𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝘼𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚 | 𝙋𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙊𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙖

vii. Say You Love Me

A few months later...

"Good morning, Gustave," Charlotte smiled, kissing the boy's cheek. "I made you a lunch to take to school."

"Thank you, Charlotte!" Gustave said as he picked up his lunch pail off the table.

"Do you know if your father is awake yet?" Charlotte asked as she handed him a plate of eggs.

"He wasn't awake just yet when I left my room," Gustave replied as he took a bite of his breakfast.

"Alright. I'm going to wake him up so that he can come eat breakfast," Charlotte nodded.

"Okay. Thank you for the eggs."

"You're welcome, dear," Charlotte smiled, going upstairs to Erik's room, knocking on the door. "Erik, breakfast is ready."

When no response came, Charlotte pushed the door open and found Erik still in bed, his back to the door. "Erik, it's time to get out of bed. You've really slept in," Charlotte chuckled. "If you don't come downstairs, you'll have trouble sleeping tonight."

"That's alright. I'll be fine," Erik groaned in response.

"Are you alright?" Charlotte asked with a small frown as she approached the bed.

"I'm fine, I just didn't sleep very well last night."

Charlotte's frown deepened a bit when she noticed that his voice was hoarse and deeper than normal. "Erik, you seem congested," she said softly, gently putting a hand on his forehead. "Oh, dear, you're running a fever. Can you cough for me?"

"Why?" Erik asked as he rolled over to face her.

"I just need to hear it. I know what I'm doing, okay? Cough for me, please," Charlotte sighed.

Erik frowned, but eventually gave in and coughed, wincing when he did. "Are you content?" he croaked.

"Yes. And you're definitely sick," Charlotte nodded. "Just stay in bed for today."

"No, no, I have work to do. I'm fine," Erik insisted.

"No, stay in bed," Charlotte said softly. "Work can wait."

"I'm fine, truly." Erik got up out of bed and up on his feet, only to fall into a dizzy spell as the room started to spin. He grabbed onto Charlotte's shoulders to support himself, squeezing his eyes shut hard for a second. "I'm perfectly fine."

Charlotte put her hands on his waist to steady him. "You need to lie down, Erik. You're trembling."

"I-I'm alright. Just a little b-bit c-cold."

"Erik, you need to rest or you won't recover," Charlotte said softly. "Come on. I can make you tea."

"Alright, alright, I'll get back in bed. I don't want you overworking yourself, though," Erik said as he reluctantly laid back down.

"It won't wear me out, I promise," Charlotte smiled. "I'm used to caring for two devil children while cleaning a house and cooking the family's meals."

"I just don't want you feeling obligated to take care of Gustave and myself. I should be caring for my son, not making you do it," Erik said, turning his head as he coughed

"Will you just shut up and let me care for you?" Charlotte laughed softly.

Erik put his hands up in surrender. "Okay, I'll stop."

"Okay, good," Charlotte smiled. "I'll make you some tea. Can I bring you some eggs, or are you sick to your stomach?"

"I guess we'll see. Maybe just the tea for now and we'll see how that goes."