodded before he did the same with his computer. I didn’t know what he was working on, but I was glad he was writing.
