Sorry, I’m late. I missed you so much.
–K
When the teacher turned away to write something on the board, Magdalena allowed her note to fall over her shoulder onto my desk.
I thought I would have to spend the day and weekend without you. Three days! It was going to be a very sad dark day, Killian. You scared me. –M
I’m sorry. I woke up late, somehow missed my alarm clock and all. You smell like true love.
–K
Glad you’re not sick and that you could make it. The sun’s much brighter now, did you see?
–M
It was only then, when Magdalena forgave me for being late, that all the pain and nausea and dizziness rolled back into me like a wave and almost knocked me out. My whole body was covered in a thin layer of sweat. I lowered my head to my arms flat on the desk. How had I never noticed how stout our chairs were? Jesus... everything hurt.
I felt the big hands, turn my naked cold body over. “I finally get to have you, my little prince,” whispered a man. His breath swept across the lining of my ear.
“Killian? Have you taken out your notebook?” Madame Dubois’ voice startled me awake and I’d never been so gratefulto be woken as in that second. She glared at me and only relaxed once she saw me unzip my backpack.
For the rest of the day, I was drained of energy, with a little bit of an underlying headache and nausea. Every time I tried to take a deep breath, my chest hurt, but I dismissed it as just needing more rest. I couldn’t wait for recess to relax, maybe drink a lot of water. The worst part was the soreness down there.
“Killian?” Magdalena’s voice was coming from so far away, soft and breathy. Her palm caressed the side of my face. Slowly, I came back to the land of living and found her face above mine, with branches full of magnolias behind her and a clear sky much further up. A smile pulled at one side of my mouth at the vista of her. What a sight to wake to. How many times had I dreamed of spending all night and day with her, having a slumber party, the two of us together, knowing all that was impossible? This was the closest I’d get to waking next to her.
“Angel…” I whispered and smiled.
“Are you feeling better?” she asked.
God, she’d already figured me out. I had hoped I’d been a good enough actor to fool her into thinking I was just fine. “I feel great now, waking to your lovely eyes and hair…” I raised my hand, cupping her cheek. She couldn’t help but smile. “You’re so beautiful. For a few seconds, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.”
“Stop. You’re going to make me blush again.”
I smiled because it was too late, her cheeks were on fire. “More perfection in such a perfect creature.”
“Come on, Shakespeare, the bells are about to ring, and you’ve eaten nothing at all.”
“Ughh.” I grimaced. “I don’t want to eat anything.”
“Killian…” she whined, with worry wrinkling between her eyebrows. “What is going on with you? You have to eat something. Come on…”
“Alright, Angel. You found me out, okay? I think I’m getting sick. I’m super thirsty though.”
“Well, here. Drink from my water bottle.”
“No.” I gently pushed her bottle away as I sat up. “I don’t want to give you whatever I caught.”
“Just drink it. I’ll buy another one if I get thirsty later.”
I arched my neck, gulping down the water until there was none left.
“You… better?” she asked.
“Yeah.” I lied. Now my belly felt like a fish tank, too full. The steadiness of the world was off, as if I were on a carnival ride that was about to go upside down. I placed the bottle on the grass next to me, grabbed her shoulders, and pulled her to lay on the ground with me, where I felt physically safer. She shrieked and giggled, and I wrapped my arm around her so she would rest her cheek on my chest, loving the weight of her on me, steadying the world for me.
God, this day sucks.“I’m in love with you.” The words made her giggle because I spilled them to her on the daily.
“Everyone is in love with me,” she joked, and shrugged, forcing my mouth to widen into the biggest smile, on the verge of laughing.
