Blessing in Disguise

Chapter 26: The little bunny grew up

Turning his head on the side, James felt his cheeks heat up, yet he refused to let go of Nyx's hand. His fingers were ice cold against Nyx's warm wrist. This only made Nyx frown. Before James could get the chance to say something, Nyx took his hand into hers and touched his forehead again.

"Lie down. I will go take a cold compress for you, okay?"

Feeling the moment slip through his fingers, James panicked and took hold of her hand again. Putting up with the heat of his face, which he wasn't sure if it was because of the blush or the fever, he looked at Nyx in the eyes.

"I don't remember anything about the past... about us..." James started.

Nyx's face paled, but her expression didn't change, hiding her emotions again as fear made her swallow hard. She tried to hide it. But James still noticed it.

"I don't remember any of the feelings we once had, and I don't think I will ever remember them."

Nyx touched with the tip of her tongue the piercing on her lip as she tried to calm down her thumping heart. It's okay. It's okay as long as he doesn't hate me. It's fine. It will be okay...

The hand holding her wrist slowly slid down to her palm and interlocked their fingers. The light touch like a feather caressing her hand tickled Nyx's heart. Her amber eyes fell on the hands before looking up to meet James's eyes. There was confusion in her eyes and a spark of hope that didn't dare to be too apparent lest it died before it could shine brightly.

With the heat reaching the tips of his fingers, James put on a shy smile. "But I like you now... I was angry when I found out the truth, I even hated you a bit, but I still like you. And I feel like I will like you more in the future. So..."

Hearing James opening his heart to her, not hiding anything, with nothing but shyness and sincerity in his eyes, Nyx felt like she was dreaming. The cold hand against her warm one was the only thing that told her this was indeed happening.

"... so please don't leave."

James couldn't take it anymore. After saying that last sentence, he turned his head to the side again. His eyes fell on the interlocked hands, but the sight of it only made him blush even more, so he struggled to look somewhere else.

"Mhmm." Nyx nodded. Her voice was soft, barely a whisper, strained with emotions. "I won't leave."

Maybe because after a long sleepless night and a long tiring day, James could finally relax, his body finally collapsed. Or maybe his fever got worse. It could be either of them, but one thing was for sure. After confessing to the woman he liked, James felt like shit. His head was pounding, his throat felt like he had swallowed thorns, and his whole body ached as he shivered.

Nyx took him to his apartment so he could take a cold shower before changing into clean clothes and lying down in his bed. Covering his shivering body with the quilt, she sat by his side and spread the cold compress over his forehead. Without needing James to tell her, she spread it down to his eyes, knowing he didn't feel comfortable there. Her lips curved the slightest bit when she heard his sigh when the cold compress touched his eyelids.

"How did you get sick?" She asked him softly.

James was already half-asleep when Nyx asked him that. It took him a while to understand what she just said to him. Grunting, he tried to answer her. "I sat on the floor... all night..." Nyx frowned when she heard him. "...I think the window of the living room was open too..."

"Fool."

James was shivering for most of the night. Every few hours he would wake up, slightly open his eyes and every single time this happened, he saw Nyx sitting by his side, changing the cold compress every now and then. He wasn't sure if he had dreamt this or not. That was until he woke up in the morning and saw her still by his side.