Clentine:
That night, when I lay down to sleep, my entire body ached.
The pain seed to co from one place, my neck. I rubbed the spot over and over, trying to soothe it, but the ache only grew worse.
It itched and burned, spreading through my body.
It was strange. I hadn’t even felt this much pain during my first transition, and those are supposed to be the worst.
Still, I stayed in bed, squirming in sweat even though the room was cold. My lips were dry, and I needed water, but I knew I was alone.
There was no one to take care of .
I shifted from side to side, realizing I probably had a high fever.
All I could think about was my mother and my little brother. If they were here, they would have cared for .
My brother would be grown by now.
"But they aren’t here and I missed them, " as soon as those words slipped from my lips, I realized the fever had gone to my head.
I was talking out loud. Then a cold hand took mine, and another touched my forehead.
For a mont, it felt comforting. But the second I rembered I had no one who would touch so gently, panic set in.
"Get away from !" I hissed, trying to pull back as I stared into the eyes of my mate. Yorick was hunched over my bed.
"Wait, Clentine, what’s wrong?" he said, grabbing my arms and guiding back down so my head rested on the pillow.
I felt miserable.
"You’re burning with fever," Yorick said, his eyes full of concern.
"Probably a fake concern," I muttered. I rembered everything, their behavior, their words. They all tried to break .
Everyone around seed to hate for reasons I couldn’t understand.
"I said, let go!" I snapped, holding back tears. Even with the fever twisting my mind, making hear voices and see shadows, I refused to fall into his arms.
I would rather die than let him fool again.
"Troy!" Yorick suddenly called. "Haiden!" he continued, making clench my jaw and frown.
I tried to free myself, but he held my wrists down beside my head, keeping pinned.
"What is going on?" Oriana’s voice cut through the air, the sa cursed, grating voice I despised.
"She has a high fever," Yorick told her.
"Are you sure she’s not acting?" Oriana asked sharply. "After what she’s done, maybe she thinks pretending to be sick will lt our hearts and make us forget she still owes an apology."
"Let go!" I cried, my voice cracking. "Go sit with her, just leave alone!" I grunted, tears burning my eyes.
She was only saying those things because he was sitting with . If he went to her, she’d stop tornting .
"What did you just say?" Yorick asked, still focused on Oriana.
Of course he was.
Her words always mattered more than my pain.
I thrashed weakly in bed, my legs trembling, but each movent made sothing in my body crack.
I bit my tongue to stop myself from screaming.
"Co here, sit with ," Oriana said softly. "My cheek hurts too. She punched . I have a reason to be sick, but she’s faking it to get your attention."
Her tone was sweet, but her intent was malicious. As soon as she sat up, I noticed how short her nightdress was.
Her chest was barely covered, and when she pressed her hands together on her knees, she pushed her breasts up even more.
"She’s not like you. She doesn’t make things up for attention," Yorick snapped.
His sudden outburst didn’t just shock her, it made fall silent.
I tilted my head back to look at Oriana and saw the sa look of surprise on her face that I must have had.
"Now stay away from her," Yorick hissed at her.
Oriana narrowed her eyes. Then she wrapped her arms around her stomach and whimpered like she was hurt, but Yorick was already turning away.
"What’s going on?" Haiden got up from his bed and walked over to . "Hey, man, what the hell? Let go of her!" He imdiately started arguing with Yorick for pinning down.
"She has a fever, and she’s trying to leave the bed," Yorick explained.
As soon as he spoke, Haiden placed his hand on my ankle and gasped.
"Her body feels like it’s on fire!"
The concern in his eyes made feel sick with sha.
"Who’s got the fever?" Troy called out as he rushed over to my bed.
He placed his hand on my forehead, checking my temperature.
"We need ice," Yorick said quickly.
Haiden and Troy hurried off in different directions, trying to find anything to help .
I was too lost and confused to say a word. None of it made sense.
Without saying anything, Oriana quietly lay back down. Every now and then, when I lifted my head, I caught her peeking from under her blanket, only one eye showing.
It looked eerie.
Still, the three of them, people who had treated like I was nothing, were suddenly running around, bringing ice and cold sponges.
Haiden even left the room to gather herbs, and when he returned, he mixed them and rubbed the paste under my feet.
Each ti I tried to sit up, they gently pushed back down. I hated to admit it, but the way they cared for made feel better.
Not ntally, but the physical pain began to fade.
It was as if they had made a silent promise not to leave my side until every trace of pain was gone.
Just monts ago, I’d thought I was about to lose my mind from the fever.
But now, I was already falling asleep, comforted by the warmth of their care.
While drifting off to sleep, I began to hear the others talking.
"I’m going to get her food first thing in the morning," Yorick said to Haiden, or maybe to soone else. I wasn’t sure.
"What about ? None of you have even looked at all night," Oriana complained in a small, whimpering voice.
"Just shut up and stay down. You really let us down tonight by acting like you don’t care about Clentine," Troy snapped.
The way he spoke to her left confused. It was one thing to be upset with soone, but to be that harsh?
It felt like sothing in them had switched off.
User Comments
0 comments from readers