She was resting her head against my shoulder. I could feel her become more and more relaxed as the car made its way through the busy streets. From time to time, I tried to look at her, but every time I did she let out a small sound of discomfort so eventually I stopped trying and just enjoyed having her close.
I thought back on the interaction between the two friends at the restaurant. I understood Amelia's reaction. I would have hated it if someone shared things about me without my knowledge and even if I really liked Veronica, she seemed to lack a filter. Pretty much like Felix, I thought to myself and couldn't help but smile. Sure, being called a Jackass wasn't the greatest thing, but it was said with a smile and once she had realized that Amelia was hurt she had turned to call me Chris instead.
What had concerned me more was the expression on Amelia's face when her headache kicked in. The tension around the eyes, her clenching her jaws. I could see that she was in great pain and all I wanted to do was to take the pain away.
As we were getting closer to the hotel, I picked up my phone. One thing was sure. I did not want to bump into anyone.
Me: Hey!
Han: Hey.. how is the date going?
Me: We're heading back. Amelia has a bad headache.
Han: Bummer! Felix and the other one?
Me: Veronica. They're still at the restaurant. I will send the car back to pick them up.
Han: Still on for dinner tonight?
Me: I don't know. Depends on Amelia
Han: You're whipped
Me: I'm concerned. But I need your help!
Han: Shoot!
Me: ETA in ten minutes. Can you make sure we don't bump into anyone?
Han: Like management?
Me: As an example
Han: Sure! Use the back entrance. I'll be there!
Me: Thanks Han
Han: NP
As the car pulled into the alley at the back of the hotel, I could see Han standing by the door, discreetly dressed in black with a cap pulled down as far as possible. He fired off a smile and was just about to give us a loud greeting when the driver opened the door, but after seeing the expression on my face he bit his lips together. I nodded and he nodded back.
Amelia was sleeping, her head still resting on my shoulder. I motioned with my hands for him to help me and he crawled into the car and held up her head as I slowly shifted. Together we got her out of the car without waking her up, and I lifted her in my arms. Han gave me the thumbs up and waved for me to follow him. None of us had said a word but as I went past the driver I let him know to go pick Felix and Veronica up. Amelia let out a quiet moan as I spoke, making me stop and stare at her for a second. Han stopped as well just by the door and gave me a questioning look. I just shook my head and continued walking through the door that Han was holding up.
He was always five steps ahead, looking around corners. As the elevator doors opened, he had me stand on the side so I wouldn't be visible in case someone unwanted was inside and as we were to step out, he did his best to block me as he made sure the coast was clear.
Once by her door, he helped search for her room key.
"This is one of the worst things you can do.. looking through a woman's bag without her consent...", he whispered and I had to bite my tongue so as not to break out in laughter.
"Shhh Han.. but no, there are worse things you can do", I replied as quietly as I could, a smile playing on my lips.
"Just saying", he smiled and held up the door. "I'm just gonna drop the key on the floor and you can pick it up later.. take good care of her now..."
I gave him a nod and a wink, making a mental note to thank him later on.
I gently put her down on the bed, making sure her head rested well on the pillows. She shifted a little and let another quiet moan, causing me to hold my breath. For a few seconds I just stood there, thinking about what to do. Should I leave? Just to go to my room and see if she would turn up later in the evening for dinner? Should I stay, and if I did, what should I do then? What if she would wake up and find me there and be upset, but what if she would wake up and find that I wasn't there and be upset? I decided to stay. At least then I could help her if there was something she needed and to be honest, leaving her in the state she was in just didn't feel right.
I went to the bathroom to look for something for the headache. A part of me felt really bad about having to search through her stuff but luckily, the first thing I saw was an orange bottle of pills by the basin. I took two pills as the label stated and opened a bottle of water. As I sat down next to her in bed I had another internal argument on whether I should wake her up or not but after noticing that she slept with a frown, I decided that she at least should get to sleep without a headache.
I gently shooker her shoulder.
"Amelia.. hey.. it's me..", I said as softly as I could, earning another quiet moan from her. "Amelia.. I've got you some pills for the headache..", I continued, shaking her shoulder again.
"Mmmmmmm", she sounded as she tried to open her eyes. "Lamp... mmm.. off.."
I hurried to switch off the lamp and went over to the curtains to pull them together. The room turned slightly darker and I could see her try to sit up over in the bed. I hurried back and sat down next to her, grabbing her by the back to help her.
"Do you want the painkillers?", I asked and she slowly gave me a nod.
I reached for the pills and the water and handed it to her.
"Thank you", she said in a small voice. "Did I fall asleep?"
"Yes, in the car but I carried you to your room..:"
"You carried me?", she said, trying to give me a smile and I nodded.
"I didn't want to wake you..."
"Mmmmm". She swallowed the pills and fell down on the pillow again. "This freaking headache... I've had it for ages..."
"What? Isn't it because of the concussion?"
"It's worse because of the concussion but it's been bad enough for a couple of months..."
I couldn't help but feel a little bit worried. I could get these massive migraines from time to time, usually during a period when there was too much work and no rest but it was just for a day or two before it disappeared. But the thing was that they always went away, it wasn't like it was constant.
"Have you looked it up?", I felt I had to ask.
"No worries", she just replied. "It's just stress...."
I gave her a worried look and placed my hand on her forehead. At least she didn't have a fever.
"I shouldn't have had that wine for lunch", she continued. "Stupid.. with a concussion...." The tone in her voice made me smile. She sounded like a small child whining.
"You never learn, do you", I said jokingly and she made an effort to smile at me, her eyes closing as she reached out to me and grabbed a hold of me.
"Come here", she said with the same tone, gently pulling my t-shirt. "You're stubborn", she continued as I hesitated.
"You need to rest", I argued but she just pulled harder.
"I want to rest with you!"
I let out a light laugh, defeated, and let myself be pulled down in bed next to her. She shifted slightly, giving me room to stretch out on my back before placing her head on my chest as she let out a loud sigh.
"What if both of us fall asl...?", I asked but as she sneaked her hand under my t-shirt the words got stuck.
"Set the alarm", she mumbled. "What time do we need to be down for dinner?"
"I donno.."
"Ask...."
I pulled out my phone from my jeans and sent a text to Felix. Amelia's head felt heavy on my chest and I understood that she was asleep again so I tried to move as carefully as I could.
Me: Hey!
Felix: Hey!
Me: All good?
Felix: Now it is, she was pretty upset.
Me: I see..
Felix: But she's ok now. How about Amelia?
Me: Sleeping
Felix. Cool. We're headed back now. Are you joining for dinner?
Me: Donno. What time is it?
Felix: 9pm
I looked at the time. 5pm. That gave her a couple of hours of sleep before we had to get ready.
Me: We'll sleep for a couple of hours. She just took some pills. I'll let you know later.
Felix: But you don't sleep
Me: Then I'll just watch her sleep. Talk to you later.
Felix: K
I set the alarm for 7pm, hoping that it would be enough to take away her headache and also give her some time to get ready for dinner in case she was up for it. I wasn't expecting to get any sleep. I had issues sleeping at night but sleeping during days was even worse. I thought about playing a game on my phone but as my arm was stuck around Amelia's shoulders I just settled for laying there, listening to the sound of her breathing. Her hand was resting on my stomach underneath my t-shirt, her head resting calmly on my chest and her leg was laying across mine. She was warm but not hot and I was amazed over the feeling of having her sleeping so close to me. I carefully let my fingers trace the outlines of her face, gently touching her lips and nose. She let out a quiet moan and I smiled to myself as I held her closer, wrapping both of my arms around her. Before I knew it, I fell asleep.
It felt like the alarm was screaming for me to wake up. For a brief moment I couldn't tell where I was. The room was darker now as the sun was setting, the curtains letting in little to no light. I felt Amelia shift. Her head was still resting peacefully on my chest but her hand had traveled further underneath my t-shirt. I reached out to turn the light on and she let out a tiny growl as the room lit up.
"Nooo... I wanna sleep", she complained and started to fumble with her hand but the fabric of my t-shirt didn't allow for her to cover her eyes.
"How are you feeling?", I asked with a low voice.
"Better", she replied as she made an effort to sit up. "Did you get any sleep?"
"I did..."
"What time is it?" She was sitting up now and I immediately missed the feeling of her body close to mine.
"7pm.", I replied without looking at my phone.
"Mmmmm..", she let out a moan as she stretched her arms up in the air. "What time is dinner?"
I raised my eyebrows and shifted so I was laying on my side, resting my head on my arm.
"Are you up for dinner?"
Amelia gave me a quick nod.
"Yeah.. I just need a shower to wake up... besides, I really want to meet the guys. It's like once in a lifetime.", she said and fired off a brilliant smile.
"Mmmm.. I know they look forward to seeing you as well. Last time was rather dramatic."
She let out a laugh and fell down on her back next to me.
"I'm sorry for the thing between me and Veronica earlier..."
"It's ok."
"No it isn't. You didn't need to witness that. I think I should talk to her before dinner."
"That's a good idea", I agreed. "These things can happen. The closer you are the more likely it is for things like this to happen but the important thing is that it usually gets sorted out."
Amelia shifted to her side and looked at me.
"She's my best friend."
"I wouldn't argue with that."
"And she understands me better than anyone..."
"I can see that.."
"I need to call her!"
"Yes you do!", I said with a smile.
She looked at me in silence for a while, a smile playing on her lips.
"Are you gonna agree with everything I say?", she smiled at me.
"Yes..."
Amelia let out a laugh and squeezed my cheek.
"I kind of like that... then may I ask you for some time?"
"You may."
"My god, this is just brilliant", she beamed at me.
I leaned in and placed a light kiss on her nose, earning another laughter from her.
"Then I will excuse myself...", I replied and sat up. "I will see you in the lobby?"
As she gave me a nod I stood up and started walking towards the door, her eyes following every move. As I reached the door I could hear her shift and I turned around just to see her sitting up in bed, staring at me with an undefined expression.
"You know what Christopher?", she said in a low voice. I raised my eyebrows at her to ask what. "She was actually right", she continued.
"Huh?", I asked, my heart beating hard in my chest.
"About me having a crush on you...", she replied and jumped out of bed and walked towards me where I stood, completely frozen. She stopped when she was just inches away, her eyes locked with mine. Then she gave me a light kiss on my cheek and spinned around on her heels and headed for the bathroom, leaving me with blushing cheeks and a heart that wanted to jump out of my chest. Did she just say that?