Destined By The Waves

You're hot!

Joy

"No.."

"Get off me!"

"Don't touch me, you sicko! Go back to your smart fuck buddy waiting in your bed."

Faith keeps mumbling disturbing things in her sleep. It started about an hour after she fell asleep. At first, I thought she's dreaming about the incident from this morning. But, this is something else. Something that is disturbing her way more. Is this that bad memory she talked about?

I should probably just wake her up. She shouldn't have to live those bad memories again. I hold her arm to shake her but she flinches at my touch. I notice her arm is way too warm than normal.

She felt warmer this morning too, but I brushed it off. And again when I was binding our feet. But this is way more. This isn't just warm, this is hot.

I touch her forehead gently and realise it is burning hot too. She has a fever.

"Wake up, Faith," I shake her lightly.

"Ohh... Joy?", she instantly relaxes on seeing me.

My heart skips a beat.

Am I developing a cardiac disease or what? My heart keeps behaving strangely all the time.

She tries to sit up but I hold her down. She moves my hand away with a jerk.

"You're so cold," she says, rubbing her arm where I touched her.

"Nah sweetheart, you're hot!", I tell her casually and she raises her brow at me.

I chuckle.

"No, not like that. Your temperature. You have a fever," I inform her and she immediately touches her forehead with the back of her hand and nods in agreement.

"Not that you aren't hot otherwise," I grin and throw her a wink, as I turn towards the clothes I had left near the fire to dry. I hope they have dried up now. She needs to change.

From the corner of my eye, I catch her smiling at me. That's the first time she smiled at a random compliment I gave her. Except when I called her beautiful when she wore the scarf dress. But that was more of a blush than a smile, I think. She had immediately looked away back then when I said that.

I pick my white t-shirt and boxers and hand them to her.

"Here, wear these. You need warm clothes", I tell her and she shakes her head.

"I can't keep wearing all your clothes. What will you wear?", she says, her eyes laced with concern.

"I am not the one with fever. You are. Now wear these, no arguments," I tell her with a firm tone.

"You can't keep bossing me around, Joy. I'll do what I want", she retorts.

So stubborn.

"Okay, what do you suggest we should do?", I ask her.

She turns towards the clothes and picks up her red dress. I raise my brow at her questioningly. She really wants to wear that torn thing again?

"I'll make something out of this," she says determined.

"Don't be silly, it will take a lot of time. Do it in the morning," I try to reason with her and then, take the dress back from her.

She sighs.

"Fine, I'll take the shirt then, you take the boxers. Get out of those jeans before you catch a fever too," she says faking a bossy tone, almost making me chuckle at her cuteness.