Jessica woke up abruptly from her sleep. The first thought coming up in her mind was that the effect of the medicinal liquor had faded. She wasn't feeling dizzy anymore, and her head felt lighter and clearer.
Coming with a clear head was the reminder that there was someone out there who might need a blanket too. Until now, she had completely forgotten that Yuri must be extremely cold without anything covering her body during her sleep. Not to mention, the living room was a tad chillier than the bedroom too. The realization suddenly turned the situation extremely serious, probably even into a matter of life and death, and Jessica was wide awake at once. She jumped off the bed, grabbed the blanket, and stormed out into the living room. The lights were still on and everything looked exactly the same, which made it easy for her to find Yuri.
"Oh no…"
Jessica bit her lip in guilt as she saw Yuri's body curled up at the same spot on the ground, the tanned girl hugging herself tightly, her teeth chattering. She quickly kneeled down next to the freezing girl and shook her shoulder.
"Yuri… Are you okay?"
No response came from Yuri except for the chattering and the occasional shivers running through her body. Jessica began to reproach herself for letting this happen as she tried to get Yuri onto the couch.
"Come on," she urged the unconscious Yuri and grabbed the girl under the arms, pulling with all her might. It took her a while before she was able to drag Yuri out of slumber, receiving a little cooperation from the sleepy and maybe still drunken girl. Jessica struggled hard with the bigger body until Yuri finally sat on the couch with her head resting on the backrest, arms crossed and pressed tightly to her chest.
"I'm cold…" Yuri mumbled, sleep-drunken, her lips barely parting.
Jessica quickly picked up the blanket and wrapped it around Yuri. The reproachful thought that she shouldn't have left Yuri alone repeated in her mind non-stop. She regretted her ignorance even more as, in the midst of tucking Yuri up, her hands accidentally brushed against the bare skin on the back of Yuri's hands. She bent down to take a closer look, and her eyes widened in surprise as she realized the skin on Yuri's hand had taken a purple hue. Jessica had never seen purple skin before.
On the edge of panicking and drowning herself in guilt, Jessica slipped under the blanket and hugged Yuri from the side, pulling the girl's feet onto the couch. Yuri automatically curled up inside the thick blanket and leaned her body leaning against Jessica's warm one, her head resting on Jessica's shoulder. Jessica tightened the embrace as she felt goosebumps on her arms again. Yuri's clothes were cold. Heck, Yuri's entire body felt like it just came out of a freezer. The only thing that was warm coming from Yuri was the breaths hitting her neck from the side, but nonetheless sending shivers down her spine.
It took a while before Yuri's arms loosened, her body relaxed in Jessica's hug, her teeth stopped chattering completely and her breathing became even again. Jessica sighed inaudibly, unconsciously pressing her cheek against Yuri's head. Her hand found Yuri's inside the blanket, and she intertwined their fingers.
Maybe she shouldn't be doing this, hugging Yuri and all, but right now, she couldn't care less. It just felt like the right thing to do. She wondered how Yuri had felt when the girl was watching her sleep the other night, because right now, Jessica couldn't find another word to describe her feelings better than nostalgic. Everything seemed like the old days, when their love was pure and free. She yearned for the past, for the simple bliss of just being together and not having to worry about anything else.
"Yuri…" she whispered softly, not loosening the embrace a bit. "Tell me… How important am I to you?"
She wasn't expecting an answer, but then Yuri nuzzled her neck all the sudden, and her heart stopped beating for a second. She held her breath and waited. But Yuri just swallowed her saliva and soon became motionless again, breathing evenly through her nose. Jessica couldn't help but to feel her heart sinking.
