The Painful Beauty Of Spring

Part 5

When I awoke, I noticed I was underneath a thick blanket. Josh was sitting across from me and lightly strumming his guitar as Maurecio walked around acting like the owner of the house. Josh didn't realize I'd awoken, so with my eyes halfway closed and my brain still half-asleep, I watched him peacefully playing the guitar and singing under his breath, though I couldn't tell what song he was singing. "Maurecio," he whispered. The cat looked into his direction before almost immediately looking away once more. Josh shook his head and walked over, holding his hand out to Maurecio, who laid down and sniffed him. Josh began to gently pet Maurecio and sat with him, continuing to play his song and changing the lyrics to be a song about Maurecio.
"Haht'schiew! Hiht'shiew!" I sneezed freely, though attempting to direct them into the blanket. Maurecio ran over and jumped on me, resting his head on my cheek as before. "Hiht'schh!" I turned and sneezed into the covers. "Maurice, can y—hih'shh!" Josh and I rarely call Maurecio "Maurice," because we think it isn't as fancy as "Maurecio," but usually when we do, it's because we need to say his name fast, such as when he's going after something he shouldn't get, or what was going on now. I continued to sneeze as Josh set the guitar down on its stand and walked over to me at the couch. He sat down next to me, and Maurecio jumped up.
"Jess, take it easy, please," he said seriously, rubbing his hand through my hair. I bit my lip, trying to keep from sneezing so I could listen. "You're making yourself do all these things that just make you suffer worse."
"H'shiew!" I failed to hold back for long and sneezed once again. Josh paused, maybe expecting me to sneeze more than once, but I sniffled and looked back at him.
"Bless you. You need to be able to breathe without sneezing every few seconds or minutes," he continued in a concerned tone.
"Josh, I don't—hah, hah'shiew! H'chiew!" I couldn't even speak without being cut off by my own sneezing, so I just gave up and buried my itchy nose in the blanket. "Hg'schh!"
"This is what I'm talking about," Josh said, and he tore me from the covers, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into a gentle embrace. "I care about you, Jess," he spoke in my ear.
"Hih, gs'shiew!" I sneezed wetly over his shoulder. I sniffed and backed out, bringing my fist to my nose, trying to apologize. "S-hih-sorry. Hih-ih, hyit'shh! Hih, hei'shiew!"
"You're fine," Josh said calmly, and he watched as my breath caught in my throat as I held my hand beneath my twitching nose. He recognized the sneeze was stuck, and when he gently rubbed the bridge of my nose with his index finger, my nose began to turn redder than ever.
"Heh, hg'tshiew!" I sneezed wetly into the side of my wrist. I sniffled a few times and looked for my handkerchief. I located it and noticed Josh had it washed and folded neatly on the table near the couch. I took it, wiped my watery eyes, and blew my runny nose before sitting back next to Josh.
"Better?" he asked, putting one arm around me and lifting the other but waiting for confirmation. I nodded, which made him smile and embrace me again. I returned the hug, closed my eyes, and rested my head on his shoulder. We stayed there in that position for a few moments until I heard a loud knocking at the door. "I'll take care of it," Josh said, and he got up slowly. I watched him as he walked over to the door and opened it, revealing my younger brother John with his thin figure, sizable nose, short brown hair, and brown eyes.
"Jess! How you doing?" He asked, walking over to me at the couch.
"Sneezy," I replied matter-of-factly, wiping my nose, which still prickled slightly. "Just got through a sneezing fit a bit ago."
John looked at me sympathetically, "Your allergies?" I nodded quickly, feeling the itch in my nose increasing.
"H'shh!" I sneezed daintily into my hanky, and both Josh and John blessed me. "Hk'chiew! Oh m-my g-g—hih, hihg'shiew!—goodness." I blew my nose again and looked at John and Josh. I pinched the bridge of my nose and spoke, "I don't understand what's going on now."
"Bless you. You were fine before you woke up and a little sneezy after we got home," Josh mentioned. "It wasn't this bad, though."
"It could be because the allergens built up in her nose as she napped, because you can't sneeze while you're asleep," John pointed out. "Your sneeze reflex 'rests' as well while you sleep." Josh and I looked at him in amazement, and he smiled. "Sometimes you need to love acting like a nerd."
"Well, it sounds like a good explanation to me. Now if only—" I inhaled sharply and placed my hand beneath my pink nostrils. "E-excuse—hih, t'shiew!" I sneezed, just missing grabbing my handkerchief, and thus directing it into my fist. I sniffled and excused myself, and John and Josh blessed me again. "I'm a disaster today," I said, lying down on the couch. John sat on his knees next to the couch, watching me adjust my position to be more comfortable but so I could be able look into his eyes. "Why does spring always do this to me?" I asked feebly.
"I don't know, Jess. I just don't know," he admitted, standing up again.
"What made you come here?" I started, raising my head to look at John as Josh sat with me.
He shrugged and stated, "Josh told me you needed more allergy medicine, and he didn't want to leave you alone, so I thought I'd check on you to see how you were doing."
"Thanks, John," I said, smiling, though I felt exhausted from having just recently woken up and gotten into a sneezing fit almost immediately. Therefore, I looked at Josh through my tired eyes and yawned automatically. "Excuse me," I said again, lying down on the couch with Josh. I looked up at him and John and said, "Thanks for everything." I continued to watch the two of them as my eyelids became heavy and my breathing quickly became sharp. "Ih, is'shh!" I sneezed freely and weakly, my eyes closing automatically from the sneeze but staying shut as I drifted off to sleep almost instantly.