The Cure || Adrian Kempe

Nineteen

Sabina's POV- July 2018

"Afternoon"

I stopped on my tracks and smiled at Mario, Adrian's older brother as he made his way over. His very pregnant girlfriend, Sanna was slowly following him

"Hello," I greeted both of them

"How are you feeling?"

"The doctor said I would have shown signs of a cold by now if I was sick" I answered.

Before I could fully react, Mario stepped forward and gave me a squeeze. When he let go, Sanna immediately hugged me, her pregnant belly slightly pressing up against me as she did so.

"And where are you getting back from?"

"I went to the grocery store" I answered.

"Walking?"

"Yes," I replied.

"You could have used Adrian's car"

I did not have an international license, so that was not an option.

"I don't mind the walk," I told them.

The grocery store was a couple of streets down, like a 10-minute walk.

"What'd you bring?"

"Ingredients to make soup" I responded.

He took the two grocery bags I was carrying.

"Are you making it by scratch?"

"Yes," I confirmed.

He smiled.

"Well thank you for taking care of my idiot brother"

Technically, he was correct. Adrian was an idiot for getting sick at this time of the year. How was I not sick yet? I kept my contact with Adrian at a bare minimum and he absolutely hated it. There was a spare bedroom at his place, and I had slept there until last night when his doctor stated he was no longer contagious.

"You can come over, I disinfected the whole apartment last night" I stated.

It smelled lemony fresh in there at the moment.

"There's enough soup for all of us" I added.

Mario smiled.

"I'm actually taking this one out for dinner tonight, but thank you for the invite"

"I'll tell him you both said hi," I told them.

"Let me help you with those bags"

It's not like I could say no, he was holding them. 

"Thank you," I said to him as I unlocked the door to Adrian's Stockholm apartment. 

"You were not kidding when you said you disinfected the place"

I was not.

"So where is Adrian?"

Seeing as my phone had not rung, I would assume he was still asleep.

"He was napping when I left" I replied.

That was when I noticed that the grilled cheese I had left for him on the counter was no longer there.

"Well when you see him, let him know that he's got a dentist appointment next Tuesday" 

"What does he have to get done?" I wondered.

"I think it's a root canal? He had his wisdom teeth removed last offseason"

Fun.

"I'll let you go wake him"

"Thanks for helping me with the bags," I said.

"Of course

He closed the door on his way out. Adrian had done what I had left on the note meaning there was a pot on the stove. I grabbed the cutting board and chopped up onion, carrots, celery, bell pepper and tomato. After that, I turned on the heat and added a bit of oil into the pot. There was no need for a whole chicken since it was just Adrian and me, so I got two chicken breasts. The butcher was kind enough to cut them up in four for me, so I tossed them in the pot to saute with some onion. Then I added some water and waited for it to boil.

While I waited, I grabbed the skillet Adrian had left out and put a bit of oil on the pan. With the heat up, I added some tomato, and onion to saute. After that, I opened the bag of frozen veggies and poured it in the skillet. I then added the rice to saute with it all, and finally added water to simmer. 

"There you are"

Adrian ran the towel he was holding through his damp hair as he walked over.

"Where were you?"

"I went to the grocery store" I answered.

"Walking?"

"Yes," I replied.

He peeked over my shoulder and sniffed.

"It smells good, what are you making?"

Glad he could smell.

"Chicken and rice soup" I responded.

He slowly nodded.

"I'm starving"

Turns out Adrian does not eat when he doesn't feel good. He was finally getting back his appetite, and well I had brought fruits and vegetables for him to munch on.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Better"

His cheeks finally had some color.

"Maybe we can go exploring tomorrow?"

"That sounds like a plan," I said.

He smiled.

"You seem to know the area already already"

"It was that or starve" I noted as he reached for an apple.

"Sorry about that"

He took a bite of the apple.

"Mario wanted me to remind you about your dentist appointment" I brought up.

He scrunched up his nose.

"Fuck I forgot about that"

He sighed and looked at me.

"This isn't the trip you signed up for"

I shrugged.

"You know I don't mind taking care of you," I told him.

He smiled.

"I'm very needy when I'm in pain"

"More than you have been the last few days?" I wondered.

He laughed.

"Far more"

"Well you're not contagious, so I don't mind you being needy," I said.

He hummed.

"You say that now"

"Why do you need to go to the dentist?" I asked.

"I had a cavity, fingers cross I won't need a root canal"

Those were painful.

"Full disclosure, I say a lot of nonsense when I'm high on meds"

"You're one of those," I said.

His cheeks flushed as he nodded.

"You'll be fine, I'll take care of you" I assured him.

Adrian was extremely clingy when he was sick, so I could only imagine how he was going to act while medicated.