The Three Little Words I Never Thought I'd Say

Chapter 16

Anna's POV:

     I suddenly jolted up from my sleep. My whole body was sweating, but I was cold at the same time. Oh shoot, I thought, I must be getting sick. Frowning, I walked into my bathroom and looked in the mirror. I looked as pale as a ghost. I gently set the back of my hand on my forehead as I felt nauseous again. I dashed over to the toilet and vomited..again. Twice in less than twenty-four hours? I must be terribly sick. I splashed water on my face to try and cool myself down. Seeing as it wasn't helping much, I reached up on the top shelf of the cabinet and pulled down the thermometer. As I took my temperature, I thought about all the possible illnesses it could be. Just as I was thinking about stomach flu, the thermometer beeped, obnoxiously. I looked at it and it read, 102 degrees F. I couldn't help but notice the fact that I was once again shivering from coldness, even though I had a fever. I took a plastic cup from under the sink and filled it with ice cold water. After I'd gulped the whole thing down, I trudged back to my bed and flopped down on it. Pulling the warm sheets over me, I laid my head on the pillow. I wasn't tired at all, so I settled for thinking. I thought about that dream with those little girls. I couldn't help but feel like they were connected to me, somehow. It felt as thought I'd known them forever, yet I didn't know who they were or why they were at my wedding. One thing was for sure though, they must have been important enough for me to not so much as glance at my future husband.

     I woke up at three in the afternoon. Even after sleeping through most of the day, my body remained restless and shaky. My energy and strength was depleted. As soon as I sat up, my head felt dizzy and I had to lay back down. I moaned quietly. Ahh. My head.Is Killing. Me. I froze as my cell phone vibrated on the little table next to the bed. It scared the heebie-jeebies out of me. I gingerly picked up the phone and looked at the text. Anna, are you okay? It was from Daniel. He was so cute, making sure I was okay and whatnot. I'm not feeling so hot. I texted him back. Seconds later, he came bursting through my door.

    "Anna. What's wrong?" Daniel asked me, with a crazy look in his eyes.

     "Jeez, Daniel. Calm down. I think I just have the flu or something. What's got you all stressed out?" I looked at him and noticed the lines under his eyes from lack of sleep.

     "I just.. couldn't sleep. It's nothing." He looked down quickly, before looking back at me. "We need to get you to a doctor. You don't look well." His hand slowly inched toward my face and before I knew it, his hand was cupping my face; his thumb rubbing circles on my cheek. His head leaned in closer to mine. His eyes flicked to my lips. Before he could press his lips to mine, I put my hand in front of his face.

     "Daniel, I'm sick. Not right now, sorry." I looked at him apologetically, and he nodded. "can I please just get some rest? I'm sure I'll be better once I sleep it off." I told him, already starting to drift back off to sleep.

     "Okay, sweetpea." He laid me down gently and planted a kiss on my buring forehead. "I'll be here," was the last thing I heard before I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Daniel's POV:

     "She's sleeping right now." I spoke quickly into the phone.

     "Okay, just check on her from time to time and make sure she's alright." Anna's mom told me. Oh trust me, I will keep a VERY close eye on her, I thought to myself. "I have to run, but you two stay safe and try to entertain yourselves while we're gone," she said into the receiver. I could almost hear her smirk. Was it just me, or did her words have a double meaning? Deciding not to worry about it, I clicked the end button and slumped down on the couch. As I was shifting through channels, I heard a knock on the door. Now who could that possibly be? I wondered, as I walked cautiously to the door.

     "Hello!" Lucy said in a rather chipper voice. "Is Anna available?"

     "She's sick. Come back another time." I told her, bluntly. I was definitely not in a mood to be talking. I started to close the door, but she stuck her tiny foot in the way.

     "Look," she said, sharply. "I WILL see Anna today. Whether you like it or not." I wondered what the bitch's problem was, but decided I didn't care enough to ask.

     "Whatever. If you get sick, it's your fault." I stepped back from the door and showed her up to Anna's bedroom. I knocked lightly on the door, and when she didn't answer I opened it all the way. "Anna?" I whispered, softly shaking her pale shoulder.

     "Mmm?" She rolled towards me and smiled a weak smile. I tried to return it, but I don't think it quite reached my eyes.

     "You have a visitor, sweetpea." I said quietly, kneeling down by her bed.

     "Me." Lucy shot me a nasty look and turned to smile her sticky, sweet smile at Anna. "How are you?" she asked immediately. What a stupid question. You can obviously tell she's not doing well. Deciding not to listen to the girl talk, I made my way to the kitchen. I looked around and finally settled on making a sandwich. I sat down in a chair at the counter and started eating my PB and J. When I was almost done, I felt a tap upon my shoulder. Thinking it would be Anna, I turned around slowly, only to come face to face with the bitch. I pushed her away from me and stood up.

     "Do not. ever. touch me again." I growled in her face. She made a gagging sound as her face twisted into a devilish grin.

     "Don't think you can get rid of me that easily." She sneered. "In fact, you will be seeing quite a lot of me."

     "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I shouted at her.

     "It means, you dumb ass, that your precious Anna has a new best friend." She smirked at me. I just stood there, stunned. "Oh and next time, you might not want to talk so loud. She might hear you." And with that, she was out the door. Oh man. What just happened?