Chapter Nineteen
Zack
Early Monday Morning
The fever raced agonizingly through my body, leaving me tossing and turning in my bed like a crazy person. The blankets kept falling off me, which was a relief at the time because I was completely and utterly on fire, but then the shivers would come, shaking me, rattling my bones, and the blankets would magically appear. Someone had to be taking care of me, but I was far too out of it to work out who.
“Hello?” I growled through a painful, red raw throat. “Hello?” I couldn’t get any more words out than that because a hacking cough filled up my lungs leaving me unable to speak.
“Did you call out?” I popped my eyes open as a distinctly female voice replied to my yelling. If anyone I thought it would be Lark, or maybe my father. When I spotted the gorgeous red hair and sweet face of Olivia looking back at me, I figured I must be dreaming and hallucinating. “Zack, do you need anything? Is there something I can do for you?”
Well, if I was dreaming, I might as well take full advantage of the situation. Maybe if I tested my fantasies out while I was asleep, I could get an idea of how it would turn out in real life. “I need to take you out on a date,” I rasped back. “So you could always say yes.”
“Oh.” Her eyes widened in shock before she quickly shook her head. “I actually meant water or something. I can get you a drink through a straw if that makes it easier?”
“We might as well already be dating,” I continued, completely ignoring her kind request to keep me hydrated. “You keep turning up in my bedroom, so why not?”
“You’re delirious, you fool!” she chuckled at me. “I’m going to get you a drink.”
It wasn’t long until she came back with an ice cold glass of water which she practically forced me to drink. She tucked the straw between my lips and placed her hand underneath my head. It made me ache more all over, but I was glad because as the icy liquid flew through my body, I felt myself coming back to life. It was as if everything inside of me had turned to dust like I was a desert inside, and the water running through me was washing some of that away.
“Thank you,” I muttered, as I flopped my head backward. “That’s better.”
“You just wait here,” she told me kindly. “I’ll be back in a moment with a cold washcloth to place on your forehead. We need to cool your temperature down.”
“I’ll wait,” I replied. “And, I’ll stay awake, too.”
But as soon as she was gone, my eyes instantly slid back closed again as the exhaustion washed over me. I wanted to wake up now, I wanted to spend some time with Olivia whether she was in my dreams or not, but I couldn’t. Sleep needed me, and I couldn’t ignore it…
***
“Huh? What?” I bolted into an upright position with sweat dripping all over my body. I felt wide awake but still asleep all at once; it was the weirdest sensation ever. The fever was still there, dizzying me and leaving me feeling strange, but it wasn’t as bad as it was before. I felt like I had a little bit of myself in there now, which wasn’t there before.
I slid my legs to the ground and rubbed my throbbing head. The sunlight was so blinding and white, it was challenging to see through, but I was going to have to make my way through it all eventually.
My bladder was full to the brim, and my desperation to go to the bathroom was getting to the boiling point, so I needed to move. The muscles in my arms felt weak, but there was just about enough strength in them to get my body into a standing position. My knees knocked together, my thighs felt shaky, and a deep sickness swirled inside of me. But I was up, that was a plus. If I just focused on that part, then it didn’t feel too bad…
Until I took a step. My knees weren’t ready for it, and the left one gave way. My whole leg buckled as I fell to the ground with a loud thump. “Ah, shit!” I cried out in dismay. “Fucking hell.” There was pain everywhere, even worse than usual.
“Oh my God, what happened?” I’d spent so long focusing on the new agony on my shoulder I didn’t hear Olivia’s footsteps racing towards me. “Zack, are you okay?”
“I didn’t know you were here,” I muttered to her. I blinked a few times, trying to get some memories back into my brain, but all I could draw was a frustrating blank. My mind was gray and fuzzy, emptier than ever before. “How long have you been here?”
“Long enough,” she replied in a bemused tone of voice. “Come on, let’s get you up.”
There was something in her tone that made me want to question her more, but I didn’t get the chance because she was already hoisting me into an upright position. Something must have happened during the time I was out of it, and I suppose it was something I’d have to find out later on.
“I need the bathroom,” I told her honestly instead. “Do you mind helping me there, I don’t want to fall and pee my pants.”
“Of course, I will!” She tucked under my armpit and led me in the right direction. As she moved me, a cheeky sense of fun-filled me, and I couldn’t resist giving her a flirty comment. I had an odd sense of déjà vu in my chest, but I wasn’t quite sure where from.
“Are you coming in with me? You could hold it if you like?”
“Hold what… Oh for goodness sake, Zack!” she half laughed. “I’m really trying to help you here. If you’re going to be a dick about it, then you can help yourself.”
“Don’t be so uptight,” I teased. “Just…wait for me here.”
She leaned her body up against the hallway wall and gave me one little smile before I made my way into the bathroom. While I peed, I smirked to myself as I thought about Olivia sitting with me all night long. She was definitely the sort of girl I wanted to date…
Wait, date. Something about that word stirred something deep inside of me. I could remember myself saying something, but I wasn’t totally sure if it was a dream or not.
“I need to take you out on a date. We might as well already be dating. You keep turning up in my bedroom, so why not?”
Did I actually say such forward things to Olivia? We were way past being polite, but that felt a bit far. Especially as I couldn’t recall the answer however hard I tried.
As I finally got out of the bathroom, hobbling on my bad leg, I noticed that Meghan and Lark were also standing in the hallway, looking at me as if I was some kind of freak to be stared at in a zoo. It made me shift uncomfortably on my feet.
“Oh wow, I am loved,” I told them all sarcastically with a silly little bow. “It’s nice to get an audience while I pee.”
“We weren’t exactly an audience; we weren’t in the bathroom with you. And, don’t make jokes about that,” Lark warned me. “We’ve all been really worried about you. At one point, Olivia had to force me not to drag you into the hospital. I thought the fever was about to get the better of you. I was honestly freaking out.”
“Don’t worry too much,” Olivia gave Lark a strong look. “I knew that as soon as your fever broke, you would be okay. You weren’t so bad to need the hospital.”
“We made you cupcakes,” Meghan interjected, taking the heat off me for a moment. Lark’s words truly had me worried despite Olivia’s insistence for me not to. Was I really that ill? It wasn't like him to worry over anything. “But Mommy said you might like toast first?”
“Toast would be amazing.” I ruffled her hair and grinned at her. Meghan’s sweetness overshadowed everything else. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
“And water, I bet,” Olivia gave me an imploring look as if she wanted to see how I felt really. “You need to keep hydrated today really. You’ll probably need some more rest, too.”
“Oh, I don’t think I could ever sleep again.” I tried to protest that I wasn’t tired, but even as the words left my mouth, I felt a wave of tiredness crashing over me. Maybe I could go back to bed, but I wanted to spend some time with my friends first. “Oh no, maybe not. I’ll just grab some food, something to drink; then I might go and get some more rest.”
“Well, we’re here all day long, buddy.” Lark cocked his head and grinned at me. “So whatever you need, we’ll sort it for you. Slaves for a day, and all that.”
I was touched. His words actually left me too emotional to answer him, so I simply gave him a sharp nod instead. I’d spent a lot of my time in the recent months feeling quite lonely. I missed all the people who were no longer in my life, but now I could quite clearly see the ones who were meant to be there were. Lark was an incredible friend to stick around during my hour of need, and Olivia was amazing, too. She had probably taken the day off of work just to see that I was okay, despite the fact that she barely knew me, really.
Well, it was time to change that. As soon as I got better, I would begin to really open myself up to her. For the first time in ages, I would actually let someone in, and I was excited for that.
***
I spent the next few hours waking on and off, leaving me unable to tell what was real and what was merely a creation of my mind. When my mom was sitting at the end of my bed talking to me, I knew that was a dream. But when Olivia’s lips pressed against mine, I wasn’t totally sure. It felt real, but it was unlikely that she would want to kiss me while I was in this state.
“I would love to go on a date with you,” dream Olivia murmured into my ear. “In fact, I want to be your girlfriend, if you’ll have me.”
“Of course.” As she said something so blatant, I decided that it had to be another thing that wasn’t real, so I delved in deeper. “Come here.”
She climbed onto the bed with me and kissed me hard and fast. As our lips moved in unison, her hand trailed down my body, and she dipped into my underwear. Having already felt her hand on my cock for real, it was much easier to bring that fantasy to life.
But then her mouth moved downwards, and I could feel us moving into another brand new territory. My erection stood at attention, and I waited for the warm wet heat of her mouth to slip around it.
“Buddy?” Urgh, that voice sounded far too much like Lark’s to my liking. All the sexual thrill ebbed from my body as I turned my head. “Are you calling out? Do you need anything?”
Yes, Olivia. I need her in here making that dream come true. I need you to be somewhere else entirely. I need her plump lips all over me, her soft skin brushing against mine, her hands sending me to heaven and back…
“No,” I grunted in reply. “Thank you.”