“No.”
“But you’ll get sick.”
“I toured in a van with four other dudes for years. I have the immune system of a street dog.”
“That’s a weird example. Are they known for having strong immune systems?” I asked.
“How about a kindergarten teacher?”
“Better than a high school band teacher, it seems.”
“Also, after yesterday”—he hesitated—“if I was going to get sick, I would know by now.”
“Ah, yes. When my face attacked yours.” I gasped. “You got me sick.” I tried to punch him, but my wrist just sort of flopped against his arm and fell into his thigh.
His muscles flexed under my hand before I pulled back.
“Nobody has been sick around me,” he said. “You’re the one constantly surrounded by germ-riddled youths.”
“Good album name,” I said, rather proud of myself for the joke, even in a time like this.
“Nice.”
I groaned. “I can’t be sick. There’s no time for this.”
“Funny how the body doesn’t care.”
It didn’t take long until the medicine reprieve faded away, and I didn’t have the energy or the will to fight the point anymore.
The thought of going back to my apartment, lacking all but condiments, to spend my final days held little appeal.
“Take me to my final resting place,” I said and closed my eyes.
“You’re not dying.”
CHAPTER 18
LEO
Once Mari accepted her fate, not one of death but of being sick, she protested minimally on the drive back to Janice’s house. A bone-deep exhaustion settled into me after the day I’d had. I couldn’t think about it, couldn’t really comprehend what had happened. The plan had been to send her regrets and get her in bed ASAP, but standing in front of the students in their little dorky band uniforms, knowing how hard they’d practiced, I couldn’t let them down.
I just sort of blacked out. I would process all that later. Now, I had to take care of Mari.
With the car in park, I turned to Mari, with her cheeks bright red and brow creased in pain even as she slept on. I went around to her side of the car, opened her door, and gently rested a hand on her shoulder. Heat radiated off her through the blanket.
“Mari? We’re home. At Janice’s, I mean.”
Her pitiful murmur made my throat constrict.
I took a rallying breath and bent to scoop her up. The angle was awkward, and my back would be angry tomorrow, but her walking was not an option. She moaned and placed her burning head against my neck as I adjusted her weight in my arms. It felt nice to carry her across the threshold of this house. It felt so nice to take care of her in general.
Janice was still at the Fall Festival, meaning I fumbled my way through the dark house alone, narrowly missing corners as I navigated to the guest room. I quickly transferred Mari from the emergency blanket she’d been wrapped in tounder the thick comforter. She sighed as she nuzzled her way deeper into the sheets.
I stood, hands on hips, to arch and stretch my back. It couldn’t have been that late, but if I laid down, I would instantly fall asleep. Instead, I went around the house, gathering any supplies Mari might need. I’d made note of the last dose of medicine she’d been given and set the alarm on my phone for when she’d need another.
I had just set down a glass of water on the nightstand, quietly in the soft glow of a single night-light, when Mari’s soft voice startled me.
“Leo?”
