Perception

7. I'm Here

Stefano's POV

5th October 2017

6:05 am

I didn't sleep after her incident. I couldn't. Her screams are still echoing in my ears. I wonder what I could do to help her. Did this help? Me waking her up as soon as I noticed she's having a nightmare, did it do any better?

She's been sleeping in my arms from the time she woke up. She's holding onto me and sleeping, finally. I didn't move an inch. I just let her sleep as it was. Didn't feel like I should let her just sleep like she did. The way she's holding onto me and sleeping is as though she's holding onto her dear life. Didn't want to move or flinch, it might wake her up. Let her sleep while she can, I thought.

I'm still not able to understand, what it is that causes her to see such nightmares, so much so that she's afraid to sleep. Did she have a dreadful enough past to be seeing such things? I don't think anyone can make up something of this magnitude to gain sympathy. I trust what she's saying. No one can fake being this horrified, unless you're a psychopath, which I know she's not!

She started to move around, and now her forehead is against my stomach. I feel a sudden warmth from there. I felt her arms and face, they were also suddenly so warm. She struggles to pull the bed covers onto her, as she seems to feel cold.

"Abby?" I slowly whispered, didn't want to wake her up. "Are you alright?"

"Hmm? Hmm. Stef. Hmm." she mumbled back.

"Yes I'm here, tell me." I said.

"Help...m..help me..up. Get up." She struggled to talk, and tried to get up.

I was waiting to see if she was trying to get up, but she didn't. I help her sit up slowly, she just keeps falling back into my hands. Then I make her sit up and kept her back against myself so she could sit up. She then instantly fell back to my chest. Her body was really warm now. I think she has a fever.

I helped her lie down on the bed, covered her up with her blanket, and ran to get some cold water and a cloth. I don't know where she kept what in her apartment, it took my a while to find a cloth that I could use for it. I got some cold tap water in a mug, dipped the cloth in the cold water, squeezed the water out of it.

I sat beside her, leaned forward and whispered. "Abby? I'm just gonna wipe your face with a cold cloth alright? You seem to have a fever."

"Uh, Stef...Stef." she kept mumbling.

"I'm here. Don't you worry. I've got you. Okay?" I started wiping her face gently with the cloth, around not getting it too close to her eyes. I kept repeating this, and finally kept the cold cloth on her forehead.

"Stef...time. What time...work. I need to go." she struggled to say.

"You're not going anywhere today. I won't let you. You are sick Abby! I won't let you." I said, lying down beside her. "Please just go to sleep."

"No I...need to.."

"Shh, go to sleep Abby." and I convinced her to just sleep in.

***

8:31am

I also slept off beside her. I woke up with a jerk suddenly. She's still asleep. I'm so happy for once, she's able to sleep. I checked for her fever. Her forehead and face are still warm. She probably needs to eat something, take a tablet and sleep it off I thought.

She suddenly just wakes up, I see her eyes slowly opening up. They're red, watery and dark.

"Hey, how you feeling now?" I asked, getting up.

"I don't feel...too good. I'm feeling really, weird."

"Shall I get you something to eat, or drink? Like some hot soup or something? Because I think you need to take some medicine Abby." I said, helping her sit up. "Do you wanna just lie down? I'll go make something for you."

"I don't think there's...anything you can cook with for me." She sighed. "No it's alright. I'll just sit here." Adjusting herself with a pillow between her back and the bed.

"I'll go get you something then? I think a good soup should do the trick." I said, getting up.

"Uh, if you say so." She said, forcing a smile.

***

It baffles me how nice someone can be to me, apart from Mrs. Munez and occasionally Sarah. I have a bad perception of how people can be without even knowing them. Stef here I thought was gonna run away, after he saw me last night. But he didn't. He stayed put. How can someone who I met so recently understand me so well? Is he really that down to Earth? Where has he been all my life?