The cure for the cold.
-^-^-^-
_Ernest’s POV_
Her face is red, her lips tremble, and her breathing is heavy. As I sit by her bed, holding her delicate hand, I can’t help but to blame myself for her current state. She wouldn’t have caught a terrible cold if I haven’t so carelessly fallen asleep on her lap. Who would be so stupid as to spend a night sleeping in a park? Me. And what is worse, Aira has become the victim of my stupidity. Now she lies powerless with body temperature over 40 degrees.
Earlier I have given her some medicine and she has fallen into a restless sleep. All I can do is watching over her and wiping away her sweat, while she is tossing and turning on her bed. Though all the joints in my body feel stiff like hinges which are not oiled, I don’t want to rest just yet. I need to make sure Aira can get through her critical period.
I’m sitting next to her bed in the dim room, holding her sweaty hand. I have closed the curtain because it is 10 in the morning and I don’t want the sunray hurt her eyes. Aira stirs in her sleep and mumbles incoherently. She frowns her forehead, her breath is ragged. Does she have a nightmare?
Pulling myself closer to her, I whisper, “I’m here, Aira-chan… I’ll take care of you.” Then I grab the cloth I have prepared on the bedside table and wiped the beads of sweat that begin to form on her forehead and neck. Her eyes slowly flutter open. A pair of adorable blue eyes scan the surrounding before they are fixed on me. It saddens me that her eyes are not as lively as usual.
Aira’s lips curve into a weak smile. “Ern…Ernest…” she says my name in between breaths. I feel warm inside everytime she says my name.
“Yes?” I smile back, caressing her face; the tips of my fingers burn as they come into contact with her skin. She looks so fragile all I want is to hold her and take care of her, and never let her go. Aira squeezes my hand weakly.
“You…stay… Thank you…” she looks so relief.
I shake my head sadly; why is she thanking me? I’m the one who made her sick in the first place. “Don’t worry, I got you. Just rest, Aira-chan.” I assure her. And she slips into her sleep once more. I sit unmoving for a half an hour before I get up and go to the kitchen to fetch some more ice. While I am at it, I decide to allow myself a glass of milk and some chocolate chip cookies.
When I open the fridge, I am not totally surprised to find a box of white chocolate lying innocently next to a couple of brownies. It is indeed the delicacy I have bought for Aira. I smile to myself; I always know that she doesn’t like white chocolate, she doesn’t even consider it a chocolate, but I give it to her anyway. It was kind of foolish actually, I want to know her reaction… I am waiting for her to snap and finally tell me that she doesn’t like it. Aira is the kind of person that keeps her feelings inside; keeps them for herself. But I want her to be more open in front of me; I want her to know that it is okay to be freaky sometimes and she can show me her true feelings. I guess I just wanted to be her dearest person. I wonder if I’m doing it wrong... one of these days I should stop giving her white chocolate and give her the dark chocolate that she loves instead.
-^-^-^-
Aira wakes up again at 2 P.M. I bet she is hungry so I have already prepared some porridge. She rejects it though, saying that she feels nauseus and the smell of the porridge makes her want to throw up. I remember seeing some peaches in her fridge, so I cut them into pieces and get her to eat them.
“I’m sorry…” says Aira after she have slowly munched down the first slice of peach.
“For what?” I ask her, gently pushing another slice into her mouth. She frowns, and her eyes are like saying ‘how can I answer you with my mouth full?’ I chuckle. “Nevermind that. I won’t have you apologizing to me for anything. Just…shush.”
“But… Ern! Have you…seen yourself in the mirror?” she hisses.
I shrug and try to shove the next fruit slice, but Aira takes it from my hand. “You got bags under you eyes…You haven’t got some sleep, right?” she looks straight into my eyes. Her eyes bear the mixture of guilt and accusation. I sigh. “Ern, you have to—“ she doesn’t finish her sentence, because suddenly I lean forward and capture her lips with mine.
The moment Aira and I collide, the world around us blurs away. It is sweet…peach sweet. It is the same no matter when, where, or how; kissing her always has the same intoxicating effect. I get a nice chills run down my spine and there is this warmth spreading all over me. It is like poking a sleeping hungry beast inside me with a stick… This beast longs to devour the girl before me. And my hands tremble as I try to—not to—hold the back of Aira’s neck… to still her as I deepen the kiss.
I am told that I am a man with a great self-control. But a man nevertheless. The beast within me grows fiercer with years of waiting. I want to take her, so bad that I think I am going mad.
Slowly Aira closes her eyes. She does nothing to stop me, but she also does nothing to urge me. Does she know that there is a ferocious battle going on inside me…? A battle between my id and my superego; between a gentleman and a beast…
With a scrap of sanity left inside me, I finally pull myself away. I am screaming inside. My body aches with every inch of distance I put between us, but I won’t let the beast win. I have tightened the rein around its neck, though it can’t change the fact that I have done something improper: forcing myself on her when she is in a weak state. Not daring to see the expression of Aira’s face, I look down…and I se that Aira’s hands are trembling on her lap. I look up then.
Aira is looking at me so intensely. And it is not remorse that I see in her eyes… It is… something that tells me that she wants me as much as I want her. She opens her mouth as if wanting to say something, but she closes it again; we both know one word from her could shatter our fragile self-control.
“I…” I swallow hard; my throat feels so dry. “I need to go… to the bathroom.” and I leave as soon as she nods—which is pretty fast.
I dunk my head in cold water and keep it submerge for half a minute. It always helps me to think clearer. Okay. ‘Oh My God… I’m so pathetic’ I tell myself as I look at my reflection in the mirror. I’m a mess; not only I got bags under my eyes, I also got bloodshot eyes. ‘Come on Ernest, pull yourself together.’ I take a few deep breaths and I feel a little almost insignificant bit better.
I must have spent more time than I thought cooling myself down, because when I get out of the bathroom, Aira have finished her peach and gone to sleep. She has even changed her sweat-soaked pajama. She sleeps pretty soundly, so I allow myself to get some rest. I lean back on the chair and close my eyes. Due to the tiredness, sleep overtakes me in seconds.
-^-^-^-
I wake up abruptly to the sound of Fort Minor singing Right Now, the ringtone I assign to my colleagues group. While trying to gain a total consciouness, I pull out the cellphone from my pocket. The name Helena Millington is flashing on the LCD screen. I also note the time, 9:10 P.M… I have been sleeping for about seven hours. Wow.
“Yes, Dr. Millington?” I answer.
“Ernest,” the female doctor’s voice is brimming with anxiety and urgency. “Come to the hospital right away, we need an internist. It’s emergency.”
I can’t help but to frown at my colleague’s ignorance in addressing me as Doctor. “I’m off today. How about Dr. Daly?”
“He’s not available at the moment. Would you please just come?” she sounds vexed now. Well, that makes the two of us.
I look at my sleeping beauty and press the palm of my hand on her forehead; the temperature has dropped to nearly normal. I check her pulse; normal. She is recovering.
“Ernest, are you still there?”
Oh. I forget I still got Dr. Millington on the phone.
“Yes.” I respond, pushing stray hair from Aira’s face. I really hate to leave her…. but duty calls. I can’t just ignore it. “I’ll be there.” I say reluctantly.
“Hurry--!” and I hang up.
“I’m really sorry, Aira” I whisper, kissing Aira’s forehead lightly. “I have to go for now, but I promise there will be time when I’ll stay by your side…always.” I hope that my words can reach her in the dreamland.
