17 Nights {c.h.}

+nine+

The Ninth Day

“Bella!” Cynthia exclaimed, knocking rapidly on my door.

“What?” I grumbled, snuggling further into my duvet. I curled in on myself, in an attempt to fight off the terrible headache I assumed my allergies caused.

“It’s eight o’clock and your exam starts in fifteen minutes!” I bolted up at that, pressing my hands to my forehead as a rush of dizziness overcame me from changing position so fast. After a few seconds I was rushing around my room, pulling a random Fall Out Boy shirt over my head and a pair of shorts that I hoped were not dirty. I plucked my favorite grey sweater off a chair in the kitchen, stuffing my phone in my backpack before slinging it over my shoulder, putting the bagel Cynthia held out in my mouth and grabbing the coffee she had poured into a thermos before running out of the dorm, throwing a rushed thank you over my shoulder.

I ran across campus, dodging students left and right while trying to ignore my headache. Half of it was probably from the lack of sleep I had been getting, but for some reason I just couldn’t sleep no matter what I did.

I arrived at the lecture hall just before the professor shut the door. He gave me a warning glance that I shrugged off; especially since this would be the last time I would see him. Unless, of course, he followed me back to Maryland which would be extremely alarming.

I tried to shrug off the feeling of nausea that suddenly came over me as the professor began to explain what would happen for the few hours following. I flipped over the packet that had been placed in front of me once the professor gave the okay, focusing on the small print instead of the bug I must be catching.

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I left the lecture hall as soon as I was able to. During the test my hands began shaking but I put that u to not eating much for breakfast. My plans for looking for odd jobs that evening was ruined because the shaking  had spread through quite a bit of my body. I decided to head home as quickly as possible, especially since Cynthia wasn’t working.

Luckily the room door wasn’t locked when I finally arrived at the dorm, especially because of the shaking my hands were doing. I practically catapulted onto the couch, covering myself with a blanket and curling into myself. My anxiety had been heightened on the way back to the dorm and it seemed as if I was having trouble breathing.

Cynthia broke me away from my thoughts, and possibly an anxiety attack, as she walked into the room and immediately questioned me, “How was your-oh, Bella, what’s wrong?” She immediately sat next to me on the couch, wrapping her arms around me.

“M-Must have caught s-something from another student.” I supplied, snuggling further into the soft fabric of the blanket.

“C’mon, let’s get you to bed.” Cynthia supported most of my body weight as she slowly helped to lift me off of the couch and walked me the short distance to my bedroom. She gently sat me down on my bed, slipping off my shoes before tucking me in with the promise to return with Gatorade and soup. I didn’t bother to tell her my appetite had disappeared as well, knowing it would soothe some of her worries.

True to her word Cynthia showed up after a few minutes, a bottle of Gatorade in one hand and a small bowl of soup in the other.

“Alright, drink up;” she placed the Gatorade in my hand, “the electrolytes will help.” I did what she said, downing a quarter of the bottle before she deemed it enough, swapping the drink for the soup.

“I think I’m just going to try to sleep off whatever this is.” I mumbled as soon as she took back the half-eaten soup.

“Are you sure?” She bit her lip, looking at me with concern clear on her face.

“I’ll be fine,” I attempted to smile at her, even though it probably looked more like a grimace than anything else. “If I need anything I have my phone right there to call you with.” 

“But-”

“Give it twenty-four hours, okay?” I looked at her through my droopy eyelids. “If it’s still this bad tomorrow we’ll call a doctor.”

“Fine,” she finally gave in, leaving my room but keeping the door open.

“How ya feeling, champ?” Cynthia asked, sitting on the edge of my bed. I didn’t know how long I had been laying there but I did know I never got to sleep the entire time.

“Sick.” I mumbled from where my face was buried in my pillow, gripping my upset stomach.

“I’m calling the doctor.” Cynthia announced, getting off my duvet until I grabbed her wrist.

“Hasn’t been twenty-four hours yet.” I reminded her, removing my hand to curl it around my stomach once again. “Do you mind getting me a bucket?”

“Seriously Bella, just let me call the damn doctor.”

“Call Aubrey, if she says call a doctor then call. If not it’s a two-to-one vote. One of us will be overruled.” I yawned before I pulled the duvet over my head as I finally fell asleep for what felt like the first time in forever.

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“Bella, wake up,” Cynthia nudged me awake, “I cut up some oranges. Mom always said that vitamin c will help, and you probably don’t care. Anyways, supposedly they can help the immune system and speed it up or something.” She looked at me expectantly as I tried to process what she said from the grogginess surrounding my brain from just waking up.

“So after that speech all I got was something about eating and vitamin c.” I blinked up at her, shivering underneath all of my blankets.

“Just eat the damn oranges while I finish making your tea.” She rolled her eyes, leaving me with a small bowl full of oranges.

I had gone through one-fourth of the citrus fruit before she came back with a mug of tea, pale with milk and honey, in her hands with a few napkins beneath the white ceramic mug. I weakly smiled in thanks, wiping my hands on one of the napkins before tentatively sipping the hot beverage. I wasn’t feeling any better after my nap, I almost felt a bit worse.

“What did Aubrey say?” I whispered, my head still pounding.

“She said to give it twenty-four hours. I’m just worried, Bella. You never get this sick.” I put the mug down and used one hand to squeeze hers.

“I’ll be fine; I’m stronger than I look.” I pretended to flex before sinking into my soft sheets, holding an arm protectively over my stomach.

“Get some rest. I’ll wake you up for some breakfast tomorrow, okay?” Cynthia leaned over and pressed a feather kiss to my forehead, similar to what a mother might do. This was weird considering the fact that she was only two years older than me.

“Mhmm. Goodnight, Cynthia.” I mumbled out.

Hopefully I’ll feel better tomorrow.

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guys i swear i'm alive, i've just been really busy because school starts tomorrow and i'm a sophmore and it sucks but i promised to get an update out this weekend. also a big thanks to one of me best friends for helping me tweak the plot of this story to throw in a bit of drama. but honestly, i'm so thankful for you guys and you're always so understanding and it means so much to me.i know a lot of people don't read the author's notes but you guys always comment on them and it makes me extremely happy. i love you all so much.

question: what do you think is wrong with Bella? is it a 24 hour thing or something else?

see you soon guys,

em xx