Heart of Stone

No Hospital

When Eloise got home with Luna, she felt like she didn't even have the energy to make it through the front door, but she forced herself out of the car and into her apartment. She closed and locked the door behind her, dropping her things on the floor, then went to the kitchen for more Tylenol. She swallowed down two with a glass of water and headed straight for her bedroom. Her body was begging her to stop and lay down, and she was happy to oblige it.

The only thing she carried with her was her cell phone, and Luna padded silently behind her. She stripped off her stiff denim pants and slipped into a pair of soft white drawstring shorts. She closed the door behind her and fell into her bed, curling under the blankets. She checked her phone and saw a text from Alexander. They had exchanged a couple of messages today already.

"Are you alright?"

She opened the text and wrote out a quick reply.

"Not really. Left the shop early and came home."

She locked her phone and placed it beside her, closing her eyes and hoping she could fall into sleep to escape the pounding in her head and the aching in her body.

Eloise woke to the sound of her doorbell ringing, the sharp bell slicing through the fog of her mind like a knife through cake. At first, she was unsure what the sound was, but Luna growled softly beside her, and it rang again, seeming louder this time. Luna jumped off the bed and gave a bark at the bedroom door.

Eloise groaned, feeling like she was suffocating under her white blanket. She swallowed and tears pricked the corners of her eyes. It felt like she was swallowing broken glass. She had hoped she'd go to sleep and wake up feeling better, but instead she felt worse. She pushed herself up into a sitting position with arms that felt weak and her head pounding. Throwing the blankets off of her, she immediately shivered as her hot skin was met with the cooler air of her bedroom.

She picked up her phone and looked at the screen, wondering what time it was. It read 8:32 and she had a few text messages from Alexander and Juliana, and one missed call from him as well. From what she could discern with her quick glance, he was the one ringing her doorbell. She swiped up on her phone screen as she forced herself out of bed.

"I'm coming." She answered simply.

Luna licked her leg as she made her way to the bedroom door and opened it. She walked slowly down the hallway, her floors almost painfully cold against her bare feet. It felt like it took her an eternity to make it to her front door. She unlocked it with trembling and clumsy fingers, pulling it open. Alexander was indeed there on her doorstep.

A look of surprise crossed his face, followed swiftly by concern. Her hair fell in messy waves around her face that was flushed, her lips a brighter red than usual, with dark circles under her tired brown eyes. Her white V-neck stuck to her in places, slightly damp with sweat, but she had goosebumps all over her exposed skin. She looked hunched in on herself, almost as if her body were too heavy for her to hold up.

"LouLou." He said her name in alarm, stepping inside and closing the door behind him.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, her words a bit garbled as it hurt to speak.

"You didn't answer me, and I was worried. I see I had a right to be." He said, slipping an arm around her.

Her body was surprisingly hot, he could feel it even through his clothes. He reached up and pressed a hand against her forehead. The heat coming off of her made his own hand feel cold and worry consumed him.

"LouLou, you're burning." He said.

"I just want to go back to bed." She mumbled, leaning against him.