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“Sarah, it’s me,” I whisper. She moves ever so slightly and her eyes land on me for a moment then close again. I have to take matters into my own hands. I get up from the floor and walk around the apartment until I find the bathroom. Looking behind the mirror, I find some over the counter meds that should help bring her fever down if I can get her to take them.
Grabbing those, I head to the kitchen for a bottle of water. I kick off my shoes at the door when I pass by. I have a feeling I will be here for a while. It’s a good thing I went by the house and let Harley out before coming here.
I grab the water from the fridge and walk back to the living room. “Sarah, I have some meds for you to take. You need to wake up and get these in your system.” She groans and tries to bring the blankets back up her body, but I hold them steady.
“I’m freezing. I need the blankets, please,” she silently sobs. I know she must feel awful.
“Here. Sit up and take these and then I’ll make you a bath,” I coax but she doesn’t open her eyes back up. There is only one thing left to do. I need to get her into a lukewarm bath to bring her body temperature down. Hopefully that will wake her up enough to take the meds.
I start the bath and put the stopper in. Making sure it’s at the perfect temperature, I set off to get Sarah. Pickingher up from the couch, she hardly moves. She feels too hot in my arms. I set her on the counter in the bathroom, leaning her body against me. I can’t worry about preserving her privacy right now. She can yell at me all she wants when she’s better.
I unbutton her top and thankfully she has a tank top underneath it. Throwing the discarded shirt to the floor, I contemplate how I’m going to get her out of her pants. I don’t want to get all her clothes wet. I pick her back up and shimmy the pants down her legs. I try not to ogle her beautiful body but fuck, I’m a man.
The tub is filled enough that I slowly lower Sarah into the water. It sends a shock through her body, and she screams and tries to fight me.
“Listen to me, you have a high fever that we need to get down. You need to get in this tub for a little while. I won’t leave you, I promise,” I murmur in her ear. She nods her head and clings to me as I lower her completely into the tub.
“Th-th-this i-is co-co-cold,” she stutters and sobs.
“I know, kitten. It’s just for a little bit.” Sarah pulls her legs up to her chest and lays her head down on them. I take this opportunity to find a towel. Once I get back, I scoop water into my hands and pour it down her back. I check my watch and know that it’s been enough time. Too long in here and she could get a chill which would make matter worse.
“I’m getting you out now.” She nods as I pull her to a standing position, she leans all her weight into me. I wrap her in the towel then pick her up, cradling her in my arms. I remember which room is hers from when she stormedaway from me the first day I was here. I lay her on the bed while I look for clothes. Once I find everything I need, I come back to her. She bundled up on her side with her eyes closed.
“I need to get these dry clothes on you, Sarah,” I say in a demanding voice.
She squints up at me, like she is seeing me for the first time since I’ve been here. She nods. “Okay,” she whispers.
“I’ve got to get the wet clothes off of you first. Lift up.” She lifts her arms into the air, and I pull the soaking shirt from her body. I don’t know what I was expecting but she is the most extraordinary creature I have ever laid eyes on. She is absolutely breathtaking. Throwing the wet shirt to the floor, I slide on a long-sleeved shirt I found. Now is the real testament of my will, to get these dry panties on her. I gently lay her back on the bed, sliding the towel away. I pull the wet panties from her body and replace them quickly, I also add the plaid pajamas pants I found in the drawer.
Picking her back up, I pull the covers back and set her down in the bed. “Can you take some medicine for me? It will help with your fever.” She nods as I collect the wet clothes in my hands. I get the water and meds from the living room and bring them back to her. I shake out a couple tablets and put them in Sarah’s hand, giving her the bottle of water as well.
“Drink as much water as you can. I’m sure you’re dehydrated.” She drinks some then hands me back the water and I screw the cap back on, placing it on her side table. Going back to the bathroom, I get a cool wet rag for her head. As I pass by the thermostat, I turn the heat downsome. She doesn’t need it this hot in here.
I lay the cloth over her forehead, she snuggles into her blankets and goes right to sleep. I check her temperature again and sigh in relief when I see that it’s come down to a manageable degree. I press a kiss to her cheek and turn to leave.
“Please don’t leave me. I don’t want to be alone right now,” she mumbles.
“Okay, let me go get a pillow from the couch so I can lay on the floor.” I go to turn around but she stops me.
“No! Please just lay with me, Travis.” She opens her eyes a little to make sure I’m doing what she asked. I go to the other side of the bed and slide in behind her. Her vanilla scent envelopes me as I place my head on the pillow. “Thank you for taking care of me,” she mutters before I hear soft snores coming from her.
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I text the kid that lives next door to me. I ask him to go get Harley and take care of her for the night. He helps me out from time to time if I have to go out of town and she can’t come with me. Billy is a good kid and Harley loves him.
I set my alarm to wake up in a few hours to give Sarah more medicine and then I drift off to sleep.
Chapter 6
8 days til Christmas…
Sarah
“Wake up. You need to take some more meds.” I hear Travis’ voice, but that can’t be right. I crack open my eyes and there he is standing in my room. I must be losing my mind. Slowly, memories filter in from last night. I felt so terrible, and he stayed and took care of me. Then I asked him to stay in my bed with me. I put my hand over my face. I’m so embarrassed.
“Don’t do that. Here take these,” he says as he drops the pills into my hand. I drink the rest of the water because my throat feels like the Sahara Desert. “Good girl. Let me go get you some more water.” Travis walks out of the room, I check the time. It’s the middle of the night and I still feel like crap. I barely remember yesterday but I know I woke up and couldn’t go to work.
Travis walks back in with a Gatorade that I had in the fridge. “Here. This will help hydrate you better. You need to get some more sleep if you can.” He hands me the bottle and I drink several large gulps. “Now that you are more coherent, do you want me to sleep in the living room?” he asks. I stare at him for a moment, I truly don’t want to be alone. I feel comforted when he’s next to me for some reason. I always hate being sick and alone.
“Actually, can you just stay in here in case I need something. I really don’t want to be alone. Is that alright?” I inquire as I scrunch the sheets with my hands. I feel nervous that he’ll say no. Idon’t want to make him uncomfortable by sleeping in a bed with almost a complete stranger.
