As I Fell ✓

Chapter 27

Owen

I slept after Athena left. Then once I woke up, I stayed in bed, thinking.

Somehow, I couldn't get the image of her gone from my mind. I couldn't get Athena out of my mind.

Athena was a lot of things, but I didn't expect us to be more similar than I thought. I do have to admit, I have forgotten a few things she just said earlier because I was too tired to even comprehend words due to my annoying fever, but when Athena told me what happened to her, I understood her in some way.

Unusually, I didn't delve deeper into it. Instead, I just thought of how she is now.

Athena was optimistic. She's determined, strong, and tries her hardest to see the good side of things. Not to mention, she seemed a bit different to me today. Her hair glinted like honey, her smile was radiant as ever, and her—

Holy shit. What the hell am I even thinking?

This fever really did make me worse.

For the rest of the day, I stayed in bed because I still wasn't feeling much better than before. I was in and out of consciousness, so one could imagine my surprise when a soft hand grazed my forehead.

I initially thought of someone I had been thinking about all day, but after I rubbed my eyes open, I frowned.

"Hey, mate. Are you feeling alright? Has it gone down yet, my sweet, innocent, little brother?" One of my older brothers asked cheekily.

If I felt better, I could've punched him in the face. Jace's face was very punchable. Ask his twin, even.

"Shut up. Leave me alone and take your soft, sweaty palms away from me." I told him as I now hauled myself up to sit. I winced as I sat. My headache was slowly coming back and I felt my head throb from it. And I was dizzy. I knew I should've sat up slower.

"So you do think I have soft hands. I'm flattered, really." He said as he put up both hands in front of his face, admiring them like an absolute idiot.

As a middle child, technically, I wasn't usually everyone's main priority in the family. My older twin brothers were athletes and our relatives back in London admire them extensively. On the other hand, my younger sister was chronically ill, so everyone has to keep tabs on her. I sometimes get attention when it involves my disability, but that's just it. For all I know, our parents are not even aware I have a fever. They just think I've been asleep this whole time.

So maybe I do have to admire one of my brother's initiative to check on me, though this one was extremely obnoxious.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him after I had coughed into my sleeve. Jace just shrugged and gave me a sly grin.

"Dad brought home pizza. I was thinking either I break the news and tell them their youngest son is down with an incredibly high fever that even I can detect, or you go out into the world, pretend to be fine as you grab a slice of pizza, and pass out. The choice is yours." He told me.

I grunted.

"Thanks, but I'm not hungry. I ate some butter cookies earlier. I didn't even know we had them." I said as I grabbed my bottle of water and drank a few sips. My throat felt dry.

After I returned my bottle to my nightstand, Jace had his brows furrowed and had a confused look painted all over his face.

"Those were mine. Cassidy made them and I hid a stash high up on Mum's top shelf. How the hell did you get those?"

Before I could even answer, Jace's expression quickly escalated to excitement. His green eyes were wide and he had to stop himself from screaming by covering his mouth with both hands.