Wonderland

❄B30❄ Not Too Long

Chapter Thirty

Brayden's POV

Not Too Long

 

"I'm so sorry, Brayden," Berkeley sobbed, through the phone. "I was acting like a bitch that day. Please forgive me; I can't go on like this."

"Calm down, Berkeley," I mollified. "I forgive you."

"I promise I won't do anything like that anymore. That was wrong of me."

"It's fine, but you need to know that I'm in a relationship with you and only you. I wouldn't cheat on you," I said. "It'd be nice if I could get some trust."

"I know, and I feel damn terrible for even thinking you would. I do trust you."

"Let's not think about this anymore, okay? How's Thanksgiving?"

"It was fun," she said, perking up. She launched into a conversation about what she did today. We talked for almost an hour before agreeing it was time to hang up. I sat in my room for a moment after that, trying to remember the thing I was doing before I got Berkeley's call. My eyes widened when I realized what it was.

Shit. Heather.

I had told her I'd be back soon, but it's been an hour. Fuck. I always do this. Every time I converse with someone, I end up forgetting what I had been doing previously.

I ran downstairs as quickly as I could, needing to make sure that Heather wasn't still outside waiting for me.

She wasn't.

I found her in the living room instead, resting her head against the sofa. Esmond was there beside her, and I saw that he had a thermometer in his hand. My grandmother was there, too.

Worried, I rushed over to them. They looked up when they saw me. "What's wrong?" I said, my heart pounding rapidly in my chest.

"She has a fever," Esmond replied. "It's best if you stay back."

"How long have you been outside, Heather?" I said, turning my gaze to her.

"Not too long," she murmured, meekly.

"She threw up twice a few minutes after coming back," Esmond said. He turned to Heather again. "Are you only feeling nauseous? Nothing else is bothering you?"

"No," Heather said, avoiding his scrutinizing gaze.

"She's caught a cold, then," my grandmother responded, stroking Heather's forehead soothingly.

"Grandma, you can't technically catch a cold from being out in freezing weather. That's a myth!"

"Then explain to me why you kept getting sick every time you disobeyed me and ran outside without a coat on in cold weather."

Esmond rolled his eyes. "First of all, I was a kid. Second, there must've been some kind of virus floating in the air, or dry air. The cold weather literally doesn't do anything. I've been in med-school since I was nineteen!"

I could tell our grandmother was still skeptical. She ignored Esmond's remarks and focused her attention on Heather instead. "Do you want some chicken soup, dear?" she asked, softly.

Heather shook her head.

"Is our aunt going to stay for the night?" I asked. I could hear the rest of my family members socializing in the den. I think Susanna and our cousins were in her bedroom, because while passing by her bedroom to get to the stairs, I heard laughter.