Can You Hear the Ocean?

Chapter 22

Mia stretched her arms and threw her duffel bag down on the floor as she stepped into the apartment. She'd ended up spending the night at Julian's house after he texted her last minute to ask her to stay over. Mia pulled her phone out of her pocket and glanced at it. Though she had remembered to text Leila to let her know, Leila hadn't responded.

Oh well. She was probably asleep, Mia thought. It doesn't matter much now since I'm back home.

She found it strange that the kitchen didn't smell like the eggs and bacon Leila often cooked on a Saturday morning. Usually, Leila was already awake when Mia returned from staying over at Julian's, but the apartment was eerily silent. Perhaps she'd gone out for breakfast with friends and hadn't mentioned it to Mia.

Mia poured herself a bowl of cereal and ate quietly at the kitchen table. Julian had still been sleeping when she'd left, but Mia was hungry and didn't have time to stick around until he woke up. She had been excited to tell Leila the news. She was planning to attend a drawing class at the community center later in the afternoon. It had been advertised on one of the pamphlets Leila had given her earlier in the week.

As Mia finished her bowl, she heard some meowing down the hall, followed by a faint cough.

Oh. She is home, Mia thought.

As she headed down the hall to her own room, she noticed Fuji meowing more than normal, almost as if it was his meal time and he hadn't been fed yet. The door to Leila's room was shut. Normally, Mia wouldn't bug her, but again she heard a faint cough, and in her gut, she sensed something was wrong.

"Leila?" Mia asked. No answer. She turned the doorknob slowly, watching as Fuji bolted from the bedroom into the kitchen, once again yelling for breakfast.

"Leila?" Mia said again.

Leila's room was dark. Her curtains were drawn shut, and all the lamps were off. As Mia's eyes adjusted to the darkness, she noticed Leila lying in bed, looking half-awake. Once again, Leila gave a small cough and slowly moved her head up to look at Mia.

"Morning Mia," she said quietly, sounding exhausted.

"Are you okay?" Mia asked. "Has Fuji been fed?"

Leila slowly sat up, wincing as she did so. "I'm f-fine," she said, shivering some. "Just a little tired."

Mia walked over closer to her. Leila most certainly did not look fine. She had bags under her eyes, her face was pale, and despite being covered by blankets, she was shivering slightly. Mia winced slightly as the memory of her mother in a similar state came back to her.

Mia slowly reached out her hand and pressed it lightly to Leila's forehead.

"You're burning up," Mia said.

"I'll be okay," Leila said. She turned her body and set her feet down, attempting to get out of bed. "I've got to feed Fuji."

"No," Mia said. She placed her hands on Leila's shoulders and forced her back down into bed. "You need to stay in bed. I'll take care of Fuji. Have you taken any medicine?"

Leila shook her head. From down the hall, Fuji was still screaming.

"I'll feed the cat. You stay in bed," Mia said, almost in a demanding tone.

Mia returned to the kitchen and quickly silenced Fuji with some food. Her heart rate was pounding as she headed into the bathroom to grab some ibuprofen for Leila. Rummaging through the medicine cabinet, Mia knocked over a bottle of pills and cursed to herself. When she glanced down at her hands, they were trembling.

She'll be okay, Mia told herself.

She returned to Leila's room. Leila luckily hadn't attempted to get back out of bed, but she was still sitting upright.