AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She groans but reaches over and grabs her keys. She drops them into my hand, and I smile at her.
“Get some rest.”
She closes the door in my face, and I turn and jog back downstairs and over to my truck. The Wolf Valley Market isn’t far, and I head there to grab her some things. I try to think about what would make me feel better. I’ve never taken care of anyone or had anyone take care of me, so I feel woefully unprepared in this moment.
I head down the first aisle and grab Mira some medicine, shower steamers, some Vitamin C gummies, and Kleenex. I pass by the produce and decide to make her soup too. I pull up a chicken noodle soup recipe and grab everything listed under the ingredients there. Before I head to the checkout, I grab some Gatorade and juices.
I pay and load all of the bags into my truck and then make the short drive back to Mira’s apartment. She’s asleep when I carry everything inside, so I line the medicine and everything else on the counter and then I get to work making the soup.
It’s just after noon when she comes out of the bedroom, looking half asleep.
“I got you some things,” I say, nodding towards the medicine and Kleenex.
“Thanks.”
“And I made you some soup.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” she insists, and I frown at her.
“I know. I wanted to. Now sit down. You need to eat.”
She looks away from me, and I dig through her cabinets until I find her bowls and grab two. I ladle the soup into the bowls and pass her one. She hands me a spoon and we sit together on her couch, side by side, to eat.
We eat in silence, and I take Mira’s bowl when she’s done.
“Thanks again. I’m just going to go back to bed,” she tells me.
“Okay. I’ll be here.”
“You can leave,” she tries to argue, but I just shake my head.
“You should drink something. Do you need anything else?”
She heads over to the fridge and grabs a Gatorade, chugging half of it in one big gulp. She plops back down on the couch next to me and wraps herself up in the blanket that’s draped over the back of the couch.
She doesn’t say anything as she turns the TV on, leans her head back against the couch, and flips through the channels until she lands on some cooking show. She yawns, and I settle in next to her and pretend to watch the show when really I’m watching her.
We spend the rest of the day on her couch. Mira sleeps on and off. I keep passing her juice and Gatorade and set an alarm on my phone so that I can remember to give her medicine every six hours. We finish up the soup for dinner and then Mira puts a movie on and promptly falls asleep next to me.
At one point, her head falls onto my shoulder and I smile down at her sleeping form. I pull the blanket tighter around her and lie down next to her on the edge of the couch so that she can’t roll off.
Then I turn the TV off and start to drift off too. Even though I have a crick in my neck from the couch armrest and my feet are hanging off the other end of the couch, it’s still the best night’s sleep of my entire life, all because I’m sleeping next to the woman of my dreams.
THREE
Mira
I wakeup the next morning, my face smashed against Towne’s chest. His arms are locked around me, holding me in place, and I take a moment to appreciate his strong, warm body pressed up against mine.
I peek up at him and see that he’s still fast asleep, his slow, even breathing blowing the loose hair at my temples.
I hate to wake him up, but I really need to go to the bathroom. I try to wiggle out of his hold, but he only holds me tighter.
“Townes,” I whisper, squirming against him a bit.
He blinks his eyes open and smiles down at me. His smile is so bright and open that I stop moving and just stare at him.
“Morning,” he grumbles, burying his face in my neck.
