As I Fell ✓

Chapter 26

"You're rolling your eyes. I sense it." he muttered under his breath.

I never knew it but, hearing his voice again after days of not talking caused my chest to feel weird. It was as if I felt a surge of adrenaline, and it was all because of his stupid, annoying, husky voice with a hint of a foreign accent. His stupid, stupid voice.

"I commend your exemplary senses, Owen, but you need me. You're sick, and I'm here to help out if you need me to." I told him sweetly as I rubbed his back. Owen grunter then coughed again, his back still facing me.

"I'm fine by myself. And you're supposed to be mad at me. I was horrible to you. An asshole even. You don't have to stay and check on me." He muttered.

I didn't move when I heard what he said. I didn't know how to respond to that.

Owen was owning up to his faults. And he was prioritizing me more than he was prioritizing himself.

What an idiot. He really is sick.

"Even if you don't like it, I'm staying. Your fever's looking kinda bad. And I think you need someone around in case you need something." I told him.

Also, I was here to apologize too.

Though I was mostly mad at him for the past week, I somehow always forget that I told him some horrible stuff too.

Maybe apologizing to someone sick would make him forget whatever happened between us.

Owen shuffled in bed and turned away from me again.

"Lucky me," he replied sarcastically.

I left Owen to himself and remained still on the side of his bed.

By the looks of his family leaving him all alone today, it seemed as if he didn't need anyone around.

He's got a thick blanket and wore a sweater. His bedside table was also full of meds, a bottle of water, and a box of tissues. He's fine. He'll survive.

The urge to haul my ass up and leave was high, but still, Owen might need someone around. Owen might need me around.

People need people to help them out even when they don't want to be helped. I may not know anything about nursing or even the basics of how to take care of sick people, but I sure know how to keep people company.

After a few minutes of watching him with his back turned away from me, I heard him snore silently. It was subtle, and though it felt illegal, I found myself smiling a bit.

I fucking missed you, Owen, you idiot.

Owen was asleep for the next hour or so, and I didn't want to disturb him. I couldn't just leave yet because I haven't heard their front door open or their doorbell ring, so Owen was still alone here. I couldn't leave without making sure someone was with him.

I was starting to get bored just sitting, so I stood up from his bedside and went over to his long line of shelves by the door. They were almost table-height standing up and I guessed it was custom made so Owen could reach any book he'd like. I read a couple of his books as I scanned his shelf. As someone who reads but doesn't read as much as he does, I can actually say that Owen might have the best taste in books.

He has a little of everything, from his old and worn-out copies of the Wimpy Kid and Percy Jackson books to the ones that still have those annoying sale stickers on the covers such as probably whatever fantasy book that had just been released. He even has a lot of classics, a ton of sci-fis, and a few nonfictions.

I found a heavily annotated and tabbed copy of a book on his bedside. Six of Crows, it read on the cover. Based on reading his annotations of the book, I knew it was his favorite. I mean, if he has stuck so many post-it notes on almost every page filled with his thoughts and reactions on certain parts of the book, chances are, that book would've been his favorite.