wild child (A Tony Perry love story)

chapter 9

LOWRI

I think I'm getting ill. My whole body is throbbing with aches and pains and I can't stop sneezing and coughing. I never get ill. I don't like it. I reach out for the bottle of water I brought to bed with me last night, after I left Tony's, and take a huge swig, washing down some painkillers. I'm shivering with cold and I still have Tony's hoody on from last night. Every movement causes me to groan in pain. I look at my phone. It's 9 am. I need a cigarette. I'm in my pyjama pants and a hoody. I'm going outside. At least it's not raining today. Maybe I caught a chill yesterday. I crawl out of the van and flop on the sand at the bottom of the step. I start shaking with cold so make it a quick smoke. I crawl back in and make it back to my bed where I make a nest in the blankets on there. Every blanket I own and a sleeping bag. I fall back to sleep as the painkillers kick in.

TONY

Lowri's not surfing. I hope she hasn't been on the booze again. It's nearly midday and I've not seen her yet. She's usually doing something by now. I walk to Starbucks and grab 2 coffees. I knock on the van door and hear a weak moan. I open the door and see her trying to stand but looking close to collapsing. I put the coffees down quickly and dash over to her.

"What's wrong?" I ask, worried as she looks like hell.

"Flu I think" she croaks. She's burning up but shivering at the same time.

"Stay here" I say, running to get my car. I can't carry her to mine and she can barely stand. I park up right by her van and carry her to my car. She needs proper care if she's ill. I drive her to mine and carry her inside. I lie her down on the sofa and cover her with blankets. She has gone back to sleep. I ring Mike and ask him if he can come over. I'll need to get her some medicine.

LOWRI

I wake up on Tony's sofa with Mike stroking my hair.

"How did I get here?" I croak.

"Your knight in shining armour found you barely conscious and brought you here. He's gone to buy medicine for you. Do you need a drink?"

I nod. He finds a glass and pours me some orange juice, telling me I need vitamin C in my system. I smile weakly, drink the juice and fall back to sleep. Next time I wake up, I'm in a bed. It's not mine. I try to stand as I need to use the bathroom but I'm too weak and I crumple to the floor. I hear Tony call my name and he rushes in.

"What are you doing?" he says, lifting me up.

"I need the bathroom" I gasp. He carries me in and closes the door behind me. I do what I need to and crawl back to the door. He's waiting for me and carries me back to bed. He's put me in his spare room.

"Why are you doing this?" I moan.

"Would you do it for me if I was ill?" he asks. I nod weakly. "There's your answer" he says, smiling. "Do you need anything?"

"Painkillers and a drink would be good" I whisper, shivering away.

He goes to fetch some and brings them in.

"What's the time?" I ask.

"3am" he says, softly, stroking my hair. I'm asleep again within minutes.

TONY

I reach down and gently kiss Lowri's cheek before going back to bed. She's in a right state.

I check on her when I wake up the next morning. She's still out for the count. I go and make myself a coffee when I hear a thud. I race up the stairs and find her on the floor.

"Need bathroom" she gasps. I pick her up and carry her through. I leave her for a few minutes and hear her calling me. I carry her back through again. She's asleep before her head is on the pillow. I push the hair out of her face and kiss her cheek. I hate seeing her so ill.

LOWRI

I hear a voice. I open my eyes to see Mike sitting on the bed next to me.

"Good morning sleeping beauty" he says, laughing. I must look horrendous. I don't have the energy to hit him so I pull tongues. Even doing that hurts. I moan in pain and as if by magic, painkillers and a glass of water are handed to me. I try to sit up and even that hurts. Mike gives me a helping hand and I swallow the pills down.

"Where's Tony?" I whisper.

"He went to buy some food. He shouldn't be much longer" he tells me.

"What's the time?" I ask confused. He checks his watch. "6pm" he says. I got ill Thursday morning.

"What day is it?" I ask, even more confused.

"Saturday."

I've slept through pretty much 2 days. Oh dear.

"I need to go home" I mumble.

"No you don't" says Mike. "You're too ill to be alone. You can hardly walk."

I sigh, put my head back on the pillow and I'm asleep again within a few minutes.

TONY

Lowri has been asleep on and off for almost 5 days. She's been too ill to eat and I can practically see the weight falling off her. If she's not getting better by morning, I'm taking her to the hospital.

When I wake up the next morning, I check on her before I do anything else. She's awake and does look a bit better - more colour in her cheeks. She is trying to sit up so I give her a hand, before passing her a glass of water. I put my hand on her forehead and she feels less feverish than she had.

"Do you think you can eat something?" I ask. She nods weakly. I figure something easy to swallow and not too heavy. Fruit smoothie? I go and make one and she has almost half before giving up. She drinks some more water and even this small amount of movement has tired her out. She is asleep again.

LOWRI

I wake up feeling tired but a lot less ill than I've been feeling. I slowly get out of bed and using the furniture for balance, make my way to the bedroom door. I feel so filthy. Sweaty and gross. I wonder if Tony will let me have a bath. I get to the top of the stairs and hear him downstairs, talking to someone. I slowly and carefully make my way down and see Mike, Vic and who I guess must be Jaime. I'd only briefly seen him on the beach that night. I stiffly walk towards the lounge where they're playing on the Xbox. I don't want to get too close as I feel like I smell pretty bad.

"Um, Tony, would it be possible for me to have a bath?" I ask, looking at the floor.

They hadn't heard me until then and Tony jumps up, nodding. He goes to run the bath for me and I ask Mike if I can have one of his cigarettes. I haven't had one in almost a week. I should really quit but I'm too ill to care. He comes outside with me and hands me one. I sit down on the floor, not sure how much longer my legs will support me for. When I'm finished, Mike helps me up and carries me back inside. I go back upstairs and see the bath is nearly ready. I don't know what I'm going to put on after though. I hear Tony in the spare room and peek through the door. He's stripping the bed and putting clean bedding on.

"Tony, do you have a t-shirt and some shorts I could borrow?" I ask. He nods, smiling and says he will leave them on the bed for me. I go into the bathroom, strip off and climb into the deliciously hot water. I lie there for a few minutes before washing myself all over and shampooing my hair. I see a bottle of conditioner so put some of that on my hair. It might help it look better. I rinse and climb out, wrapping a huge fluffy towel around me. I slowly make it back to the bedroom and dry myself off, before dressing in the t-shirt and shorts  Tony left for me. I feel exhausted so lie down and I'm asleep again within minutes.