Depths of a River

Chapter 16- Get Together

She shivered a couple of times under the blanket.

I called Galilani and the office to let them know that I won't come in this morning.
"I will take you to the doctor, when they open..." I said before Cleone interrupted me.

"No! I'm fine, it's just the flu. I just need to rest." She quickly said.

I noticed little sores around her mouth. Her lips where cracked and in really bad shape.

"I will make you soup, so you can get better." I said to her before I stood up and walked to the kitchen.

While the kettle boiled, I looked over to Cleone, lying on the couch. She didn't seem like she knew I was watching her. She took out her arms from the under the blanket and repeatedly scratched them before hiding them under the blanket again. The kettle switched off and I poured water onto the soup mix I already threw in a cup. I brought her the soup.

"You have to sit up and eat this. You will feel better." I said holding the cup out to her.

"I feel nauseous. I can't eat now. I don't want to eat." She said under her breath, not opening her eyes.

"How did you get here, by the way?" I asked her.

"Friends dropped me off." She said. "Friends that I don't know of?" I asked her.

She didn't answer me. She just lied there with her eyes closed, breathing heavily. I helped her sit upright and gave her the soup. She ate a few spoons full of soup before she jumped up and ran to the kitchen. She made it just in time to the sink before she threw up. I noticed that her skin was bleaker than before and her eyes were watery and red. She fell asleep not long after throwing up.
I decided to go to work while she was sleeping. I would be back by lunchtime to check on her again.

I couldn't concentrate on work and sat at my desk mostly staring at the wall. Jason walked in and pulled me back from my thoughts.

"Earth to Addie." Jason said making a weird face.

"Sorry I was just thinking." I said.

"That's obvious. What are you thinking about?" Jason asked me.

"It's Cleone. She came by my house this morning out of nowhere. She looked really bad and bleak. She had sores on her face and threw up before I came here." I said with concern in my voice.

"Adelynn, you should keep an eye on her. Why don't you go home and take the day off?" Jason said softly.

"I really want to finish my work. I haven't had much time lately to get everything done." I said to him.
"So what will be happening tonight then?" He asked because we decided earlier the week that he will come over to my place to hang out.

"She would probably sleep over tonight, but you can come over if you want to. I'll get Galilani to come over also." I said to Jason with a crooked smile.

"You would? I mean... I would love that." He said something lighting up in his eyes he tried to hide.

"You can catch a ride with me." I said to him.

He smiled at me before leaving my office. Cleone was still sleeping on the couch at lunch time.

I drove back to work and couldn't get my head to designing again. I scrolled around on Instagram to get my mind off of Cleone. Jason waited for me outside the door and we walked towards the car together.

As I drove off, Jason asked me: "Is Galilani coming?" I completely forgot to ask her.

"I forgot about it, I will call her as soon as we get to my house." I reassured him.

I unlocked the door and went inside to find an empty couch. I checked the other rooms of the apartment. Cleone was gone.

"She's not here, I have to find out where she is." I said to Jason as I walked down the stairs.

I dialled her number.

"Hello?" She answered after it had rung a few times.

"Cleo, where are you?" I asked her.

"I'm back at campus. I'm feeling a lot better thank you Addie, I left through the back door." She replied me, sounding fine.

"You know you are welcome anytime." I said to her in a caring voice.

"Thanks, Addie." She said before we said goodbye and hung up.

"She said she feels better. I guess it wasn't the flu." I said to Jason looking at my phone.

"I don't know, Addie. You don't get healthy so fast from the flu, doesn't matter what you do, and what was the cause if it wasn't the flu?" he said pulling up his shoulders.

He had a point, but I promised myself I wasn't going to interfere in her life because she had enough on her plate. I called Galilani.

"Hey!" She answered the phone after it rang twice.

"Do you want to come over? Jason and I are here, we might drink a little wine." I said.

"Oh, I can't. Clay and I are sorting out his house. It's a mess. I promised him we would do it tonight. I'm sorry." She explained.

"That's fine. We understand. Have fun and we'll see tomorrow." I said and saw Jason's face fell.

"She can't make it, but I'll get us some wine then we can talk." I said while walking to the fridge.

Jason sat at the kitchen counter and didn't say anything. We drank our first glass in silent.

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