The Boy Next Door

a sick day

hey guys!

thank you so, so much for 10k reads!!!! I'm freaaakkkinggg out rn!!! and i just hit 200 followers on my Instagram, @/amadingbratayleys !!!!! YAYYYYYY

so yeah, this is my first chapter of 2016 and im sorry to say it's stooopidddd nothing really happens,tbh i just kinda needed a mellow part to let things settle bc the last chapter was filled with action and all that fun stuff... so yeah, here you go xD

x -e♥︎

It's been a week and a half since the earthquake. I got an xray of my finger, and it wasn't broken. It was severely sprained. That meant I needed to wear a cast for a week. Caleb's head is better, he just needed to rest for a few days. I have a few bruises here and there, but we've mostly recovered all and all.

I became sick a couple days ago, I woke up on Monday with a fever and stuffed up nose. I also have a cough that makes my throat hurt, and even when I'm piled in blankets, I feel freezing cold. I get sick all the time, Mum and Dad have brought me to the doctor and I'm diagnosed with a cold every time. They've told me I just have a weak immune system. They don't totally know why, they guess it's because I'm too small for my age and it didn't build as fast as it should have. I was also born a little too early, and when I was little, like a few weeks old, I needed surgeries to fix some of the problems due to the premature birth. Anyway, being born too early resulted in having a weak immune system. So I'm more prone to get sick and I'm allergic to almost everything in the world. (Not really, but there is a fair length list.) I don't know where I caught this cold from, but I haven't been going to school all week. It's Wednesday, and I'm still sick. I feel like complete crap, and I feel bad because I've been sleeping alot and not responding to all Caleb's texts. He knows I'm too sick to go to school, but I haven't FaceTimed him more than twice.

I know he's my boyfriend and he loves me for me, but I don't really want him to see me like this. The only times I've FaceTimed him is late at night when all the lights were out so that he doesn't see me looking gross. My eyes are puffy, my hair's a mess, and my nose is chapped. I probably look like Rudolph meets Albert Einstein right now. I'm watching this week's Bratayley videos to see what they were up to with me homesick. I scroll through some of the comments and one catches my eye.

gymnastics0807_emma said, "Where's Ebony?" Intrigued, I scroll some more. I'm correct in guessing the fans are all panicking at my absence.

snowwhite 37 said, "Has Ebony fallen down stairs again? I hope she's okay!"

julesrules said, "did dat chick with the ugly ass short hair trip and fall again or summin?"

It makes me giggle when I read Michia Hamilton's response to julesrules, "excuse me, +julesrules her name is Ebony and her pixie cut is adorable af. Ebony slays more than you ever will. Luv u Ebony!"

I type a quick response to Michia Hamilton. "+Michia Hamilton, thanks boo, luv u tooo!" I really do love the fans so much!

Zoella said, "is Ebony alright?" Wait... Zoella?!?! Zoe Sugg just asked if I was alright? Oh my God! I type a quick response back to her. I've just begin another coughing episode when I hear footsteps heading toward my room. Probably Mum asking me if I want more soup for dinner. Why is she even asking? She knows the answer is yes, I've been living on chicken soup for the past few days. I finally stop coughing and there's a knock at the door, why's Mum knocking on the door?...

"Come i-" My voice comes out scratchy and it sounds like I'm underwater. I clear my throat and wince at the pain. "Come in," I say more clearly. The door opens slowly and Caleb steps into view. He smiles shyly, holding a steaming bowl.

"Hey," he says.

"Caleb? What are you doing here?" My voice sounds weak. I try to fix my hair as fast as I can while blushing deep red.

"I missed you," he says as he comes over to the bed.

"But I'm sick."

"I brought soup for you," he says, holding it out.

"Thanks," I say, accepting it. He sits down on the foot of the bed and smiles at me warmly, then comes closer to me and is about to run his fingers through my hair. "No Caleb! I don't want you getting sick!" I say. He does it anyway, still smiling. I begin shivering and the spoonful of soup I'm holding falls onto the mountain of blankets surrounding me.

"Eb, do you honestly think I care?" He says, smiling at me.

I shrug, "I'd feel awful if I made you sick, I say. Then try to get more soup, but I fail again due to my quivering hand. "Let me do it," says Caleb. He scoots closer to me and takes the soup and spoons some into my mouth. I hate this, I really, really hate this. I love Caleb, but there's nothing cute about this at all. "How are you doing?" He asks, as he finishes feeding the soup.

"I-" I attempt at saying, but sneeze, making the blankets on my shoulders fall. I feel exposed and helpless. Caleb grabs me a tissue and hands it to me. I smile weakly to thank him, then take a few shuddery breaths. "You don't need to be here, you know." I say quietly, looking at my lap.

"But I want to be here," he says, covering my shoulders with the blankets again.

"Caleb, my feelings won't be hurt if you leave, I hope you know that."

"And I hope you know that I want to be here, Eb." He kisses me on the cheek and I give him a look of disapproval, because I really, really don't want to get him sick. He doesn't seem to care because he comes under the blankets with me and wraps his arms around me. I give up on telling him to leave and embrace him into a hug.

"How is everyone?" I ask, yawning.

"They're all great, but we were worried about you, Eb. And did you see the messages the fans have been leaving on our videos? They think you've fallen down a staircase again." He laughs.

"I'm not that clumsy," I say smiling. I cough again and Caleb gets me a glass of water.

"You should really get some sleep, Ebony."

"I've missed you," I whisper, leaning back on my pillow.

"I've missed you so, so much," he says, stroking my hair. I fall asleep, my fingers intertwined with his, dreaming of a healthy tommorow.