Reality || L.H.

Chapter 29

"I'm feeling a little better now," Luke murmurs as he pushes the blanket off of him, starting to get up. I hold back my sigh of relief. Top Gun is a great movie, but I can't stop worrying about Luke every time he coughs or blows his nose.

He gets to his feet and immediately crumples, his body too weak to support him.

"Luke!" I exclaim, rushing to catch him before he falls. He's too heavy for me to lift and Ashton hurries to my side to help me, setting him back down on the couch.

A slight sheen of sweat covers Luke's forehead and his skin's flushed. His blue eyes are distant, like he's somewhere far away. Ashton worriedly glances over at me as I reach for the thermometer. "Shit!" escapes my lips as I read the number flashing up at me.

104.3

"We have to get him to a hospital," Calum says, peering over my shoulder at the thermometer. "It's too high - it's too dangerous."

"No," Luke murmurs. "No hospital."

We all ignore him.

"How?!" I shout at Calum, pointing out the window where the snow is still coming down. "It's snowing too much to go anywhere!" I throw the thermometer down on the couch, angry at myself for yelling at Calum. He didn't deserve it, he was only trying to help. But I'm worried about Luke. How are we going to help him if we can't go anywhere?

"Hey, he's gonna be fine." Michael sets a gentle hand on my shoulder as Ashton rushes into the kitchen to get another cup of water. This time, he dumps as much ice as he can in it before he hands it to Luke.

"Drink this," Ashton says, pressing the glass into Luke's hands.

He gets maybe a sip and a half in before handing it back to Ashton.

"No, you have to drink all of it," Ash says insistently, trying to pass it back to Luke.

But he shakes his head back and forth, looking absolutely miserable. "No. I feel sick." He breaks off into a coughing fit, sounding worse than before.

"Sick how?" I ask him, setting a hand on his shoulder so he'll know someone's talking to him. He looks positively terrible. What happens if we can't get him any help? I feel kind of sick myself just picturing something bad happening to him.

"Like I'm gonna throw up." Luke turns his head to the side, groaning, squeezing his eyes shut like it hurts him to look at any light.

Calum wets a rag in cold water and lies it across Luke's forehead, carefully holding it there while he looks at the rest of us like we have any more of an idea of what to do. Michael stares with terror at Luke, glancing at me and Ashton.

My head is spinning and I want to throw the nearest object at the wall. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do.

"Kat?" Michael asks, leaning forward to look me in the eyes. "You ok?"

I press my hands to my temples. There has to be someone who can help, someone we can call... Mali-Koa is out of town with her friends this week. Blake hardly knows what a thermometer does. Calum's mom would be glad to come, but her house is too far away to walk in the cold and the roads are too blocked up to drive.

I pick my head up, an idea dawning on me. "Didn't you say that Celeste was a medical student?" I ask, glancing back and forth between everyone.

Ashton nods slowly.

"And she texted me two days ago that she and Jack were back in town. Don't they live close to here?"

Calum nods excitedly.

I grab my phone and rush out of the apartment, dialing Celeste's cell phone number as I shut the door behind me. It's chilly in the hallway and I pull my sweater tighter around me as I wait for her to pick up.

"Kat?" Celeste's voice says on the other end of the phone. "Hey, what's up?"

I sag in relief and almost burst into tears right there. "Celeste," I breathe, "you have no idea how happy I am to hear your voice. I need you to come to my apartment right now. It's an emergency, please." I'm not afraid to beg my boyfriend's ex over the phone. I'd beg anyone on Luke's behalf.

"What's wrong?" she says. There's a shuffle in the background of her moving to get her coat. "Is everything okay?"

"No," I say as I shake my head, a tear slipping down my cheek. "Luke's sick. He has a fever of 104 and the roads are too blocked up to drive him anywhere. I don't know what to do, Celeste. You're the only person I could think of that could help him."

Her tone is no-nonsense and business-like. "I'll be there as fast as I can, I promise."