BitterSweet (On Hold)

Chapter Five: Bliss In Sickness

Chapter 5: Bliss in Sickness

(Charles Viewpoint)

It was Thursday of the holiday and I wake up feeling a little bit weird. It was as if my head my pounding against my skull and my breath was extremely coarse as it flows out through my mouth. I think, I have gotten sick somehow. I just lay in bed thinking that I might have imagined it. And then, I fell back to sleep again. It wasn't until Samson shook me awake, "Hey. Why didn't you wake me up? It's almost 11 already." I opened my eyes and tried to talk, "Oh..." but my voice was raspy and my throat hurt so much that I cringed on reflex. Upon seeing this, he jolted awake and suddenly placed he attention onto me. "Are you ok?" he said as he placed his back of his hands on my forehead. Wow. His Hands feels so nice on my skin, so cooling. Before I could finish my thought, he said "Hey. I think you have a fever. Let's get you to the doctor."

I didn't want to move out of bed so I tried my best to speak, "No need. Call the family doctor over. I don't want to move. It's in the drawer over there." I said as I pointed to the desk at the opposite end of the room. He went to get it and dialled for the doctor to come over. After doing that he came over to the bed. "Hey. Do you need me to stay beside you today?" he asked. I smiled and tried to speak in my raspy voice, "No need for you to spend a holiday looking after me. Go have fun". Inside me I was dying for him to care for me. But I knew that was just plain selfish of me. After some time, I fell back into slumber.

I awoke only to hear him on the phone with someone in a sort of quiet talk, almost a whisper but I can clearly make out what he was saying, "I can't go out with you Pris. How about tomorrow? I need to stay at home to do some chores." It would seem Priscilla was on the phone with Samson and that Samson was frowning so she probably didn't agree with his proposal. I lifted my hand to motion to him that I was ok with him going out, but as I tried to protest, he grab my hands down and placed his finger over my lips to ask me to quiet down. After a few more sentences with Priscilla over the phone, he hung up. Just before I said anything, he interrupted me, "Nope. I owe you a lot, Charles. At least let me take care of your sorry ass when you are sick. Ok?"

I just nodded and the family doctor arrived. He assessed my situation and prescribed some medication for me. As he explained to Samson about my condition and the medication I required, Samson listened ever so attentively. When the doctor left, he brought me a sandwich with jam and a glass of water with a whole load of medication. I ate the bread without protest though it hurt when I swallowed. Then I took a sip of the water to soothe my throat. Then as he handed me another glass of water and the pills, I gently pushed his hand away in protest. "I don't take pills. I can't swallow them." He just looked at me and then sighed. He opened the capsules one by one and emptied it into the cup and crushed the remaining tablets into powder for me to eat.

He handed me the crushed tablets and I put them in my mouth. Bitter as hell! I gave a scrounged up face as the bitterness was more than I can bear. Upon seeing this, he quickly handed me a glass of water to help swallow the powder down. However, unknowing, the glass of water had capsules of powder mixed into it. So as I anxiously gulped down the glass of water, I was met with another bitter shock. "What the hell? There's medicine in this as well?" I asked, annoyed. He chuckled and gave me an innocent smile. As I finished the medication, I went back to sleep while he watched me sleep. This was bliss, having someone to care for me when I am sick.

Of course my mother cared for me but she was busy at work with my dad working out the start-up and business plans. She did phone Samson a few times to check on me and how I was doing. I woke up later to find Samson playing with the Xbox from my side of the bed. From my stirring and movements, he looked over after he paused the game, "Am I too loud?" I shook my head, "I just need some water". He immediately got off the bed and brought me a fresh glass of water. I took a few sips and left it at my bedside table.