Be careful what you wish for

12. The flight

I woke up from a quick nap I had – and was grateful for it - and remembered Roger was in the room last night and left me with a threat that kept me up all night. I spent the night pondering if I should tell anyone, but the thought of him even laying a finger on mom caused me to panic.

I sat up straight and pressed my temples when my head started throbbing maddeningly. I decided to spend a few minutes in the bath before leaving the room. Before I got in the bathroom, though, I glanced at the clock and saw it was ticking eight o'clock. I hadn't slept much, then.

Bathing hadn't done me any good after deciding that staying alone with my thoughts would probably drive me crazy, so I left for the living room and found Yasmin's back arched as she was tying her shoelaces.

"Hey," she said, looking up from her shoes. I managed to smile back. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing, my head's just aching," I said, plopping beside her on the couch.

"Take some medicine. I'll tell Alicia to give you some," she said, then zipped up her jacket. I didn't realize that I was staring at her intently and the thought of telling her about Roger slipped into my mind, but I decided against it and decided to leave instead.

"I'll just go get some breakfast," I said feebly then suddenly felt the ground extremely tremble underneath me. I thought there was an earthquake until I fell on my knees and slumped on the cold tiled floor.

"Jo," I heard Yasmin call out then rushed towards me. Her thick hands took my wobbly shoulders and placed it on her brawny shoulder blade – wait, brawny? I looked up feebly and saw Avery. Instantly, I started moving my arms away and mumbled, "no."

"You are burning with fever, let us get you to your room," Avery informed, then placed back my arms on his shoulder blade before lifting me. I didn't want to fall off, so I clung closer to his chest and heard his heartbeat against my ear. It was racing. I tilted my head up to get a clearer view of his face and watched how his face tensed. He was finding me heavy, I assumed, and I wasn't embarrassed by the idea of it. Instead, I was a little concerned that he might break his back because of me, so I held in my breath, hoping that it could help until Yasmin opened the door to my room and Avery placed me gently on my bed. I wanted to apologize, but I was terribly weak.

Alice came in, bringing a basin filled with water and face cloth. I pulled the sheets to my chin and felt my body relax a little.

"I'll handle this," I heard her say before my eyes began to flutter as I stared at the open curtains and allowed myself to be succumbed by the fever.

My eyes started seeing reddish glow as I opened them, and it took me a moment to recognize my room again. I dreamt I was back at my old place with my mom, who looked totally well, and Roger, miraculously being kind. But I felt downcast when I realized my reality was far from my dreams.

"You're up," Avery said. I opened my eyes wide to see him sitting on a chair by the door. He had a book in his hand.

"Wh – what happened?" I croaked, sitting upright. Avery closed the book and removed his glasses.

"The doctor said your blood pressure is low. He suggested maybe you weren't eating right or that –" he arched his eyebrow, "– you aren't getting enough sleep." He said. I pursed my lips. Busted.

"What's keeping you up?" He asked, leaning his elbows on his knees and arching his back. I stared at my sheets.

"I am just worried about my mom," I half-admit. He sighed.