Speak Now

Chapter 14

Luke was recording in the studio. He was pretty excited about tonight. Just him and Caroline. What more could a guy ask for? He had promised Caroline a few nights prior that he would take her on a date. Tonight would be that night, but to where? What could they do? Something stupid. Something cheesy. The movie theatre? Seems simple enough. He knew Caroline had been looking forward to seeing a new movie. But what was it called? Why couldn't he remember.

Kerri walked through the door and into the sound both, clapping her hands together. "Luke, you don't seem focused." Luke looked down, his hands clammy. All of sudden, he felt nervous and dizzy. He had to sit down and drink something cool. "Luke, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just fine," Luke mumbled.

Kerri felt his forehead and shook her head. He was warm, really warm. He most likely caught something. "Luke, you're running a fever."

"No! I can't be! I'm taking Caroline out tonight!" Luke shouted, trying to get up, but collapsing on himself. "Okay, maybe I am a little sick."

Kerri felt bad for him. "Look, I'll call Caroline to get her to take you home. In the meantime, you need to relax and get a nap in. You're physically drained. You must of caught that flu Carter had last week. You will be okay."

"But what about Farm Tour? It's coming up and I don't-"

"Forget about it. Luke, you need to focus on getting better. Okay?"

"Okay, fine. Call Caroline, I want to go home," Luke gave in.

Kerri smiled and helped Luke to the couch before pulling out her cell phone and dialing up Caroline's number. When Caroline answered, she seemed worried. "Caroline, you okay?"

"No, I've been worried about Luke all day. He was coughing up a storm all night and had insisted he was okay. I'm just so worried. I don't think he can make it through the rest of the day."

"I'm calling you to see if you can pick up Luke. I've noticed he's been running a fever and he feels pretty bad at the moment."

"Yeah, I can come get him. As long as he doesn't complain when I try to take care of him, like he's bound to. I'll come right now.

"Okay, hurry here. Luke's been feeling pretty drained right now. He's currently-" Kerri cut herself off when she realized Luke wasn't in the room. Great. "Not here. Luke's not here!"

"What?! I have to find him!" Caroline hung up the phone and ran to the door, but to her surprise, Luke was pulling in. She had been so scared that he had wondered off somewhere. "Luke!"

He slowly climbed out and collapsed on the ground. "Caroline, I feel dizzy and weak."

"Don't worry, baby. You're okay. You will be just fine," Caroline soothed him, helping him up on her shoulder. "Here, I'll help you to the house."

They slowly made their way into Luke's home. After they reached the couch, Luke let go of Caroline and fell onto the couch. Caroline knelt down to his level and rubbed his knee. Luke laid his head back, waiting for the spinning to stop. Almost instantly, Luke stood up and ran straight to the washroom. He vomited the contents of his stomach into the bowl. Caroline followed, knocking on the door.

"Caroline, I don't feel so good," Luke mumbled out loud.

Caroline opened the door slowly, revealing a sick looking Luke. He was laying with his back against the floor. Tears seemed to fall from his eyes. He just looked so weak. This couldn't be good. "I'm not so sure if this is just a flu anymore," Caroline said as she bent down. "Honey, I think you've been oversleeping. It's unhealthy."