breathless // billie eilish

6

I was at the verge of tears when Billie held my hand, her other palm clutching her stomach as she laughs nonstop.
"It's not funny!" I shout. She tries to hide her joy but a few giggles here and there can still be heard. "Sorry, it's just that when you coughed, you spat out bits of carrot boli and it was just- just, adorable." I blushed. She was teasing me and yet I was still beetroot red from her side comments.

I elbowed her a bit and muttered for her to stop since passerby's are starting to stare at us. I mean, it looked like she was the patient heading for the mental institute when I'm the one wearing patients' clothing while strolling next to a hospital. "Alright... alright. I'll stop." It was my first time in weeks to have eaten take-out tacos with coleslaw for the side, but my asthma just had to ruin it and cough at the time I swallowed a huge chunk of salad.

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"It was fun... you're fun." She says as she drops me off at my hospital room. She tucks some stray hair on my ear then leans in to peck my cheek. "I'll visit you again tomorrow. Would you want roses instead?" I shake my head, "No, the lilies are fine. I want to grow out of my detest for them, so, seeing them often will help. Besides, to be honest, they smell great." She hugged me, patting my back. "You smell great." I mumble.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Belle." But I didn't want her to leave. No part of me did. So, like any other desperado would do, I pulled her to my arms again. To a softer embrace. To a more, "Don't leave me, I need you. I want you here." And so I said so.

She asked one of the kind head nurses for a mattress that they could pull inside the room for her to sleep at for the night so she can keep me company. She said that she'd make sure that I'd wake up to an English breakfast- I'm clearly growling at her for making me hungry.

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I smelled smoked bacon, eggs, specifically eggs Benedict, some toasted bread with butter and camomile tea. It was paradise for the tummy. But she was heaven. The sun gleamed on her glorious face, her ocean eyes glistening, similar to the lake near the park behind the hospital. "I believe these are what I've promised." She places a tray of food in front of me, smiling like the happiest child on earth. "Bon Appétit!" She then runs outside, making me wonder if she was rude enough to have just left like that. "I forgot them." She shouts as she runs back inside with the bouquet of lilies.

"I've changed the style of the wrapping a bit. Some fancy ribbons and a bit of glitter at the sides." She smiles giving them to me. "Do you like them?" I love them. I thought.

I started to munch on the food, forgetting to voice out my thoughts, but I guess she caught on quick and continued to watch me eat with a wide grin on her face. "I've forgotten about you not being a fan of bacon but I guess that's not the case now, is it?" I nod, feeling euphoric at the crunchiness of the said meaty goodness.

"If it was I you were eating, would you promise not to be as rough."