Secret obsession

CHAPTER 9

Thanks to yesterday, I wake up feeling like crap, I don’t think I can go to school today. My entire body aches, I have a sore throat, and I keep sneezing a lot. My mom hears me before she knocks at my door.

“Erin? Honey? Are you sick?” she asks from outside, and then she opens the door.

“I guess mom, my body aches… achoo!” I say with a nasal voice before sneezing.

My mom comes close to me while I get ready to go to school, and touches my forehead with the back of her hand. She waits a few seconds, then gasps.

“Oh no! Sweety you are burning… you are not going to school today Erin. Just go back to bed and I will go and call the principal.” My mom goes out of my room still talking about something that I don’t understand anymore.

I go back to my PJs and, since I feel so bad, I fall asleep in seconds. I sleep for just a few minutes. When my mom wakes me up, she is in front of me holding a cup of hot lemon tea and some ibuprofen.

“Here you go, sweety, take this pill and go back to sleep. I will be making your breakfast, alright?” My mom hands me the pill with the tea and caresses my hair a little bit. It is not like I’m dying, but my mom is the kind of mother that gets worried about the simplest things.

“Thanks mom” I sit up a little bit to take the pill and drink the whole cup of tea. It's hot enough that it makes me feel better instantly. I lay down again and my mom covers me with a blanket. I then let my body rest.

I'm dreaming of having a good day at the beach with two different people holding my hands. The water looks fine and the smell of the sea is lovely. I feel one person pulling me to go swimming and I want to go, but the other person holding my other hand is pulling me back to stay away from the water. Both people start fighting, pulling me from side to side. I try to look at them and scream, but I cannot distinguish who they are, and I’m out of voice. Suddenly, a big wave is coming towards us and I want to warn them so we can run, but they don’t listen to me. The wave is almost hitting us when I jump in my bed exalted and breathing heavily.

“Shh! It's ok darlin, you were just dreaming”, my mom says, sitting on the edge of my bed drying the sweat off my forehead with a handkerchief. I brought you breakfast, I hope you like it”, she says with her sweet voice like if I’m her baby again. “Whatever you need, just call me alright sweetheart?”

“Thanks mom, I will” I say, smiling at her while she goes out of my room. I look at the breakfast, and it looks delicious, so I eat everything and I drink my orange juice. I normally don’t eat that much, but for some reason I was hungry and after finishing the breakfast I got sleepy. I grab my phone before going back to sleep and I text Kim.

Me: “Under the weather, I will see you tomorrow”

“Really? That sucks! Take care, I will go visit you after school – Kim”

I don’t want Kim to worry, but I also don’t want her to come. If Kim comes, that means Jake will come too, and honestly, I don’t think I forgive him yet. Thinking about that, I’m not sure if I should tell Henry that I’m sick. I mean, we are not dating or anything. I’m still not sure if he is toying with me. That last thought shrinks my heart a little bit. Maybe after some sleep I can think clearly about what to do.

I wake up after what I believe was sleeping a lot. I grab my cellphone to see what time it is; 9 o’clock. It’s still too early. I tend to get bored easily, and I don’t like to be in bed all day, but my body still aches, and it's hard for me to swallow. I grab the lemonade my mom left on my nightstand while I was asleep and drink a little bit. The lemon flavor sure feels good but is not enough to erase the discomfort. Maybe I should keep resting. Honestly, I don’t have the strength to stand up and go downstairs. I lay down once more, covered with blankets when my phone buzzes. “Maybe that’s Kim” I say to myself.

“I told you that you were going to get sick – The Most Handsome”

Butterflies flutter in my stomach, making me forget about resting and the body ache.

Me: “Good morning to you too, Henry”. I try to answer normal.

“Good morning beautiful!... next time you should listen to me first – The Most Handsome”

Me: “Is not that bad, plus I enjoyed the rain with you.” I regret the last text after sending it, it's too obvious, and I don’t want him to start acting weird again.

“I also enjoyed the rain with you Erin, I bet you miss me right now – The Most Handsome”

I laugh a little bit, biting my lip and making my happy dance knowing nobody is watching. It is so weird that he can make me feel better just by sending words.

Me: “I think you are the one that misses me more”

“True, but I miss your lips more – The Most Handsome”

I blush instantly after reading that, and my heart is pounding harder in my chest. Suddenly, I feel like I have a fever again.

Me: “I don’t know what you are talking about”. I decided to play dumb.

“Oh really?! Maybe I should go to your house and refresh your memory personally – The Most Handsome”

I’m smiling like crazy, thinking that he might come to see me just because he misses me. It makes me so happy. I really want to see him, and I really miss him too… but I’m sick, I’m sneezing a lot, which is gross if I want to look pretty to him. I’m pretty sure that if he looks at me like this, he will not like me anymore.

Me: “Maybe I will remember later after resting some more.” There, I will try to keep him from coming until I get better. I hope it works.

“Are you trying to avoid me baby? – The Most Handsome”

Oh my God! He didn’t fall for it. It's like if he can see through me, damn it! How should I fix this? I don’t want him to come, but I also don’t want him to think I don’t want to see him anymore…

“Don’t worry beautiful, I will not go to see you today. I have some things to do – The Most Handsome”

I get sad reading his text, but at the same time, I know it will be better. I don’t want him to see me blowing my nose, talking with a nasal voice and stuff that doesn’t look attractive.

Me: “Are you not in class?” I ask, trying to change the subject.

“I am, but I’m also thinking about you – The Most Handsome”

Me: “I am thinking about you too.” I feel nervous writing that to him.

I wait for his answer but nothing. Maybe the teacher caught him and took his phone from him, or maybe he just got a warning… I think that when he gets the chance, he will text me again. I get more comfortable and ready to sleep when my mom comes in.

“Erin, sweety how are you feeling?” she says while touching my forehead again.

“I think I feel better mom, but I still have a sore throat” I say, rubbing it with my hand.

“Well, I think you still have a fever, but it seems to be lower than before. You should rest a little bit more. I know you don’t like to be in bed the whole day, but it's for your own good honey... are you hungry or thirsty?”

“No mom, I’m fine, actually I do want to rest some more” I say, closing my eyes while she plays with my hair.

“Alright sweety, I will bring you more lemon tea in case you’re thirsty when you wake up” she stands up and walks away.

“Thanks mom” I managed to say before falling asleep.

------

The smell of food wakes me up, my stomach starts to growl, but I also need to go to the bathroom. I have been drinking too much lemonade that my bladder is almost ready to explode. I am going out of the bathroom when my dad knocks on the door.

“Erin, are you awake? May I come in?”

“Sure dad” I answer getting into my bed again.

My dad comes in holding a tray with a plate full of vegetables and another one with chicken breast and pasta. My stomach growls just looking at it, but I wasn’t expecting my dad to bring me food.

“What are you doing here this early dad?” I ask him, surprised while he puts the tray in front of me and laughs.

“Oh no pumpkin, it's not early anymore… it’s 4:30 Erin, you’ve been sleeping the whole day. I guess you really feel bad since you stayed in bed all this time sweety” he laughs.

“What?!” I shout surprised. “4:30?! That can’t be right” I look down thinking how this happened.

“Maybe if you open the curtains you could see the sun and have a better track of the day.” My dad goes to the balcony and opens the curtains and the balcony doors. "You also need some air pumpkin, but not too much. I don’t want you to get worse” he smiles at me with love and goes out the balcony, I think he saw something. I wait for him, eating my pasta. “You have visitors sweety, I’ll go down to open the door”.

“Visitors?” I ask following him with my eyes.

“Yes, it is Jake and his girlfriend, a pretty girl that I don’t know”, he frowns, thinking about her. “Maybe is a new girlfriend”, he adds.

“No dad, that’s Kim… my best friend?” I ask with a tone, trying to help my dad to remember.

“Oh right! Kim… well I will go open the door” and he goes out of my room.

It is not surprising that my dad doesn’t remember Kim. She doesn’t come often to my house, not even on my birthdays. She is more of the ‘seeing each other at a coffee place or somewhere else’ type. Jake, on the other hand, is so close that he has his own house keys from my parents (feels uncomfortable using them though). He visits so often that they love him so much, he even comes to my house to visit my parents when I’m not here.

I’m still eating my food when someone knocks on the door just to announce they will open it.

“Erin girl, how are you?” Kim comes in and sits on my bed next to me.

“I’m better, I guess” I say, swallowing the food I had in my mouth. We hear Jake laughing before coming in.

“Hi minion!” he says so relaxed after chatting with my dad. “You look awful by the way” he says, standing trying to make the bad vibe between us go away, but I can see in his eyes how guilty he feels.

“Thanks Jake, that’s exactly what I wanted to hear” I say, rolling my eyes and going back to my food.

“C’mon! You know he doesn’t mean it”, Kim defends him and looks at him.

“Of course! You know I’m kidding!” he smiles; Awkward silence fills the room. “We brought you your homework and some notes you missed today” he puts a folder on my desk. The silence is still filling the room.

“Oh, c’mon Erin! I don’t want you guys to be fighting. We are your best friends. Just let’s forget about everything! What do you think?” Kim says, faking excitement; I keep quiet thinking about that.

“You’re right Kim, let's just forget about it” I say, and give a weak smile to Jake, who also smiles at me relieved.

“Thank God!” Jake says, coming close to me, “because I know your mom’s pasta is the best. I really want to eat it” he says while taking the fork from my hand and starts eating my food, pushing me closer to Kim to sit on the other side of me.

“Stop Jake!” I try to fight for the fork with him, but I cannot resist laughing and let him win.

Jake ends up eating my food and laughing and calling me names. I’m also laughing at his childish attitude and I turn around to Kim to see if she was laughing too. She was looking at us seriously and when she realizes I am looking at her, she fake smiles at me…

We spend a lot of time in my bedroom chatting about memories and laughing at Jake’s stories. It's like the old times when we were all just friends and laughed at everything. Jake takes out his cellphone to see what time it is and then looks at Kim.

“Kim let's go. I promised your parents that I will return you home early today”, he says, coming close to me giving me a kiss on the forehead. He does that every time I get sick.

“OK” she says, looking at the floor disappointed, then comes to me after Jake kisses me and gives me a hug. “Hope to see you tomorrow girl, please get better soon”, she says, and walks to the door where Jake is waiting for her.

“I will, and I will miss you guys!” I smile at them.

Kim goes out of my bedroom first and Jake stands up at the door a few seconds behind her.

“See you tomorrow, Luciferin” he winks at me and closes the door behind him.

I hear my dad laughing with Jake before he goes out my house. There is no doubt about how much my family loves him. He is basically another son to my parents. I am going to the bathroom to brush my teeth. In my bed I debate with myself if I should text Henry or not. After some time, I decide to text him, but something casual that does not sound desperate.

Me: “You weren’t lying when you said you were going to be busy… I guess I will see you tomorrow then. Good night”. I wait for his answer, feeling nervous and then my phone buzzes.

“Good night – The Most Handsome”

That’s it?! After all day he just texts me ‘good night’? I sight with frustration getting mad at him clapping my phone with my chin, thinking if I should send him another text, but my pride is bigger this time and the pill is doing its job, so I lay down and fall asleep.

------

A new day starts and I feel better. Although I still have a nasal voice which I hate, I go to the bathroom and scan myself in the mirror. I look awful. Sincerely, I don’t want to go to school yet. I don’t want Henry to see me like this. I stare looking at me while thinking, maybe I should take one more day, I will tell my mom I don’t feel much better today and see if she believes me.

My mom goes out of the room and I feel happy that she has let me stay at home one more day. Since I don’t feel that bad, I decided to work on my assignments and get on track with my notes. I also sleep a little bit more and stay in bed just like yesterday. I’m watching TV when someone knocks at the door. I guess my dad brought me dinner again.

“Come in!” I say turning the TV off.

“Hi Luciferin! How are you feeling?” Jake enters my room with my dinner on a tray.

“Jake! I wasn’t expecting you”, I say surprised.

“I know”, he pushes me to the other side of the bed so he can sit next to me. “I just want to make sure you feel better”, he adds, and slides the tray in front of me to eat.

“Where is Kim?” I ask.

“She is not coming, I guess she has homework or something,” he shrugs.

It feels nice to have Jake here with me. He is like a brother to me and I love spending time with him when he is not in his weird mood. He finished my dinner without asking and we both stay in bed watching TV. He switched the channel, so we are watching Sponge Bob, which is Jake’s favorite. I think he and I are back to normal now. He even talks to me about what he is going to give to Kim so she can forgive him. They are on good terms now, but he still feels bad about what happened. Without realizing is 10 pm, my parents don’t really care if Jake stays home late, but even so, I think is time for him to go.

“Alright evil goddess” he says while standing up “I will go now… I now you feel better so I’m pretty sure I will see you tomorrow right?” he waits for my answer.

“Yes, I will be there tomorrow” I smile awkwardly, I’m pretty sure he know I could have go to school today.

“Great! I’ll tell Kim you say ‘hi’ when I call her” he bends over a little to give me a kiss on my forehead “see you tomorrow cruel princess.”

“Bye bye Jake” I say while he walks out of my room.

I go out of the bathroom after brushing my teeth, I go to my bed again and grab my cellphone. I have two messages that I open up right away.

“Jake told me you feel better now. I will see you tomorrow girl – Kim”

“Do you think it is normal for me to miss you so much? – The Most Handsome”

My mood changed so drastically, I’m still upset about his short message yesterday, but I will give him the benefit of the doubt.

Me: “I think you only miss me at night, don’t you think?”

“Oh! I’m sorry princess, yesterday was a crazy day and today wasn’t that different – The Most Handsome”

“But I sure have been thinking about you a lot… you and those tasty lips you have – The Most Handsome”

Me: “I think I will need some proof to believe you” I think it is time for me to stop being shy and ask for what I want, since I feel better now.

“I would love to prove to you that right now beautiful, but like I said, I had a busy day today too, plus I don’t want you to get sicker… to be honest, I still feel bad that you got sick because of me – The Most Handsome”

I know it wasn’t his fault, but I get the feeling he is telling the truth and really feels guilty, so I try to comfort him a little bit.

Me: “It wasn’t your fault exactly.” I almost send that text when I remember tomorrow is Friday “but if you want to make me feel better you can come with me to dance tomorrow” I feel excited, already waiting for his answer.

“You don’t waste any chance, do you?... If you come to school tomorrow, I will think about it – The Most Handsome.”

I start dancing in my bed. I know for sure that he will go to dance with me.

Me: “no problem, I can do that” I send that last message at the same time I get another one from him.

“And if you let me taste those beautiful lips one more time of course – The Most Handsome”

Oh my God! I guess I should have waited longer before texting ‘no problem’ to him. Now he might think I’m agreeing to the kiss. I pause to think about it but my phone buzzes.

“Great! Tomorrow sure will be a good day – The Most Handsome”

Oh, no! He thinks I want to kiss him… I do want to kiss him, but I wasn’t supposed to answer like that. I feel so embarrassed now, I will not text him anymore, there is nothing more to say, I will just leave it like that and go to sleep (if I can). I guess he knows I didn’t mean to answer his text like that he knows I was talking about just going to school tomorrow, and his last text proves me how much he likes to play with me.

“Can’t wait for tomorrow… see you at school beautiful Erin – The Most Handsome”

I push my face in my pillow and scream realizing how dumb I am… hope tomorrow will be a better day.