Reversal (Camren/Norminah)

Chapter 9: He Crazy

IX. 

"Your cab should be here any minute now. Go take care of her."

Arriving back at the apartment, I handed the driver a wad of bills before jumping out of the backseat and hurrying into the building. Shouldering the door to my unit open, I looked around for Dinah, seeing the girl lazed on the couch and scrolling through her phone.

"Hey. Where is she?"

"Wow. You got here fast." Dinah sat up. "She's in your bedroom. She might be sleeping though, so be careful not to make much noise."

Dropping the things in my arms down on the living room carpet, I kicked off my heels and quietly slipped down the hall into the bedroom.

Lauren was curled up in the bed, facing the wall with the covers draped over her frame. With my feet no longer in shoes, I crept silently across the room and eyed her body. Her breathing wasn't steady, in fact, her movements were so erratic that I wondered if she was having trouble breathing. There was no chance she was asleep.

"Lauren?" I sat down on the edge of the mattress, worried that the slightest touch would hurt her. "Hey, are you awake?"

She began to turn over, responding to my voice with a mumble. "Camila?" She asked, her voice terribly hoarse. "Why are you home so early?"

I ignored her question with one of my own.

"What happened? You look horrible."

"Thanks." Lauren turned over again, squeezing her eyes shut. I took the liberty of reaching over and pressing my hand against her cheek.

"Oh my god." I gasped softly. "Lauren, you're burning up."

"Thanks." Lauren said again, her voice almost nothing.

"That wasn't a compliment." I paused, biting my lip in thought. "At least not this time."

As much I had hoped she would laugh, Lauren was silent. I sighed, pulling my legs up on the bed and peeling the covers back. I saw she was in the fetal position, dressed in a heavy shirt and pair of sweatpants.

"Lauren, you've got a really bad fever right now. You're going to need to help it break, and it's not going to happen if you cover up like that."

She didn't reply, and I started to question how difficult this was going to be.

"Lauren?" I asked again. "You're going to need to take off some of these clothes."

"Mmfine." Lauren mumbled, grasping blindly for the covers and pulling them up to her chin once more. "Ijustneedtosleep."

"Not like this." I pulled the covers off again. "Come on, your body is probably just fighting off a cold or something. I can make tea, that'll help."

"Idon'twantanytea."

I placed my hand on her arm, and even through the fabric of her sweater I could feel heat. Her temperature was reaching very nerve-wracking numbers; and that I could tell without taking a single measurement.

"Lauren, this is really bad. Please at least take off this sweater. I'll bring you something to drink."

"No." Lauren reached around for the covers again, but I held them just out of her sightless reach.

"Hey." My voice turned stern. "Lauren, turn over and look at me."

She didn't move.

"Lauren." I gripped the fabric of her shirt, giving it a light pull. "Look at me babe. Please."