Ashley~
RING! RING! RING!
"What is it?" I said into the phone. It had woken me up from my sleep after a long day, and I don't take kindly to these sorts of circumstances.
"Ashweeeeeeey?" Sarah Beth groaned.
"Whaaaaaaaaat?" I groaned back.
"I'm siiiiiiiick. I think I have a fever. Come over here and take my temperature..."
"Oh, oh God. I should have known you were sick after earlier today. I'll be there. Bye."
"Bye."
---
"Hey there, Sugar." Madge said as I walked past her. "Okay! Ignore me, just calm down."
"Sorry. Gotta get to Sarah Beth!" I ran up the steps.
"Keep your pants on 'til you get there, okay?!"
I unlocked her door and came in to find her on the couch. I went Immediately to her and placed my lips on her forehead.
"Hi, Ash, I- Are you sucking my forehead?"
I moved away from her. "It's more accurate than the hand. You're on fire, but I need a thermometer for an exact number. You need to go to the doctor, actually-"
"No! Last time, I got stabbed."
"But Sarah Beth-"
"No."
"Fine. I'll do it. You need some NyQuil, I need a thermometer..."
"And some Powerade."
"What?"
"Powerade is good."
"Just... give me a minute." I got out my phone and called Jeff. "Hello? Jeff, what are you doing?"
"Jessica, why?"
"Well, I need you to do a few things for me."
"I'm doing some favors? What do I get in return?"
"I don't know. A free coffee?"
"Sounds fair. Just tell me what you need and I'll-"
"Jeffy, who's that on the phone with you?" A woman with a velvety voice chimed in from the background. I knew right away that it was Jeff's current girlfriend.
"My bandmate. I have to run an errand for him. I'll see you later, okay? There's a life on the line here."
"Oh? Is it a heart atack?"
"Yes. Specific, too. She probably burst an aorta."
"Which one?"
"The left one."
"Oh my. Don't worry! Jeff's an amazing cardiologist!"
"Yes, we all know that, Jessica. What do you need again?"
"Some NyQuil, a thermometer, some extra changes of clothes-"
"And Powerade." Sarah Beth groaned again.
"And Powerade." I sighed.
"You got it. Bye, Ash."
"See you."
---
The knocks on the door signaled Jeff's arrival. I opened the door to find him wearing a white coat over a black undershirt with a red and blue pair of shorts that nearly reached the top of his skinny thighs. He wore a black hat over his head.
"How are you not frozen? How are you not shot?" I said.
"Eh, I'm used to wearing these."
"Whoa." Sarah Beth said in the background. "That is hot."
"She's delirious." I said. She was referring to the shorts.
"She seems fine to me." Jeff laughed.
"I wonder what Rufus would look like in those."
"Very delirious." I added. "You have it?"
Jeff handed me the NyQuil, the thermometer, some of my my clothes, and a pack of Powerade, save for one that Jeff had kept for himself.
"Thank you, Jeff."
"No problem, Ashley. Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a lady at the front desk who seems to be a fan of my hot shorts. Madge something."
"Don't make me visualize that." I joked as I shut the door.
I went to Sarah Beth's side and gave her the NyQuil and took her temperature. Her temperature was 102, so it was obvious NyQuil wasn't going to be enough.
"Do you have any Tylenol?"
"What?"
"Oh yeah, witch. Er, well, I'll have to get that when I can. I don't think Jeff has his phone in those shorts." I soaked a rag in cold water and placed it on her head. We waited there for a while.
"Ashley?"
"Yes?"
"Sing to me."
"What?"
"Sing to me... a song..."
"I, er... Looking out for love in the night so still, oh I'll build you a kingdom in that house on the hill, looking out for love! Big, big love!"
"Okay, erm, that's okay." Sarah Beth stopped me. "Cuddle with me instead."
"Seriously?" I said.
"Yes. And put in 'Cats' so we can watch it."
The night went on with us watching "Cats" until I grew a bit sick of it. She would go to sleep right in the middle of it, yet wake up whenever it ended or I tried to stop it. Finally, she woke up and looked straight at me with beaming eyes.
"I have to go to work."
"What?"
"Right now." I looked at the clock. It was 7:20 AM.
"You can't."
"But Mr. Dinkleberry will cut my pay!"
"I'll go for you! I'll have the others check on you today."
"You would really do that, Ashley? For me?"
"Yes." I got up and slipped on some new clothes. "And I'll get that Tylenol. Don't try to go out, okay? I love you."
"I love you, too, Ashley." Sarah Beth said as she dropped her face into her pillow.
