The Way They Loved

10. Feverish Touches

Marcus pulled in front of the house, turned off the engine and contemplated for the last time if he should go in. He had already called her a few times before reaching here and she hasn't picked up. He got out of the car and walked purposefully and rang the bell and waited. No response. He rang the bell again and knocked as well. Again, no response. Frustrated, he pressed the bell for long and waiting. This time he heard a man's voice shouting from far," Wait. Coming." Marcus tensed at the thought that infact, she was not busy somewhere but was inside with another man. He decided he should leave since she was probably fine.

Before he could leave, the door opened to reveal a man dressed casually with his hair messy. The man looked at Marcus with an annoyed expression and said," What happened? Couldn't you have waited a minute? What do you want?" Marcus gave him a cold reply," Nothing. I was just checking on her. But seems like she is fine, with you. I should get going." The man said," Oh no, she is not fine but she will be by the time the medications I have given her start working." This froze Marcus on spot for a second and hee confirmed his suspicion by asking," Are you a doctor? Is she sick?" The man gave him a 'duh' look and said," Yeah, she has got the seasonal flu." 

Walking past the doctor, Marcus strode over to her bedroom and entered to see her laying down, struggling to open her eyes but didn't seem to have the energy. She saw him and said weakely," Mark-"  And then her eyes closed. Marcus walked over to her and toucher her head to find it burning. He asked the doctor, impatiently," She is burning. I don't think the medicine is working. And she seems so weak. Do something." The doctor who has followed Marcus back to her room, said," It will take sometime for the medicines to work but she will get her fever back after the medicines wear off. There is not much to do than to wait and let her body heal." 

Feeling helpless and worried, Marcus walked the doctor to the door and thanked him. Then he came back to her room and brought a chair next to her bed and sat down, looking at her as she slept, curled up in a blanket, shivering slightly and moaning in pain. He sat there, looking at her in suffering, wondering what he could do other than wait for the medicines to kick in. After 15 minutes, she settled down and went into a deep slumber. He knew she probably hadn't  had dinner so he decided to cook.

After struggling for a bit, he finally managed to make a basic fresh vegetable soup for her. He brought it inside and kept it on her bedside table. Then he shook her to wake her uo to eat. She groaned and mumbled," No-" but he kept on shaking her so she finally opened her eyes and stared at him angrily woth tired eyes. He said in a gentle voice," Get up, Vera. You need to eat."  She shook her head slightly and said," No...sleepy...not hungry." Marcus said firmly," No, you need to get something in your system." Then he pulled her up gently with her hands and made her sit, leaning against the headboard. She kept her eyes closed as Marcus put the soup in front of her. Sighing when she made no move to drink it, being as stubborn as she was. He brought the spoon in front of her mouth until it touched her lips and she gave in and opened her mouth to take the soup in. And that's how she completed drinking half the bowl before she fell asleep again.

 A few hours have passed when she woke up, again as her whole body ached. She moaned in pain and opened her eyes to do something to get rid of the pain. She saw Marcus sitting there, looking at her and when he saw her awake, he asked," Are you okay. I think the fever is back. But I can't give you the medicine yet. It's not the time." She looked at him and croaked out," But it hurts everywhere." He shook his head and said," I know but I can't do anything about it, Ver. You will have to wait it out." Feeling angry, she spit out," No,  you don't. You don't know how much it hurts. You don't care for me anymore." After saying that, a few angry tears tried to escape her but she closed her eyes to stop them.

Hearing him get up, she still didn't open her eyes until she felt him sit down on the bed beside her. He said, like he was talking to a toddler," Of course I care for you, Vera, mi cariño." She felt even angered at the nickname he just called her by, after 10 years, and shoulded weakly," No no no. You don't. You said you won't even be my friend." To that, Marcus puller her up to him, pressed her front to his chest, and wrapped his arms around her. The gesture was enough for her to break into tears. And then she felt vulnerable and safe as she cried into his chest and he hugged her.

He mumbled," Don't cry, mi cariño. Please, don't." She cried some more while trying to control her tears. He continued," You know that seeing you cry always hurts me. I am sorry if I hurt you when I said you can't be your friend. But you have to understand that you and I, can never be just friends. We have too much history and feelings between us for that to happen." Both of them felt the meaning behind that sentence deep inside as they clung to each other, wishing that the separation never happened, wishing that everything was normal between them.

He finally released her when he saw that she had exhausted herself into sleep again. He thought what he would do with her. With her, he was miserable and without her, still miserable. Was there any way out? He wondered. Touching her head again, he felt her fever getting higher. He then got up and came back with a bowl full of icy water and a washcloth dipped in it. Then he put it over her head and continued that till jer fever lowered. And all that time, his heart ached full of worry, longing and pain.