Stole My Heart- 1D Fanfic

Chapter 16

“Yeah, love. Its me.” 

“You sound like you've gargled rocks.” I laughed a little at that, soundinga little like I was braying. 

“Thanks, George. You really know how to make me feel good.” I flopped back onto my pillow, suddenly lightheaded. 

“Seriously, Liam. Are you alright? You don’t have a fever, do you?” Worry colored her tone. I knew she was switching into her motherly mode, and I grumbled as I pushed myself off of the bed, looking around for the thermometer. I finally stumbled upon it, behind the cabinet in the loo, and stood around waiting for it to take, Georgia saying encouraging things in the receiver, which I was thankful for because the more awake I felt the more I felt like I had been scraped across a cheese grater. After what seemed an eternity, the little stick beeped and I, almost painfully, pulled it into my gaze. My eyes bugged out. 

“Liam? Liam? LIAM!” Georgia kept saying, over and over. “What does it say, babe? Talk to me, you’re beginning to worry me. Liam!” She was starting to panic when I finally broke out of my reverie. 

“ 103.That’s what it says.” I half-whispered, my throat going suddenly dry. She squeaked on the other end of the line. 

“103? Are you sure?” I nodded before realizing that she couldn’t hear me. 

“Yeah. I’m sure.” I stumbled back over to the bed, feeling increasingly worse as the minutes wore on. 

“What else are you feeling, hon?” She had on a motherly tone of voice, and I could just see her inner Web MD going to work. I wearily placed my warm head against the pillow.

“I dunno. I just sort of feel bad all over. I’m sure I’ll be fine by tomorrow though.” She cleared her throat impatiently and I sighed. I should have known I wasn’t going to get away with that. I decided to come clean. “Like I’m aching and my head is pounding, and even though I feel so hot, I’m freezing. My throat is all scratchy too.” I finished tiredly, earning a satisfied ‘Hmm’ from her end of the call. 

“I’m going to call Mari’s uncle. He’s a doctor, and he’ll help you, Lee. Please just stay in bed. Don’t even think about getting up. I’ll take care of everything.” I smiled weakly then, to hear her repeat back to me the words I so quickly bestowed upon her the night before. She hung up in a hurry, reiterating the fact that I was to stay in bed and not move even a muscle. I agreed and then promptly got up to make myself some tea, which I was not being sick without. Then I figured I should probably call Paul.

I dialed the familiar number, noting with bemused detachment how my fingers trembled when I tried to hit the right buttons. I was probably sicker than I realized, but at that moment I didn’t notice a thing. The phone rang a few times, then Paul’s voice came over. 

“Liam! I heard about you being sick. That’s bollocks, mate. You stay in bed and let Georgia take good care of you. We’ll see you once you’re much better, yeah? Listen, I gotta run. Take care of yourself, Liam. See you ‘round.” He hung up abruptly. I stared at the receiver in wonder, guessing that Georgia really meant that she’d take care of everything. So I forced myself to finish my tea, letting the warmth spread over my extremely chilled body. When that failed to warm me up sufficiently, I hopped in the shower, letting it run on all the way hot for as long as I could stand in there. I hardly felt any warmer at all. When I looked at myself in the mirror, my eyes were bloodshot and my cheeks were flushed. I looked like I had seen a ghost. 

Hastily, I turned away from the mirror and slipped on a random selection of clothes that I picked, without looking, from my dresser drawers. Then I heard a tentative knocking on the door. It had been almost an hour and a half since I had spoken to Georgia on the phone, and when I opened the door I could see why.