Demon (11 page)

“Justyn?” she called. “Justyn, are you okay in there?”

“Yes. I’ll be out in a minute,” he replied almost instantly, though his voice was a little hoarse. Rebecca heard the faucet turn on and figured he was splashing water on his face or brushing his teeth. A few seconds later the door clicked open. If his face had been white before, now it was ash-gray and covered in beads of perspiration. He leaned back against the wall on shaky legs with his hands still clutching his stomach.

“Sorry about that, Becca.” He sounded a little sheepish. “I’m not feeling well.”

“I noticed.”

Rebecca lifted her hand to his forehead to check to see if he was feverish. He felt a little clammy, but not really warm. With her brow furrowed in concern, she wrapped her arm around his waist and helped him to their bedroom. He fell backward on the pillows without even thinking of taking off his shoes. So Rebecca pulled off the metal-tipped boots for him. Then she grabbed the little plastic trashcan from the corner and put it beside the bed, just in case. Finally, she ran back into the bathroom to get a wet cloth before lying down beside him, as gently as possible so as not to jostle the bed. She dabbed his sweaty brow with the damp cloth and rubbed her other hand along his body in gentle circling motions.

“Well, this is embarrassing,” he muttered without opening his eyes.

“Don’t be silly. You’re sick. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Rebecca reassured him. “Besides, I seem to remember you catching me with my head in the trashcan last year on opening night.”

“That was different.”

“I know. That was just nerves. This is more serious.” Saying it out loud made her even more anxious. She checked his forehead for a fever again. “Maybe I should take to you the hospital. It might be your appendix or something.”

Justyn opened his eyes, just so he could roll them. “I don’t think that’s necessary. I heard the flu was going around early this year. I’m sure that’s all it is. Really, Becca, I’ll be fine tomorrow. You don’t have to be so dramatic. You shouldn’t be so close to me though. I wouldn’t want you to catch this.”

It was Rebecca’s turn to roll her eyes. “I think it’s a little too late to worry about
that
. Besides, I know if I do catch it, you’ll be here to take care of me.”

“Always,” he whispered and pulled her closer to him.

She noticed he was trembling even after she pulled the blankets over him, so she figured he was right about his ailment being the flu. Though at times, he still seemed so mystical to her, it was odd to think of him being susceptible to something so commonplace. When she saw him vulnerable, all she wanted was to somehow make it better for him. She wrapped her arms around him to try to quell his shivers and gently massaged his abdomen when he doubled over in pain. She was glad to see her touch seemed to relax him. He dozed off for a little while, but twenty minutes later, he darted up in bed and ran back to the bathroom. It went on like that until about three a.m., when he finally fell into a deeper, but still fitful sleep. It was only after he stayed asleep for a full hour, that Rebecca finally allowed herself to drift off beside him.

Rebecca opened her eyes around six a.m., feeling as though she’d only just shut them a few seconds before. She was exhausted, and she would have loved to stay in bed for another half hour. Her alarm was set for six thirty, but she didn’t want the loud noise to wake Justyn when he was finally getting some rest. Instead, she rolled over and watched him sleep for a little while. Even with his face so pale, she found him exotically handsome. It was still a thrill for her to wake up beside him. She could have lain there all day, just staring at him, admiring every chiseled feature. But she knew she had to get ready for class. So she slipped out of bed as quietly as possible, showered, and dressed without disturbing him. She combed her curly brown hair into a ponytail before tiptoeing into the kitchen.

Once she reached the counter, Rebecca yawned, rubbed her sleep-deprived eyes, and thought about how much she was going to enjoy her first cup of morning coffee. She was just about to pull a filter out of the package when she had second thoughts. The last time she had a stomach bug, the smell of her mother cooking had sent her running to the bathroom more than once. She wasn’t going to do that to Justyn. Instead, she put some water in a teapot and searched through the dozens of jars of dried herbs Darlene had gifted them. Inside she found all the herbs she needed—dandelion root, dandelion leaves, fennel seeds, and peppermint leaves—as well as the recipe card with instructions on how much of each to portion out. By the time she had them all measured, the water was already boiling.

Rebecca opened up the cabinets and reached for Justyn’s favorite mug—it had a picture of a skull inside an ace of spades. Strangely enough, it wasn’t in its normal spot. She moved their meager supply of glassware around, but still didn’t see it. With a shrug, she pulled out another, plainer mug, and assumed it would turn up eventually. While the leaves simmered in the diffuser, she pulled out a few slices of bread and gave them a light toasting. Once it was ready, she carried them into the bedroom and laid them on the nightstand just as Justyn began to stir.

“What’s all this?” Justyn mumbled through half a yawn

“Dandelion tea and some toast in case you’re hungry.”

“Look at you.” He nodded his head in approval. “Not only are you becoming a full-fledged kitchen witch, you even managed to carry that cup in here without spilling anything.”

“You are so mean!” she said in mock offense as she sat down on the corner of the bed. “Am I really
that
clumsy?”

He gave her a cocky smirk. “Only when you’re awake.”

“You can be such a jerk sometimes.” She swatted his arm, even though she had always found his sarcastic way of flirting to be one of his more endearing traits.

“You
still
love to insult me, even when I’m sick in bed.”

“You can’t be too sick if you’re making fun of me,” she challenged but then turned more serious. He did look pretty pale. Being as chronically paranoid as she was, it made her nervous. “How
are
you feeling?”

“I’m okay.” He shrugged and pulled himself up to a sitting position. He lifted the mug to his lips and took a tentative sip before setting it back down on the nightstand. “Not bad for a novice,” he approved.

“Well, I had a good teacher. Darlene never ceases to amaze me with her all-natural cures. But since you aren’t actually drinking it, I guess I have to assume that I failed miserably—”

He shook his head. “No, it’s not that. It’s perfect … I’m just….”

“Not really feeling any better?” Rebecca finished.

He shrugged again. “My stomach still hurts a little, but really, it’s not a big deal.”

“Well, I’ll have to see if I can’t make that any better.” She shimmied a little closer to him on the bed and massaged his neck with one hand while rubbing his sore belly with the other.

“You really do spoil me, you know.” He sighed and leaned into her touch. “Thank you for taking such good care of me last night. Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky.”

Rebecca only smiled as she continued his full-body massage, kneading and pressing all the spots she knew were the most sensitive. Yet she couldn’t help but think that
she
was the lucky one. In the beginning, she had doubted him more than once, but he had never given up on her, never stopped fighting to make her see who he really was. She squeezed him a little tighter as she remembered how many stupid mistakes he’d forgiven. Their relationship really had nothing to do with luck. It had more to do with his stubborn perseverance. Maybe that was why she coddled him so much. When he was sick or hurt, she felt an almost desperate need to make it better in any way she could to make up for all the times she had hurt him. She certainly felt that desperation when he moaned and pressed her hand harder against his stomach.

“I don’t think you’re better at all,” she fretted.

He tried to give her another cocky grin, but it looked more like a grimace. “Okay, so maybe my stomach still hurts
a lot
, but I’ll still be okay. It’s just the flu, Becca. It has to run its course. I expect to feel like crap for at least twenty-four hours.” He sighed. “I hate to do it, but I think I’ll have to skip my classes today … and practice.”

“Maybe I should stay home too,” Rebecca fussed. “I don’t want to leave you alone if you aren’t feeling well.”

He shook his head. “You can’t do that, Becca. I won’t let you miss your exam because of me, especially after you studied all night. I don’t want to give Professor Carter any more reasons to give you grief either. I’m sure he wouldn’t have any compassion about you playing nursemaid.”

That made her chuckle a little. “He probably won’t even be happy about
you
cutting practice. Can’t you just act with a bucket around your neck in case you need to—”

“Please don’t say it.” Justyn held up his hand and gave her an exaggerated flinch. “I don’t even want to think about it.”

“Sorry.” She snickered and glanced at the clock. “You know, if I’m going to get to class on time, I’ll have to leave now. Then I have work study, practice, and my acting class tonight. I won’t be back until after dark. Are you sure you’ll be okay alone all that time?”

Justyn rolled his eyes. “I’m a big boy.”

“You’re also a big
jerk
.” She gave him a playful nudge as she rose from the bed. “Can’t I even worry about you without you teasing me?”

“Worry all you want if it makes you hurry back.”

She leaned over and kissed his forehead. “I definitely will. In the meantime, is your cell phone actually charged for a change?” He nodded. “Good. Keep it on the nightstand. I’m going to call you every hour to make sure you’re okay.”

“That really isn’t necessary, Becca. I don’t want to distract from your classwork and…wait a minute. ” He stopped to grab her hand before she could walk out the door. “I must be more out of it than I realized. I just remembered you have that acting class tonight.”

“Yeah, I just said that.”

“Well, we always ride together to that class so you’re not alone. Maybe I should meet you after practice with the car and drive you down.”

“No way!” Rebecca argued. “You’re not playing chauffeur for me when you’re sick.”

“Becca, this is serious. You know it isn’t safe for a girl to walk around alone at night. Not with everything that’s happening on this campus. I heard there was another girl attacked just last week—”

“I’m a big girl too,” Rebecca told him. “I can take care of myself.”

“Of course you can, but still—”

“Enough!” She cut him off. “Don’t get so worked up. You’re going to give yourself a relapse. I’ll be fine. Frankie is in my acting class with me. I’m sure he won’t mind walking me home.”

Justyn narrowed his eyes. “No offense to Frankie, but that doesn’t make me feel any better. I know ten-year-old girls who are bigger than he is. How is he going to protect you?”

“Really, I’ll be fine. I have Frankie
and
I have my pepper spray. Now, I really do have to get going or I’m going to be late and miss that exam.”

Justyn heaved a heavy sigh. “Okay, but please be careful. If anything happened to you…”

“Nothing is going to happen. Don’t you dare worry about me. Just concentrate on getting better.”

Rebecca gave him a kiss goodbye before gathering her books and jacket. She was already running late, so she didn’t have time to stop for coffee like she’d planned. She realized she hadn’t eaten anything in almost twenty-four hours, but there was nothing she could do about it. She hopped on her bike and hoped she’d get a break somewhere in between her hectic Friday schedule to grab some food.

Rebecca barely made it to her class on time. The teacher was already standing at the front of the room with test papers in hand when she stumbled in the door. Once they were distributed, she struggled through her exam in between yawns. Afterward, she took a few seconds to stop at a vending machine and pick up a package of peanut butter crackers and a bottle of water before heading to the campus post office. On her way in, she checked in with Justyn. He sounded groggy and half asleep, but told her he was feeling okay. Of course even that slight delay made her five minutes late for work, and the senior in charge gave her dirty looks as Rebecca grabbed her allotted stack of mail. Another two hours passed with her sorting letters into slots. Rebecca began to feel almost catatonic from boredom and lack of caffeine.

By the time she was done working, she was actually looking forward to practice, even if it
did
mean facing Livy and Professor Cater without any backup. At least it wouldn’t be as monotonous as her job. Yet when she arrived at the theater, she noticed most of the cast was still missing. She actually checked her watch to see if she was early, but no—she was right on time. At least
some
of the other actors should have been there. Professor Carter was sitting in the front row, looking downright furious as he glared up at the empty stage. Aside from Rebecca, only a few scattered chorus singers had arrived. He already looked so angry, Rebecca hated having to give him more bad news, but she knew she didn’t have a choice. She approached the director cautiously and cleared her throat to try to get his attention.