He had the deadly flu that they’d come to stop from spreading. What would she do if he got sicker…or worse?
Her heart felt like it had been ripped from her chest. She glanced at Alex–so still, so fragile. The man who had always been there for her. But now…what if she couldn’t be there for him when he needed her the most?
CHAPTER 13
ALEX
Alex nestled further into the covers, but no amount of blankets could shake the deep, bone-chilling cold that gripped him. His skin was clammy, and every inch of his body ached as if he’d been hit by a truck. He suppressed the violent shudder that threatened to shake him, not wanting to alert Ava to just how bad he felt.
He tried not to shift around too much, trying to convince Ava and himself that he wasn’t as sick as he felt at this moment. It was probably just the lying around that was getting to him along with the stress.
He didn’t want to go back to that hospital. At least he had gotten out of that and managed to keep Ava at the motel with him, too.
It wasn’t much better here than it had been at the hospital, though.
The motel’s damp, musty smell seemed to cling toeverything—the walls, the sheets, even his skin. It was suffocating. Alex’s throat felt tight, like the air itself was thick with disease. In the silence between Ava’s movements, he could almost hear the town dying around them—one breath at a time. It was as if Hemlock Falls itself had become infected, and the sickness was closing in on them, relentless and inevitable.
The ache in his neck, back, and knees had increased since he had awoken. Of course, the horrible mattress didn’t help.
He fidgeted a little, shifting his gaze from the laptop, where the security cameras captured the chaos in the hospital to the screen where the ridiculous romantic comedy played out before it went to commercial. How antiquated, he thought, as he struggled to keep his eyes open.
It was a losing battle, and within minutes, the noise of the television grew further and further away until it disappeared completely.
Another noise pulled him out of his dozing, and he ignored it at first, nausea rolling over him in a wave before it started to pass. He wanted to roll over and go right back to sleep, but the sound of Ava’s voice brought him closer to reality.
“Tell me it’s good news.”
The silence that stretched after those words made him force his eyes open. He squinted against the bright light in the room, letting them slide closed again.
“So, what should I do?” Ava asked.
A wall of heat made him sweat, and he tossed back the covers with a grimace.
“Babe?” Ava asked, the phone still pressed to her ear.
“I’m just hot,” he murmured.
“He’s awake. He dozed off before,” she said into the phone. “Yeah…yeah…okay. Okay, I will. Thanks, Doc.”
Alex shifted onto his side, his cheek pressing against the hot fabric of the pillowcase.
Ava tossed the phone onto the comforter as she turned to face them, her lower lip jutting out into a pout. “So, some not great news…”
“What is it? Do I have Legionnaire’s disease from this stupid damp motel room?”
“No,” she said, reaching out to stroke his hair. He detected a barely perceptible tremor in her hand.
Were there tears forming in her eyes?
“So, Doc did the test a few times…and you have the flu.”
“What?” Alex asked, trying to prop himself up on his elbow. “That can’t be right. Call him back and tell him to do it again.”
“Babe, he did it three times,” Ava said softly, trying to mask the tremble in her voice.
“Well, then make him do it a fourth!” Alex’s voice cracked as panic surged in his chest. “I don’t care how many times he’s done it—Ican’thave this, Avs.” His stomach churned violently, his throat tightening. “I can’t—” His words caught in his throat, the reality too heavy to speak aloud.
His stomach turned over again, the breakfast sandwich Ava had brought him threatening to come back up.
