Chapter Twenty-Four— “Just Another Delay”
390 Words
The sun hadn’t even fully dragged itself up over the horizon when Owen woke to the sound of coughing.
It wasn't the wet, rattling hack from yesterday.
It was worse.
Deeper.
Looser.
Like her lungs were peeling apart from the inside.
He groaned low in his throat, scrubbing a hand over his face.
Fucking great.
---
Leia was a mess.
Curled into a tight ball on her side, face slick with sweat, the blanket tangled around her legs like a noose.
Her whole body shuddered with every weak, broken cough.
There was a half-full glass of ginger ale on her nightstand, but it looked untouched.
Owen watched her for a long moment.
Waiting to see if she'd stop.
Waiting to see if he could get dressed and slip out without her noticing.
But she didn't stop.
She just wheezed harder —
every breath hitching and gasping like a dying fish on a dock.
---
He sighed heavily and sat up, swinging his legs off the bed.
Leia cracked one bloodshot eye open.
Her voice came out in a ragged whisper:
"Baby... can you grab my phone?"
Owen grunted, already pulling his jeans on.
He tossed the phone onto the bed without looking.
Leia fumbled for it with trembling hands.
---
He could hear her weak voice as she called work, barely more than a hoarse whisper into the receiver.
"Hi... it's Leia Cole... I’m sorry, I’m still... not well enough to come in today..."
There was a long pause.
She coughed violently away from the phone.
Owen caught a glimpse of her hand —
shaking so badly she almost dropped the damn thing.
Another pause.
Another apology.
He didn’t wait to hear the end of it.
He finished dressing, yanked on his jacket, grabbed his keys.
Leia hung up as he walked past the bed.
Her hand shot out, catching his wrist with surprising speed.
"Love you," she whispered, voice raw and cracked.
Owen looked down at her.
At the pale, sweat-slick face.
The desperate hope flickering like a dying candle in her eyes.
He forced a smile. "Yeah," he said flatly.
He peeled her fingers off his wrist, one by one.
And walked out.
The front door slammed behind him, rattling the sick air inside the house.
Leia curled tighter into the bed, shivering violently against the damp sheets.
- Writer
