Secret Royalty

Chapter Ten

Dean was right; I did need to call in sick. Not because I was terrified, but because the man with blue hair had given me his cold. I went to work the days after Sam’s appearance but felt horrid when I woke up on Thursday. I called Pierce who told me she would take my shift.

I wasn’t keeping track of time, yet it seemed like an hour later when Jed came up the stairs. “Pierce told me to come see you,” he stated, standing in front of my bed with a look of worry on his face. “What do you need?”

Quickly, I pulled my covers up and over my nose. “Go away.” My head was pounding so hard I thought he could hear it.

Jed looked confused. His eyebrows furrowed and his pretty eyes were dull. With the morning sun shining behind him from the windows, he looked paler than ever. “What?” he questioned softly, looking down at me. I was still covering my nose and mouth.

“I don’t want you to get sick, too,” I mumbled through the covers. He sat down by my feet and smiled. His smile made me lightheaded.

Jed tilted his head to the side slightly. “I don’t care,” he shrugged, a slight smirk plastered on his face.

Behind the sheets, my lips were pressed into a line. “I do.”

“I’ll make you a deal,” he bartered. “If I take care of you when you’re sick, you take care of me if I catch it, too.” Jed’s eyebrows rose at his thought. He knew he had come up with something I would like.

My hands loosened the grip on the covers, allowing my face to fully show. “Deal,” I sniffled. Trying to ease my headache, I closed my eyes.

“What are your orders?” Jed asked courteously.

I thought for a moment. The colors danced around the back of my eyelids and I watched the patterns. When I was little, I would always look at the sun or a light for far to long and close my eyes so the colors came. “Pancakes and cuddles,” I slurred, still amused with what was happening behind my eyes.

“What first?” he inquired.

My mind swirled with heavy sick haze. “Cuddles.”

I listened as he pushed off of the bed and walked to the other side. Soon, arms were around me. I smiled and turned my body to face him. When I got dizzy of the colors, I opened my eyes, the room spinning slightly.

Jed relaxed his forehead against mine while his arms were enclosed around me, surrounding me with his body heat. I took deep breaths wishing to find his soap and cinnamon smell. My body calmed and my headache temporary vanished. The only thing that was bothering me was the congestion in my nose, but I tangled my arms around his neck anyway.

“I think I told you this before, but I’m sorry the way I acted at the store on Monday,” he babbled quietly.

With one last look at him, I closed my eyes and snuggled into his neck. One of his hands made patterns on my back, while the other pulled the covers around us.

My mind slowly faded and I started to become unaware of anything but Jed’s touch. The only thing I could focus on was his hand creating circles, squares, and then swirls all along my spine. Eventually, they all mixed together to form an unclear fog.

 “Emilia!” my mother cried. Her voice rang through the stark white air. It echoed through my head, creating ripples around me. My mind couldn’t process where I was and felt hopeless while alone.

“Emilia!” she screeched again.

Though everything looked the same, I eyed around for her. “Mom!” I wailed back. Slowly, I became furious. My parents had left me, why were they calling me back? Why would I even want to see them?