The Story Of Us

Chapter 24

Emilia's POV
I crawled into his lap and curled up into a ball.

"Wait! I-I'm still coughing!"

He tilted his head up and kept coughing. When he stopped, he went back to hugging me. He started cradling my head. Maya walked away and closed the door. I cried until, I was mentally exhausted.

"Are you sure, you want to spend the night here? I-I'm still coughing a lot."

I nodded.

"I'll sleep with the mask on."

"No. D-don't do that. I'm not sure if, that's okay for you."

He took the mask off me. He put it on his side table.

"Do you need anything or do you just want to stay like this?"

"Stay like this."

The door opened and Marisol ran in with a duffel bag. She handed it to me.

"Your mommy dropped this off for you!"

I sniffled.

"Thanks."

"It feels heavy."

"Huh?"

I sat up and opened the bag. I saw clothes, my hairbrush, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, and literally anything, I'd need to spend a few days at someone's house. I saw a note.

I'm assuming you won't be home for a few days. Let me know what day, you're coming home. Everything has been hidden. I love you.
-Mom
I had a hard time sleeping. I tossed and turned while listening to Devin's coughing. I started rubbing his back.

"Did I wake you up?"

"No. I-I can't sleep. My mind is racing."

He sat up and looked at me.

"You don't have to sit up."

"I don't want to cough in your face."

"I honestly don't care."

He put a cough drop in his mouth then laid down.

"What's wrong? Why can't you sleep?"

I explained everything.

"My dad must've said something to make us seem like liars."

He pulled me closer to him. He wrapped his arms around me.

"We're not doing anything, until you sleep for at least an hour."

He wasn't kidding. We stayed in bed until, I slept. I woke up the next morning. Devin was playing a game. I groaned.

"Morning."

"H-hi."

"Did you sleep okay?"

"I-I don't know. H-how do you feel?"

"Better."

"You sound better."

I sat up.

"What are you playing? D-did you start a new one?"

"No. You want to learn to play it too so, I'm not touching it. This is just a free game, I found. I started downloading it while, you were sleeping."

"Did you get outta bed at all?"

"Yeah. I actually did. I helped my sister get ready. I'm not really coughing. I was able to eat something."

I smiled.

"G-good."

I sat up and put his arms around me. I crawled into his lap again.

"Woah! I-I'm in the middle of something!"

"I wanna watch."

I sat up and started watching him play. He put his chin on my shoulder.

"Damnit! That's the fifth time, that shithead's killed me!"

"Ow."

"Oh fuck. Sorry."

"I'll forgive you. Can I try?"

"Uhhh. I guess? Here. Give me your hands."

He put my hands on the controller. He put his hands on mine.

"Relax your hands."

"I'll drop the controller."

"No you won't. I'm holding it too. Watch my hands."

He started moving my hands while he moved his.

"Are you watching?"

"Mhm. H-how do you do this, without looking?"

"You'll start to memorize everything."