I Can't Live Without You (Ignazio Boschetto)

Part 6

*Tania's POV*

I woke up feeling nauseous like I wanna throw up. The antacid I took this morning didn't do its job, or it was because my stomach acid level was fine? I look around, looking for a glass of water I put somewhere last night but I cannot find it.

Looking down, I see Ignazio sleeping on the floor with only a sheet of a blanket, without any pillows. I feel so bad seeing him like this. He should've slept in his warm and comfortable bed if only I wasn't sick. I cried, but no tears were coming from my eyes.

I feel the urge to throw up, so I tried to get on my feet and somehow managed to drag myself to the bathroom. I tried to be as quiet as possible so I wouldn't wake Ignazio, but I failed. I can feel his hand touching my back and rubbing it while I threw up. When I'm done, he helps me back to my bed and sits with me.

"Thank you," I tell him softly. He nodded his head and smile.

"No need to." he kissed my cheek. "Tania, you're burning up," he said re-checking my forehead with the back of his hand. "Do you have a thermometer?"

I told him where I put the thermometer and after a couple of minutes searching, he came back with it and a glass of water. "Here, you need to drink as much water as you can," he said holding the glass for me.

"How many times have you threw up since last night?" he asked before putting the thermometer in my mouth

"I'm not sure, 6, 7 times." he shook his head again. This time I can see fears. He was trying to hide it, but I know. "I'm fine," I added, trying to make things better.

"It's 103," he said reading the thermometer he picked up from my mouth. "And you've been throwing up, God knows how many times since last night." he paused, looking confused. "I'm afraid you might already dehydrated right now. You need a doctor. I'm going to call Piero and asked him to drive us to the hospital." he said quickly picking up his phone and push a speed dial number.

"Igna, please put it down," I begged him. "I'll drink as many fluids as I can, just don't take me to the hospital."

He was hesitated at first but then agree to put his phone down. He gave me some conditions that I have to follow and it includes listening to whatever he said without arguing. He knows how I can be very stubborn sometimes.

"We're going to the hospital if the fever gets to 104." He said firmly and I nodded my agreement.

He got out of my room after covering me in a blanket and left me to sleep. But as much as I wanted to go back to sleep, I can't. I'm in pain. My stomach is giving me a lot of trouble. From my room, I can hear Ignazio talk to someone in Italian. I supposed he was on a phone call. I wonder to whom he was talking because he talked slower than usual. The phone call lasts about 15 minutes before he says goodbye.

"Oh. Sorry, I woke you up." He said after saw me awake in the bed.

"You didn't. I haven't slept yet." I smile and signal him to come closer. "To whom you were talking to?"

"That was my mamma. I was asking a couple of things about fever and upset stomach," he explained. "I need to know what to do If I want to help, right?" he added looking into my eyes.

I look at the clock and stare at his eyes in disbelieve, "Igna, it's like umm.. 2 in the morning in Italy? Your mom must be asleep."

"It's 3." he corrected. "And yes, she was asleep. But she was glad I called. She misses me already." I can see a smile on his face. "She was shocked when I asked about fever and upset stomach, she thought it was me. But then I tell her everything, she hopes you'll get better soon."

*Ignazio's POV*

Tania was already falling asleep when I sang the last note of L'Immensita, just like she asked me. She said about how my voice helps to calm her down and I'm glad about it. I watched her sleep for some minutes. Her face was pale and there were also some tears in the corner of her eyes. I feel very bad seeing her like this and not be able to help.

Mamma told me to keep her hydrated. Dehydration is the main concern right now as it might lead to another problem. For the fever, she told me not to give her ibuprofen because it would worsen the upset stomach. "If you must, give her some paracetamol." that was she said.

I left her room quietly not to wake her up again. I sat in the living room couch in silence and realized how tired I was as the jetlag started to kick in. I'm also hungry because the last meal I have was 5 hours ago, on the plane. I went to the kitchen and found some leftover pizza in the fridge. It doesn't look good so I throw it away. I help myself and made a sandwich with some ingredients from Tania's fridge.

I went back to her room and found her still fast asleep. I checked again her temperature and it was still around 103 F. There was nothing else I could do other than putting a damp washcloth over her forehead and hope for the fever to go down.

As much as I tried to stay awake, my body keeps telling me to rest and I couldn't resist anymore. After making sure the door was locked, I crashed to the blanket on the floor and fell asleep instantly.