Cottage on the Hill (MxMxMxMxM)

Chapter Fifteen

6:13am, Saturday October 24th

I jerked, blinking. Why is my head full of water? The noise of an alarm going off is making me nauseous – or more nauseous than I already feel. What the fuck? I recalled the previous night and sighed, rubbing my eyes. Everything hurts.

"Good morning, Sweetheart," Casper said softly. I felt him pull the fluffy blanket up around my shoulders and kiss my forehead. "You've still got a fever," he said, sighing.

I hummed. My nose is completely full. I tried to take a deep breath but my lungs refused to fill properly and pain blossomed across my chest. Casper slid out of bed and grabbed some clothes from the drawer. I watched him go into the bathroom and turn the shower on, then he closed the door.

The pain continued to grow the longer I lay awake. I should go for a run, that'll help, I thought to myself. I sighed and got up, dropping the blanket onto the floor and stumbling to the chest of drawers. Once I'd changed into shorts and a t-shirt my chest had tightened so much that I needed a rest.

I stopped halfway down the stairs, shivering and gripping the banister like my life depended on it. No one has turned the heating on yet. I coughed and spluttered, gasping. Why isn't the oxygen coming in?

I heaved and shut my eyes. I can do this. It's just running. I tried to push myself up again but my legs were shaking too much. My chest heaved and I coughed again, the room started to spin. My head is going to explode.

"El?" I heard Casper voice at the top of the stairs and tried to turn around and look at him, but I couldn't focus on anything and I swayed forwards. "What are you doing?" he asked, now in front of me. I felt his hands on my shoulders and mumbled something that I know was incoherent.

"Wanna... wanna run..." I tried to speak again.

"Baby, the only thing you're running is a fever. Come on, I'll get you set up on the couch, how does that sound?" he asked.

I nodded numbly and let him pull me to my feet and half-carry me downstairs and into the living room. I let myself fall onto the couch, curling in a ball and shivering. I watched him get me a fluffy blanket from the hall cupboard, then start the fire, setting the metal fence thing that I've forgotten the name for around it.

"I'm going to run up and get some pillows and tell James where you are. He's got to get up soon anyway, but for the love of god, do not go for a run." He folded his arms.

I hummed again and tucked my face into the blanket. He switched on the lamp in the corner of the room and went into the kitchen. That's not upstairs. I heard the kettle start to heat up and the buzz of the microwave, then pounding footsteps on the stairs behind me. I fucking hate being sick.

I tried to take a deep breath, but the air around me is thick and hard to get down. Footsteps on the stairs made me jerk and peek out from under the blanket. Casper dropped four pillows onto the coffee table and turned to face me. "Just going to move you a bit. Don't look at me like that, you have the flu." He sighed and set the pillows around me so there was no possible way I could fall off the couch, then sat back and watched me. I looked up at him and blinked.

"Thank you," I croaked. He stroked a hand over my head and jolted as I started coughing again, this time into the blanket. My body jerked with every cough. "Sorry," I whispered after I'd finished hacking up my lungs.

"Don't be sorry. James said he'd be down soon to sit with you for a bit." Casper leant down and kissed my forehead before going back into the kitchen. I heard the faint noise of the microwave beeping, then something warm slide under my blanket with me.