A boy from my past

Taylor gets sick

Joe woke up to some noise in the kitchen. He looked at the alarm clock next to his bed; it was four in the morning. He got out of bed, and walked toward the noise. Taylor was sitting in the next room with a cup of hot tea, a guitar, and a notebook. She turned around at his footsteps and smiled at him.
- And there you are. Sorry, did I wake you up?
- Not much. What are you doing up?
- I don't want to. I tried to sleep but I couldn't, so I came here.
- I see. Well, I'm already sleep deprived too, so can I keep you company?
- You can always do that.
He sat down next to her and she continued to play some kind of tune on her guitar.
- Don't you want to get dressed, Jo?
- Is there really such a need?
- Yeah, and a lot of it. I was planning on working here, but if you keep sitting there, I won't be responsible for my actions and I won't let you out of bed.
- I'm perfectly fine with that.
She rolled her eyes. And Joe did put on a T-shirt and pants. Taylor sipped more tea, looked at him, and said:
- I want to play you a song. I hope you like it.
She sat across from him and started singing, "my castle crumbled overnight" Joe listened and looked at this amazing woman who was his and whom he loved. And between the bridge and the chorus, Taylor whispered with one lip, "I love you." When Taylor finished playing she put the guitar aside a bit and looked at Joe waiting for his reaction. He said:
- It's a very beautiful song, I love it.
She snuggled up to him. He touched her skin and said:
- Taylor you're hot.
- Thank you, I know.
- No, I mean are you feeling okay? You don't have a fever?
- I have a headache, but it happens a lot. That's why I couldn't sleep.
- Okay, I'm just worried about you. Let's go to bed, it's a big day tomorrow.
-Okay, let's go.
They went to bed and Taylor fell asleep in Joe's arms. When the alarm clock rang Taylor rubbed her eyes. She felt just awful. She was very hot and her head hurt and heavy. She wanted to tell Jo, but she coughed. Joe stared at her anxiously:
- Are you all right?
Taylor shook her head negatively. She coughed again and said in a very husky voice:
- I feel just awful. My body hurts, I think I have a fever, and my throat is sore and scratchy.
-I guess you're sick, shall I call a doctor?
- Yeah... I guess you should. God, this is so bad timing, I have an interview tomorrow for the promo of the new album and I'm performing in three days.
- If you have a sore throat, you can't perform.
- but I owe it to Joe. The organizers, the people who bought the tickets. It's my own fault I'm sick.
- You had a lot of gigs on tour, maybe it's because you were too tired, your body gave you that reaction.
- Yeah, it's possible. It happens to me sometimes because I'm overworked.
-so from now on you're in bed, taking medication and not using your voice.
Taylor wanted to answer him, but he put his finger to his lips and continued:
- No Taylor. You and your voice need rest. Do you want me to make you some eggs and tea, and then we can wait for the doctor together. And then I'll go to the office.
She nodded. Joe called the doctor in, made her breakfast. She sat and watched TV or read a book or dozed off while the doctor drove. When the doctor arrived he examined her and said:
- "Yeah, Taylor. What can I say, you have laryngitis and a cold.
- What are we doing? What treatment do you prescribe? Joe asked
-If possible, you should talk less, rest more, do not breathe in any irritants (cold or hot air) down your throat. I also recommend excluding irritating types of food (spicy, hot), tobacco and alcohol.
She will also need to take these pills twice a day. Additionally, let Taylor take a multivitamin complex.
Plenty of warm drink is mandatory, it brings relief to the sore throat. Also, do not forget about regular cleaning of the room, airing and humidifying the air. That is all I can recommend to you.
- Okay, thank you very much doctor.
The doctor left and Joe went to the pharmacy to buy the pills he prescribed.
-Thank you, Joe, but you have to go to work. I'll be fine. It's okay, you can go.
- Taylor, you can't strain your vocal cords and talk! So please don't do that. I'm going to go to the office now, I'll be back tonight, if you want me to buy you something text me.
She nodded, and Joe got dressed and walked over to tell her goodbye. He sat down on the bed and kissed her. She kissed him back and pushed him down on the bed a little.
- I'd love to spend the day with you without getting out of bed, but I have to go. Love you, bye.
Taylor waved to him and he left.
Taylor had a good day. As good as it could be with laryngitis. She watched Friends, drank hot tea, and texted with friends and Joe. When Joe returned in the evening, he brought her some cupcakes from her favorite bakery. Thanks to the pills, her throat wasn't as sore anymore, and she even talked to Joe a little, even though he was adamantly against it. He was so sweet when he looked after her, he didn't try to decide things for her or be her prince, but he was always the stability in her life that she could always count on. The next day Taylor didn't feel much better, but at least her fever was down, and after taking her pain medication and consulting with the doctor, she went to her interview. She spoke for about forty minutes, though the doctor allowed a maximum of thirty, but she couldn't keep quiet when the fans approached her. On the way home she felt sick again, and she was very nervous about the performance Because if she felt so sick after forty minutes of talking, then what to say about the performance of the songs. Would she have to cancel the performances? Taylor really didn't want to let people down. By the evening she was running a fever again and sleeping very badly. Joe stayed up with her, making her tea, taking her temperature. By five o'clock in the morning Taylor was exhausted and her fever had gone down so she and Joe fell asleep right away. They woke up in time for dinner, but Taylor was feeling much better. Joe had a black eye from sleep deprivation. Taylor joked:
- I wish you hadn't fallen asleep for other reasons than because you've been nursing me like a baby all night.
- It's all part of life. And I'm begging you not talk to me, or when you wake me up at night again with the message that you have a fever, I'll strangle you with this pillow.
- Well, I'm sorry, but I love you.
- and I love you. And that doesn't change the fact that you shouldn't talk. Joe's efforts paid off and Taylor arrived at the performance. Upon hearing her voice, the man in charge of her performance asked:
- Taylor, you have such a voice... Let's just put you on a phonogram
- Yeah, I'll do an interview with my sick voice and magically sing like a healthy one. How do you figure that?
- Look, people will understand. Everyone can see that you're sick. They'll be happy to see you live anyway.
- No, they're not. I may sound worse, but it'll be live.
They looked at her skeptically, but they agreed. After she performed and talked to the press for a while, she left. In the car where Joe was waiting for her, he kissed her and said:
- I'm proud of you. Half those big singers, they used a phonogram because they were lazy, and you with laryngitis sang live. And it sounded great.
-thank you, Joe. Was that really good?
- It was great.
When they pulled up to Taylor's house, they were in for a nasty surprise. There were paparazzi, fans, and random passersby waiting for them. Joe took Taylor's hand and looked at her
- Wow, what a crowd.
- Yeah, just hold my hand and ignore their yelling.
- Let's try to get this done as fast as we can, okay?
- Yeah.
They got out of the car and went inside as fast as they could under the flashes of the cameras. As the door closed behind them, Taylor stared at Joe:
- Is everything okay?
- Yeah, don't worry. Come on, don't forget you're still sick and you're still on bed rest.
She laughed and followed him.