Minutes went by with no response, then I picked up on the distant thump of shoes on the stairs.
My stomach dropped.
And he’d calledmestubborn?
I frantically considered my options, but even if I hurried to my apartment now before he got back, I’d still been here for hours, touching surfaces and coughing.
It was too late anyway.
The locked turned, and I froze. When the door opened, I fell back against the armrest, defeated.
“You’re going to die,” I said. “You’re already dead. We both are.”
Still wearing his mask, Theo dropped his keys in a dish on the console and grabbed the sanitiser, applying it liberally to his hands. “Well, at least we’re going down together.”
It had to be false bravado. We all knew the seriousness of Ultimus. There was no way anyone could be this cavalier with their health.
I searched what I could see of his face for clues, but he looked resolute, like a soldier performing his duty—and I wasn’t his to worry about.
“Why would youdothis?” My voice cracked, and tears threatened to fall.
Strangely, his gaze swept over the ceiling and every corner of the room as he approached the couch. “I’m not leaving you here to deal with this alone,” he said, staying an arm’s length back from my virus-riddled body. The harsh scent of citrus lingered between us, and his gaze roamed over me, his eyes softening. “You look like shit, by the way.”
I shoved my hair out of my eyes. “Thanks for noticing.”
“You need some ibuprofen,” he said. “You should take off your jumper, too. Your fever’s going to get worse.”
He’d lost his mind. That was the only explanation. “You’re playing with your own life, and it’s like you don’t even care.”
“I’m here because Idocare. Why are you acting like you’re not worth the risk?”
“Because I’m not—not this kind of risk. It’s a death sentence.” I closed my eyes, wishing he’d leave, but I had a suspicion he’d already spent too much time with me. If anyone in the building was going to end up sick right alongside me, it was Theo. “Everything hurts,” I said. “My bones, my muscles. I’ve never had an illness kick in this quickly. It’s even faster than they said, like it’s changing again.” I peeked through half open lids. “You know what that probably means.”
“No one in this room’s dying. I’m not letting it happen.”
I sighed. Like he had a choice. “You can’t touch me—and you shouldn’t be near me.”
“I’ve already been near you.” He watched me carefully as if searching for signs to keep his hopes up. “And people are still surviving, even now.”
“Let’s be real. Last we heard, it was ten out of every hundred. It could be even less now.”
He didn’t want to acknowledge that little tidbit. “Any blood after you’ve coughed?”
“No.”
“How’s your breathing?”
We’d all been hounded by public service announcements for so long, the details were imprinted on our brains. Fever, shortness of breath—and I’d seen firsthand how it ended with Brynn and the blood. “It’s getting worse. My chest feels tight,” I said. “Are Tim and Varesh okay?”
Theo nodded, his eyes filled with concern. “So far, so good. We drove back with the windows down and the air-con blasting.”
Maybe Theo would be one of the immune we’d heard about when scientists first overwhelmed us with information.Even if I didn’t make it, I could die knowing he and Ava would be okay.
“I need to tell the others,” I said, “so they stay away.”
“It’s taken care of. Why don’t you concentrate on fighting the virus, and I’ll worry about the rest?” Theo hesitated for a split second as if he had to rally for the next part, then he stepped closer and dragged the blanket down to my legs. “Let’s get this off you.” He eased me into a sitting position and kept his movements impersonal, lifting my jumper gently over my head.
An hour ago, he’d cradled my face and touched my skin with his bare hands. Now, he had to psyche himself up to be near me.
