A request :)
The very minute Taylor woke up, she knew. It was still dark out; the room was pitch black and when she pulled herself out of bed, careful not to jostle Travis who was snoring lightly, the ground swayed underneath her.
Light-headed, she padded into the master bathroom, turned on the light and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were red and watery, skin flushed. Every time she swallowed, her throat hurt. Her nose was swollen to the touch and the glare from the overhead fixture was making her temples ache.
Fuck.
She hated being sick. Since she was a kid, the idea of sitting around and staying in bed all day, not by choice, was a fate equal with torture. Her friends loved a good sick day because that meant no school and as much junk television as they wanted, but to Taylor, whose own mother believed in canned Campbell's chicken noodle and only an hour of TV, it was boring. She could've been riding her bike or bedazzling something, even homework would've been preferable to "resting."
Of course, as a grown woman, she typically had the option to take an actual day to recover or power through and when she had a show to do, it was typically the latter. Medicate, hydrate and go out and do what she had to do.
But the circumstances were slightly different. She was on break, so no performance to be concerned with, there was nothing pressing that needed her attention...and probably most importantly, there was no way Travis wouldn't notice she wasn't feeling well. She knew if she even attempted to get out of bed, he'd give her sad, puppy dog eyes that pleaded with her to take care of herself. And she did, usually. She was much better at it than in the past, at any rate, so between Trav's quiet insistence and listening to her own body, she was fully prepared to lay low.
Didn't mean she had to like it.
Grumpily, she flicked off the switch and made her way back into bed, pulling the covers all the way up to her chin. No, that was no good. She was too hot. Down came the sheets and comforter on her side, tugging a little on Travis's side, too, making him emit a small groan in his sleep.
"Shhh," Taylor whispered, a hand on his upper back. She fixed the tangled bedding, patting it securely against him.
For a minute or two, she lay there and the air felt good, especially given her face was on fire. After that, though, she was suddenly freezing. Teeth chattering, shivering, cold. Up went the blankets and she burrowed herself in them, cuddling against Trav's back for extra warmth.
The struggle went on at least three more times; hot, cold, cold, hot until finally, mercifully, she fell asleep but not before she caught a glimpse of the sun coming up on the horizon.
"Tay?"
A gentle hand pressed against her forehead and she forced her eyes open. The sunlight pouring through the blinds felt like a thousand tiny needles being driven directly into her eyeballs, but she made herself focus on Travis who was standing above her.
"Hey, hey," the bed shifted and he kept the heel of his hand to her head, eyes worried. "You're burning up."
"What time is it?"
"It's almost ten-thirty. I just woke up a little while ago, took a shower and you were still sleeping."
He didn't add that it wasn't like her to be in bed that late, but it was obvious from how he was looking at her, it deeply concerned him.
"Oh, shit. I've gotta move."
Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, a wave of dizziness sent her right back down.
