When Love Bites (published)

Chapter-9

I woke up feeling like death was roaming around me. The minute I opened my eyes, nausea overwhelmed me. I sat up, forehead beaded with sweat, and untangled my legs from the covers. I sprinted to the bathroom, leaning over the toilet and coughing into the bowl, yet nothing came up.
I stood up, wiping my mouth and looking into the mirror. My hair were a mess, skin flushed and dark bags under my eyes. I looked like a walking disaster. I quickly washed my hands and headed towards the kitchen. I pulled out some plain crackers from the fridge and then opened the medicine cabinet. I picked up the thermometer and placed it under my tongue. Once it made a sound, I pulled it out and read the small numbers. 101.2, great!
I released another cough into my arm and lumbered back to my bed with the same pace as a zombie. I grabbed a blanket, some books, water and the TV remote, planting myself on the couch. I pulled out my phone to call Kriti.
"Hello" she greeted.
"Hi" I muttered, words weak.
"Karan, you don't sound good"
"I know"
"What's wrong" she asked.
"I am sick" I replied.
"Hold on" she said and the line went dead. I furrowed my brows, staring at the screen of my phone. I rolled my eyes and tossed my phone onto the other side of myself, pulling my blanket up and going through the TV channels.
I settled on The Avengers by Marvel, snuggling into the comfortable cushions.
The doorbell rang about 30 minutes later. It rang again when I didn't answer it. I grumbled to myself, pushing up off the sofa and trudging to the door, unlocking it.
"Kriti!" I exclaimed, staring at her face.
"I came to make you feel better" she said.
"I don't want you to get sick, though" I giggled.
"Don't worry, I won't kiss you or anything if that's what you were thinking about" she smirked.
I shook my head. "I am more curious as to what is in that bag" I pointed out the grocery sack she was carrying as I opened the door wider for her to step in.
She set it down on the table and pulled out a box. "I brought some ice cream for you, baby."
"You never fail to impress" I laughed.
She handed me the dark chocolate ice cream box.
"How did you know my favorite?" I asked.
"I asked Akshat" she replied as she walked into the kitchen to bring the spoons.
After the movie got concluded, I took my medicine and stood up to throw the empty ice cream boxes.
"Here" Kriti held my arm and helped me to maintain the balance. "I'll help"
I collapsed on my bed after getting rid of those empty boxes. I traced the quilt on my bed as she sat down next to me. She placed her hand against my forehead.
"You don't feel as hot" she said.
"I feel a little better" I nodded and smiled.
"I guess a dose of Kriti was just what you needed" she grinned.
"Exactly" I replied.
She smiled back, taking my hand and tracing it with her thumb. A warm feeling caressed over my skin, not the same warmness from when my fever was high but more like reassuring, relaxing, safe warmth. One that I never felt before. One that I never wanted to let go.
I thought back to the first day I met her and somehow she found a route into my life. She was a prominent piece of my life now and I couldn't imagine it without her now.
I felt so good. So light-weight, so careless, so free. As I stared into her dark brown eyes, and as my heart seemed to beat quicker, and as butterflies raced around my stomach and as the growing crazy sensation of just wanting to be in her arms engulfed me, I realized something I never would have thought I would realize that first day I glared at her. I was so in love with her that I didn't know if I will recover. She was the one that I wanted to get married to, have my children with and wake up every morning to. She was the sunshine of my days and she made me the happiest person in the world.
                                         ***
When I woke up, I felt emptiness beside me. Kriti was no longer sitting on the couch. The TV was muted, the ending credits of the movie rolling and the lights were turned off.
I groggily sat up, rubbing my eyes and looking around for any sign of her. I quietly called out her name, hoping she might still be there but he was not.
I looked down at my phone. A new message was on the screen from two hours ago, just from the person I was looking for. The message from Kriti read- Hey baby, you fell asleep so I wanted to let you rest. I let myself out after you started snoring. Give me a call later.
I set the phone on table, yawning, letting the last but of tiredness out. Standing up, I headed over to the kitchen and grabbed a packet of chips, bringing it down to my room as hunger gnawed at my stomach. I sat down at my desk, turning on my computer and stuffing a handful of chips into my mouth. I did a quick YouTube search for some web series to kill my time. I just slept and watched web series the whole day.