The Sullivan Sisters

Burning Bridges

Paloma's body ached terribly. Not only that but it felt as though an elephant had set up camp on her forehead. The pressure against her skull was so smoldering, so heavy, so unbelievably constricting that she wouldn't be all that surprised if her head were to spontaneously combust, painting every square inch of the bed's linens in scattered blood and chunks of her shattered skeleton.

Had the pain not been accompanied by a brutally sore throat, incredibly stuffy nose, and a cough so robust that her lungs nearly followed the mucus she'd been hacking up that afternoon, Paloma would have chalked her unwellness up to being nothing more than bothersome yet trivial sinus issues.

But her remarkably red nose and irrefutable fatigue told her otherwise. This wasn't seasonal allergies, nor a pesky summer cold...this was the flu and it wouldn't go away until it was content with the merciless wrath that it bestowed upon the brunette. Her immune system was taking a hard blow and all she could think about was how terribly betrayed she felt by her multivitamins.

She dropped her jaw in the slightest, her eyes chased Ava's neatly trimmed nails as the ginger freed her of the thermometer that probed the underside of her tongue. After reading the tool intently, the tiny crease between Ava's brow grew prominent with worry.

"Shit, it's higher than it was an hour ago."

She tsked audibly then tossed the tool on the bedside table in a less-than-gentle manner as if it were responsible for her girlfriend's sickness. Abandoning her fierce glare, Ava stroked Paloma's pale cheek, trailing her jaw using the backs of her fingers. The brunette imitated a cat by using what little strength she had to greet the tender touch.

"I can't remember," Ava started softly, "is it the flu that gets worse before it gets better?"

A smile of its most feeble form overtook Paloma's features. Her voice was scratchy, husky, and incredibly thick with exhaust when she spoke. "I didn't go to medical school but I think it's safe to say that most things get worse before they get better."

Paloma truly looked pitiful. Not so much like a child who'd lost all of their Halloween candy to a local bully but like someone whose puppy got ran over on their birthday.

Though she didn't doubt her girlfriend's ailments in the least because really, her fiery skin and sky-high temperature spoke for theirselves, more often than not, Paloma turned into the biggest baby when faced with illnesses and now was no exception. Between all the groaning and whining, Ava was on the verge of yanking out her dark-red hair by the fistfuls.

But, for the most part, she had a soft spot greater than the size of Texas for the woman, so she couldn't bring herself to stop giving into her annoying (but pretty adorable) cries of despair even if Paloma was taking advantage of her nurturing nature.

Ava made up for the brunette's piss-poor smile by gleaming sincerely. She couldn't mask her expression nor the laugh that sprung from her belly. "I know you feel like crap but your voice sounds really sexy when you're sick."

In response, Paloma stirred in the bed and assumed a feigned position of enticement. "Aww, someone knows how to make a woman feel special when she's at her lowest. But why am I just now hearing about this oh-so-great characteristic of mine?"

"The last time you were really sick was nearly three years ago." Ava crossed her arms over her chest, looked up with a fleeting grin, and let Paloma in on her reminiscent thoughts. "After weeks of pleading, I finally convinced you to hang out with me at my place after work. If it wasn't already said, you're extremely stubborn," she added, shooting an entertained Paloma a particularly pointed look.

"And it really wasn't my night because instead of informing you that I kinda-sorta may or may not have wanted to be more than just friends, you ended up—most likely due to some malevolent force that definitely had it out for me—getting sick and spilling your guts all over me. Unfortunately, I would later learn that it wouldn't be the last time I'd have the displeasure of being covered in your stomach acid."