The Silicon Valley Connection

28 | faith - just wing it

The only thing worse than having a cold is dealing with insufferable period cramps that even a heating pad can't help with.

I strain to grab my phone on my bedside table, wincing at the abrupt shock of pain in the lower region of my body.

AIDAN: hey! are we still on for the carnival tonight?

The light-yellow sticky note tacked onto my corkboard with "FALL CARNIVAL W/ AIDAN" catches my eye. So much for writing things down instead of trying to remember everything. I was looking forward to the plans we made to celebrate getting through Build Season. I'm the worst fake girlfriend ever.

FAITH: I wish. but unfortunately, I'm stuck in my dorm room, plagued with a cold and cramps so painful that it should be illegal.

I pull the covers to my chin and roll over, facing the wall in a fetal position, hugging myself tight. Open palms around arms, close palms around arms, open palms around arms, close palms around arms...

I stop mid-close and shove my hands under my pillow. Compulsive actions are just going to make the pain worse. I force my eyes shut and hum my favorite "calm song" until the thundering in my head subsides.

Sleep is the only thing I can rely on right now.

———

A series of knocks jolts me awake, and I glance at the clock. Has it really been an hour? "It's open!" I call in a scratchy voice. The sound of approaching footsteps gets louder as the person nears me.

I push myself up to a sitting position. "Aidan? What are you doing here?"

"Taking care of you. Duh." He sets the brown paper bag down on my side table. "First things first. What's bothering you the most?"

My uterus. "My abdomen."

"Thought so." The rustling within the bag ceases when Aidan hands me the Advil. "This should help," he suddenly pulls the ibuprofen away from my grasp, "Wait. Did you eat something recently?"

My shoulders slump and my face falters. "No..."

He groans dramatically. "Girl. You need to eat before you take this."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Wow. You're stuck in bed sick, and you still dare to be a smart-ass."

I smile and shrug nonchalantly. "It's a gift."

He rolls his eyes. "An annoying one."

I give him my most angelic smile. "But you still love me, though." My eyes widened in horror at the words that tumbled out of my mouth. Like he would ever love someone like me.

aidan

There's no one else I'd rather love than her.

"What I meant was--"

I pull her into my arms. "Don't worry. I know what you meant." I fish for my phone in my pocket. "I'll Postmates something so you can eat and relieve that pain ASAP. What're you in the mood for?"

"Um. How about Mexican food?"

"Sure. What do you want?"

"I'll just have the chipotle chicken burrito and an order of chips and guacamole, please."

I scroll through the menu on the app, adding her items to the cart. My finger lingers over the "continue" button for a split second before adding my own order of the habanero carne asada taco meal to the cart and paying for it. Oh, what the hell. I was able to handle three light meals a day for five consecutive weeks with no issues. Time to move on to heavier meals.

"Now that that's taken care of," I remove my arm from behind her to pour something from the thermos, "here's some honey ginger tea to help ease the pain for now and work on that sore throat of yours." I hand her the hot mug. "My mother made a fresh batch today."

Faith sinks more into her pillow. "Mmm. This is really good. I'm starting to feel better already."

"That's good to hear. I'll be sure to give compliments to the chef." My arm rummages around in the bag once more. "Since your physical health is improving, we're going to focus on your self-care health. I'll even join in with you for this one."

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "Self-care health?"

"Exactly." I hand her the sheet face masks. "I wasn't sure which one you would like, so I'd thought to let you choose. I'll take the remaining one." She grabs the aloe vera & vitamin E face mask. That leaves the avocado & honey one for me.

Faith giggles. "You look like a goof."

"Says you," smirking back at her.

"I--good point."

I balance my Nintendo Switch on a textbook and hand Faith a controller. "Let's see if you can maybe beat me one-on-one this time?"

She huffs with determination, and a small area of the face mask near her lips puffs up. She carefully pats it back down. "You're on."

After twenty minutes, I get a notification on my phone. "Food's here." My eyes narrow. "I'll be back. Don't go anywhere."

She holds her hands up, a bemused grin on her face. "I won't, I won't."

faith

Two minutes and three cups of ginger tea later, my door opens, and Aidan reappears with two plastic bags filled with our orders. Handing me my food and a cup of orange juice, he settles next to me on my bed, the warmth through his volleyball sweater remedying my chills. He presses play on the Netflix home screen, starting season 8 of Criminal Minds.

Maybe feeling under the weather isn't so bad after all.