Delicate Pulse | Violentine

Fever

With her voice breaking, she whispers, almost pleading with me. "It's Christmas."

Shit.

I bow my head. "Uh...I'm sorry, you're right. I don't know what I was thinking..."

She sniffs, wiping her eyes. "I-It's probably just a phase, it happens to most couples. Maybe the weather is giving you cold feet," she chuckles, faintly.

Her hands drop to clench mine and she steps closer to me. "I love you."

"I love you too."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Clementine!"

"It's everywhere," she coughs out, erupting into another shriek. She starts clawing at her hair, scraping her skin. Shit, she's going to hurt herself.

I bolt to her side, nearly stacking it. "It's okay!

She continues to howl, kicking with all her strength. Without another thought, I seize a flying fist and nestle it. "You're safe! It's just a nightmare."

Her movements begin to stall and stiffen. Then her eyes shot open, flickering at me. She stops screaming.

I gasp with relief. "See? Just a nightmare."

Seconds pass and she merely looks at me but even under the moonlight, I can see that something is wrong. The typical white pooling around her hazel iris was bloodshot. Her hair didn't sweep across her temples properly. It stuck to her skin, standing up in the wrong places. A dark mark existed under her ear, like a smear of ink.

She attempts to compute words but she can't. Instead, her body jerks forward in a familiar motion and she clamps her mouth.

Oh no.

She shoves me to the floor and tramples over me. She growls a hiss of pain before falling at the desk bin. She grips onto it and heaves violently.

"I-I'll get the nurse," cries Brody, darting out of our room. I forgot she was even here.

I rush to Clem's aid. My fingers twitch, stretching to hold her hair back but she wrenches away. "You. Can't," she pants, coughing and gasping for air. "S-Stop."

"I'm trying to help-"

She screams. "NO!"

Fear rips me away, nailing me against the wall. I watch her shudder and groan in agony, muttering and sobbing. She stayed this way until the nurse came to her rescue. Half the dorm was awake now.

I never went back to sleep.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I hadn't said anything all day. Brody was the opposite. She couldn't shut up. She was blabbering on and on in panic. I couldn't understand what she was saying, even with her sitting right next to me. The trauma of last night was drowning her out.

Louis was rubbing my back, urging me to eat and drink. I refused silently. I couldn't stomach anything.

"Virus and a mild concussion," reveals Ruby, walking to our table.

Brody splutters. "Concussion?!"

"Not a bad one but she'll be with the nurse for a few days," sighs Ruby. "They've already called a doctor and her parents."

I spit my first words of today. My voice strikes the atmosphere, coarsely. "How the fuck did she get a concussion?"

Ruby hesitates. "Apparently, she fell and hit her head or something yesterday. That's all I've got."