f e v e r

chapter VI - hush-a-bye

     After that Kylie decided to get some sleep. It had been a long night and she was very tired from it all. Taking a last look to Julian she pursed her lips before telling him goodnight.
     The moment her head hit the pillow she found herself sound asleep. Her body and mind was tired. Sleep was very needed for her but as for Julian, who ran his fingers through the messy waves of his hair, he had laundry to do.
     Getting up he got her clothes from the bathroom and got to work. He knew it wouldn't take long but he felt as though it was going to be ages. He never meant to be out so late or even up till one in the morning. Yet he felt it had to be a twisted way of fate for him to decide to go out for a ride right before the downpour came making him turn around.
     His mind wondered to what might of happened if the rain never came. He wondered if he would have found her and if he didn't where she might have ended up at. She was obviously determine to not turn back. Maybe she just would have kept walking till the sun broke over the horizon.
He shook his head of the questions running through his mind. It didn't matter, she was here now. Under a roof, dry, and in a bed. He knew this wasn't what he should have done as a teacher of her school, but he knew it wouldn't be right to just leave her out there.
     "What am I doing?" He questioned himself out loud putting his hands down on the dryer to support himself.
Head hung low he tried not to overthink any of this. It felt like his mind was trying to strangle him yet his instincts screamed at him that he made the right choice.
     Then his thoughts were suddenly silenced by the sound of screaming from inside the apartment. Quickly stepping out of the laundry room his eyes searched the apartment for anyone in there including Kylie. However all he found was nobody, but Kylie thrashing around in the bed.
Rushing up to the platform to her side on the bed he grabbed her shoulder trying to wake her up. She seemed to be muttering and throwing her head around. Her body was sweating and her breathing was shallow.
     "Kylie! Wake up," Julian continued to shake her shoulder to suddenly her eyes flew up, jerking herself right up in the bed.
     Julian stumbled back at her quick movements, "Kylie are you okay?"
     Her eyes looked at him with fear and confusion before tears filled them. Shocked by this he sat beside her there on the bed pulling her into his arms. She began to cry into his chest. Her body shaking with her cries that just seemed to come out of her with no mercy.
     He stayed there with her in his arms, soothing her with gentle strokes to her wild mess of chocolate curls, "Shh it's okay."