When Good Things End - A Novel Series

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯ 35 ◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

I want to hit Laurent for smiling. Even if it's dark, I can tell he's silently laughing at me. "I don't even want to know what I said," I grumbled, baring my red face into my hands. I don't like that I sleep talk! It's such a dumb thing to be embarrassed about.

The hammock kept drawing us to the center, and I can't hide away because of it. "I'm not trying to make fun of you," he chuckled. "Do you even remember what you dreamed about?" He asked, trying to uncover my face.

"No, I don't really remember anything," I sighed, letting him pull my hands away from my face as I stuck my tongue out at him, hoping he couldn't see since the room was still closed off from the light.

He checked my forehead temperature "How are you feeling? Any better than yesterday?"

"I'm just having chills," I summed up. My full list of symptoms was much longer. Ranging from my sore eyes to how it feels like every muscle in my body is aching. I'm weaker than I want to admit, my headache keeps coming back, and I'm sleepy even though I was awake for only a few hours these past few days.

He sat up, rocking the hammock slightly. "I'll get you a some water and something to eat if you end up getting hungry."

I hummed in approval. Water sounded nice. "Can I see Milo soon?" I asked. "Wait— never mind. Don't bring him over, I'd rather not get him sick with whatever this is." I laid back down, wrapping myself up in a cocoon.

Another chill shuddered through me as I closed my eyes. I think I ended up falling asleep and now I woke up to whispered voices in the hallway. I slipped out of the hammock, trying to ignore how every step I took shot a dagger of pain into my head and made me dizzy.

Leo was talking with Laurent. "How is Alice?" I asked as Laurent handed me the glass of water he was holding.

"She's doing alright considering everything," Laurent said.

"Why am I not home?" I asked, feeling just how slowly I realized I'd stayed at the guard tower for some reason. The fire. Was that at my house? Is that why I'm here? "What happened two days ago? To that fire?"

"That happened more than a week ago," Leo said, surprising me.

"That can't be true, right? I woke up the day after-" After what? What happened after the fire? It's just a blank canvas. Why can't I remember?

"I can explain everything to you once you recover from your fev-"

I threw up. The disgusting taste of vomit forced me to heave anything and everything from my stomach.

I ended up back in my hammock a few minutes later with almost a dozen people in the room before they slowly went on their own business after I kept telling everyone I'm okay. I took naps throughout the day, and at some point and time a pillow was put under my head and a blanket was pulled over me.

"Alice got sick with a fever. I hope you didn't mind me," Donna explained from the doorway.

After that, I was quarantined, so no one else caught my fever for the next three days. People check in on me every so often. While I was here, I kept trying to remember what happened last week. Bits and pieces came to me in flashbacks.

Herald's voice shouting for his wife. The burning building. Sharing brownies. I remember Grace's note on the parchment and what I wanted to tell Laurent.

I pushed off from the wall, rocking in the hammock as I grazed the healed nick on my ear. I still want to tell Laurent what I'm planning.

"Knock knock." Laurent's voice came through from the door. He has been checking up on me twice a day.