He roamed the halls, heading to her favorite place. Entering the music room, he found the handsome instructor sitting at the piano. It was evident he was engrossed in what he was doing. His eyes closed as his long digits danced across the keys.
Henry hated to be the one to break the spell, but he needed to get home. "Mr. Nelson..." His eyes shot towards Henry. "I just came to get whatever Jamie needed for the rest of the week."
"Rest of the week?"
"Yeah," Henry began to explain. "She's pretty sick. Her aunt has her quarantined. Ain't nobody trying to catch whatever she got."
"Well, she doesn't need anything from me," he revealed. "She has the material for the piece we're working on. She'll be good."
"Alright, cool," Henry turned, preparing to leave when something hit him. He peered back to the instructor, giving him the once over. "You know Mr. Nelson, you really are a daddy."
Mr. Nelson's eyes widened. "W-wha--"
Henry spun on his heels, cutting him off. "Byeeeeeeeeee."
Jamie curled up in the bed with a box of Kleenex at her side. An endless amount of soiled Kleenex filled the waste basket next to the bed. And a fan was cranked to the highest speed above her to keep her cool as her body dripped of sweat.
"You have to sweat it out--" is what her aunt told her before leaving her in the torrid apartment, covered from head to toe. "It'll knock it out faster."
She slowly climbed out of the bed, looking for the bottle of ibuprofen. The constant sneezing had begun to cause an unbearable headache.
With the blanket wrapped around her, she traveled to the kitchen for a glass of water when the buzzer went off.
"Who is it?" She croaked through the intercom.
"Me."
She groaned as she pressed the buzzer and unlocked the door. With it propped open, she leaned again the doorframe.
"Oh, so I can't come in," he asked, approaching the door. Getting a good look at her, his demeanor changed. "Oooh, you look like shit."
"Well, thank you," she sighed. "Did you get my assignments?"
"Yup," he dug through his bag removing the papers. "I swear that calculus instructor is a bitch."
"I told you that. Thought I was bullshitting," she groaned, taking the workload. "She gave you a shit ton of stuff didn't she?"
Henry nodded, "You know it."
"Fuuuuck me," she rolled her eyes, skimming through the pages.
"Everyone else was pretty light," he informed. "Oh, and Nelson said you have the piece--"
"Yeah, we've been working on it for a little while now. He doesn't really do the assignment thing." Thinking of him, made her heart flutter. "Umm, how did he look today? What was he wearing today?"
Henry crackled at her goofy smile. "Nope, nope. I will not entertain you by describing him. I had one job and one job only. Get your shit for this week. Nothing else. And on that note, I'm out this bitch."
Henry strut away with sass as he held up a peace sign.
She rolled her eyes. "I love you too," her voice cracking as she screamed down the hall. Rubbing her throat she mumbled. "Note to self, don't do that again."
After doping herself up on all the medicine she could find to knock the cold, she curled back in bed. When her head hit the pillow the dreaded sound of her cellphone pierced her ears.
She grabbed the device, certain it was her aunt calling for the umpteenth time to check on her. "I'm okay, auntie..."
"Come again? You don't sound fine."
"P?"
"Yeah," he bellowed. "You didn't look at the caller ID before you answered did you?" Her silence was all he needed as an answer. "I just wanted to check on you," he continued. "How are you feeling?"
"Like shit..."
His throaty chuckle flowed through her ears. "It's that bad?"
"Yeah."
Listening to her raspy voice, pained him. "Maybe this is an appropriate time to just text. The one time you're actually willing to talk on the phone and it sounds like it's hard to speak. Figures."
"It's ok--"
"You need some tea. Do you have any? I can bring some. I'll bring some."
She found herself smiling at the abrupt offer. "Okay."
He stood nervously at the back door of the triplex, checking his surroundings as he waited. He knew he was risking so much by being here in broad daylight. "C'mon, Jamie," he mumbled cradling the bag full of tea and canned soup.
The mahogany door swung open revealing a bundled up Jamie. The sight made him howl in laughter. "Are you really wearing a hat indoors?"
"Trying to sweat it out. Come in..." she stepped to the side allowing him into the foyer of the building. "Follow me," she instructed after she shut the door.
He grabbed her arm, stopping her. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"Why's that?"
"For one, I'm not a 17 year old boy sneaking into his girlfriend's house," he shook his head. "I've never done that and I'm not about to start in my 40s. I want no part in that dynamic mama."
"Well, I don't want you to leave yet," she mumbled. "Say, can I come with you? My aunt is working a double." He prepared to decline, when she continued. "My cousin is being watched by my neighbor since I'm not feeling too hot. So I'm solo until tomorrow and I kind of don't wanna be."
Laying in bed, his scent filled her nostrils. She'd never get over the intoxicating aroma that managed to linger everywhere he went.
"Did the tea or soup help?" His voice was soft as he spoke into her ear. They'd been speaking for a few hours. He was sure she'd doze off at any minute.
"The tea did," she whispered, her voice a bit clearer than before. "Thanks for bringing it by."
"It's no problem."
"You should have let me come with." She closed her eyes listening to his rhythmic breathing as she sniffed his blazer. She found comfort in the article of clothing after he'd left her hanging.
"And let you bring your germs over here and get me sick?" He shot back. "That's a no go, Jamie. I'm sure you knew that too."
"I did," she chuckled. "I still thought I should try."
And there it goes, that comfortable silence.
"It was worth it though," she spoke, breaking it. "I had a good time this past weekend. I just need to stop running outside with wet hair. It's not summer anymore."
"Ha," he chuckled. "It definitely isn't, mama."
"Yea..." her voice faded.
"You're falling asleep..."
She mumbled a barely audible yeah.
"I'll take talk to you later, okay?" He waited patiently for a response. "Okay?" Again, he was met with silence. "Goodnight, Jamie."
