The Upside of Falling Back To You

chapter thirty six | sick days

"ASTERIA?"

I struggle to open my eyes when I hear my name. My head hurts. My eyes are heavy. I want to stay asleep. But I manage to crack them open, seeing an equally tired Ronan at my eye level, one of his hands behind my ear, trying to gently stroke me awake.

I try to say something, but I barely get out a mumble. My eyes close again.

"I know you're tired, I know it was a long night and you had a lot to drink, but I just wanted to let you know that you leaked on-"

That was enough to get me at least half awake. I jolt upwards, my head beginning to throb. True enough, splotches of dried blood was on the sheets and most likely on my - no, Ronan's sweatpants. I was wearing an old shirt of his, too.

I was more than embarrassed, my cheeks burning red. "I-" I closed my eyes, feeling the blood rush in my head. "I'm sorry. I can clean it up, I-"

"No, I got this," Ronan stops me mid-sentence. "You know, between now and when we were last friends, I did gain a younger sister that regularly stains sheets. Do you want to go clean up a bit?"

I blinked. Then coughed. Then pressed my hand against my face. I don't really think I could check my own temperature, but I did feel sort of warm. Looking around, I noticed a bucket on the floor next to the bed.

Long night. It was definitely a long night, and Ronan dealt with all of it.

But I was forgetting something. I know I'm forgetting something. I coughed again, and sniffed. Yeah, most likely sick with something else. I turn back to Ronan. "What day is it?"

He checks his phone. "Monday."

I raised an eyebrow. "Time?"

"Ten thirty in the morning."

Shit. I tried to get out of bed, my breathing turning heavy. Was I panicking? Maybe. But Ronan stopped me. "Hey, hey, hey wait. What's-"

"I have a-" I coughed. "I have a meeting... a pitch meeting... fuck, I didn't even finish the edits. I have to go, Ronan, I have to go or else I'm going to be fired and fuck let me up, Ronan."

"I already called the company this morning, Aster. I told them you were sick, you had a rough night and you really needed the day off. I... I didn't know this meeting was really important to you, but if you do lose your job after today, I'll help you find a new position, okay?"

My breathing slowed down. Now, for the first time in the last however many hours, I actually take a look at Ronan. His eyes were red, tired from lack of sleep. His hair was a mess, which I expected because it is a mess most of the time. The tip of his nose looked red, his skin pale.

"You look awful," I say next.

He lets out a weak laugh. "Let's be honest here, Asteria. You don't look any better." He looks down, his hands playing with my fingers and the bracelet around my wrist. "So, um, if you think you can get out of bed, you can head into the shower and clean up, I can get the laundry going, and you and I can talk."

Talk... right.

Ronan lends me another set of clothes (he also had new women's underwear, which I was not about the question) as I haul my heavy body into the bathroom. The ache is terribly, someone constantly hitting the side of my head with a hammer. I could taste bile in my throat, and I'm sure I'm going to throw up again. Somehow I manage to step into the shower and turn the warm water on. I press my forehead against the wall, letting the droplets roll down my back.

It was too early for this. Opening my eyes again, I open the new soap box and begin scrubbing. I wanted to get last night off my skin. The sweat and the alcohol and the kisses. My skin turned pink - almost red - but I needed to get it all off.