32Yulia
The next several days pass in a fog of fever and pain. My bones ache, and my throat feels like I swallowed a ball of fire. Even the roots of my hair hurt, the heat of the fever consuming from within. The illness takes everything out of me, leaving me weak and shaking, and the simplest activities—like going to the bathroom and showering—require Lucas’s help.
I sleep for what feels like twenty hours a day, and if it weren’t for Lucas forcing water, tea, and soup on me at regular intervals, I’d sleep even more. But he keeps waking me up to spoon-feed me various liquids, and I’m too drained to resist his gentle but insistent brand of caregiving. He’s with me at night, his big body curved protectively around mine as we sleep, and he’s next to me during the day—all day.
“Don’t you hav
