Smoke and Mirrors (DE)

47. Unexpectedly

" Can you please lay down with me," Grace croaked, barely above a whisper— too weak to even speak.

" No, you need to get up. I'm not doing this shit another day Grace— get up," Joseph said sternly, standing at the foot of their king bed staring at Grace curled up in a ball hugging the fluffy white covers tightly to her body.

" Babe please, I just want to sleep. I'm tired," Grace whined, her bottom lip quivering feeling herself getting emotional as she just wanted to feel Joseph's comfort and for him to hold her while she didn't feel good.

Joseph wiped his tattooed hand down his face in a distressed manner looking at his ill fiancé. Usually men were the ones in a relationship that acted like babies when they got sick, but Grace took that cake.

" You need to go to the hospital. You haven't eaten or drank anything in days and your fever won't go away— you're pale, look at you. Grace please get the fuck up because you scarin me. What if something is really wrong with you," Joseph pleaded, urgency laced in his tone.

" I'm fine I'm just tired, I just want to sleep!" Grace protested with a whiney voice.

Joseph kissed his teeth annoyed, going to grab a pair of her slippers and one of his sweaters out of the closet, coming back into the room and yanking the covers off her curled up body.

" Joseph!" Grace yelled irritatedly. " I'm fine!"

Joseph ignored her protests, pulling her out of the bed and forcing the sweater over her frizzy head and her slippers onto her cold pale feet. She sat still allowing him to get her ready as she had no real energy to fight with him. Joseph clenched his jaw as he looked at her, pulling her hair into a bun. He'd never saw her so sick before and it was worrying him. She was only getting progressively worse as the days went by and it was getting to the point where he could no longer stand to watch, especially when she absolutely refused to eat or drink anything.

" I'm just tired," Grace re-uttered as she looked up at him from where she on the edge of the bed watching him struggle to put her long brown tresses into anything appropriate for public.

" Do you not see how worried I am about you? Why are you doing this to me?" Joseph asked, angry that she wasn't taking her own health serious at the moment. He picked up her hand holding it for her to see. " Look how pale you are, that's not normal Grace,"

She chose not to respond, letting him finish whatever he was doing to her hair. After he was done, she shakily rose from the bed slowly, her body trembling from lack of nutrients from not eating or drinking anything. Joseph watched her struggle to walk around the bed sluggishly before scooping her up himself bridal style and carrying her downstairs and out front to their black Rolls Royce. Joseph got her in the passenger seat before getting in the drivers seat and driving to the nearest emergency room.

" May I have a blanket please?" Grace asked the nurse as she took her vitals and drew blood, goosebumps forming on her pale skin though she had a hundred and one degree fever.

The nurse nodded, disappearing out of the room.

" That's how I know you don't feel good for real," Joseph said from where he sat in a chair beside her bed. " You hate needles and you acted like you didn't even feel that,"

Grace looked down sluggishly at the IV in the anticubital fossa of her right arm feeding her body a saline drip to replenish its hydration before looking back at Joseph giving him a small shrug. Joseph's intense gaze softened as he watched Grace and how lethargic she was acting.

" I'm sorry for getting angry with you earlier, you just can't do this to yourself baby. You worrying me, I ain't never saw you like this before and it's scaring me," Joseph said truthfully as he stared at her, his tone gentle. " You have to stop being so scared to go to the doctor,"