Chapter 53

It started with a drowsy feeling. Then the pounding headache came. And by the time I realized I hadn’t eaten all day, my whole body felt like it was shutting down.

I was slumped over my desk, the glow of my laptop screen harsh against my tired eyes. My fingers hovered uselessly above the keyboard. I had been staring at the same page of notes for an hour, but nothing had gone in. Not one fact. Not one concept. Just the potent mixture of nausea and heat rolling through my body.

I finally pushed back from the desk, dragging myself toward the bed and collapsing into it, fully clothed.

Everything hurt.

I didn’t even realize I’d fallen asleep until the creak of my bedroom door stirred me. I cracked one eye open to see Cassie peeking in, a takeaway coffee in one hand and a frown carved into her face.

“Jesus, Willow,” she said, stepping inside. “You look like death.”

I let out a groan and buried my face into my pillow. “I feel like death.”

She came over and placed a hand on my forehead. Her eyes widened. “You’re burning up.”

“I’ll be fine,” I mumbled. “Just need to take a nap.”

Cassie ignored me, walking out of the room and returning with a glass of water and some paracetamol. “You haven’t eaten anything, have you?”

I didn’t answer. Which was an answer in itself.

She sighed and sat beside me. “Okay, you’re done pushing through like some deranged person. You need to rest. I’m making soup.”

“Don’t fuss,” I muttered.

She shot me a look. “Let me fuss. You’d do it for me.”

Cassie reappeared a while later, balancing a tray with a steaming bowl of soup, a spoon, and a few crackers. She placed it gently on the bedside table and gave me a pointed look.

“Eat. Or I’ll feed you myself.”

Despite the ache in my head, I let out a weak laugh. “You’re terrifying when you go full mom mode.”

She grinned and pulled the desk chair closer to the bed, tucking one leg underneath her as she sat down. “Only because you’re hopeless.”

I sat up slowly, back against the headboard, and took the bowl into my lap. The smell hit me right. It was comforting, garlicky, and warm. My stomach growled, suddenly aware of its own emptiness.

As I took my first sip, Cassie watched me closely. Then, casually, she said, “So. Want to tell me where you really were last weekend? Because that was definitely not your cousin’s house.”

I froze, the spoon halfway to my mouth.

She arched a brow. “Willow. Come on.”

I sighed, staring down at the soup. “I went away with Declan.”

Cassie blinked. “Declan. As in… Professor Ashwell?”

I nodded.

She didn’t say anything right away, just rubbed her forehead like she was bracing herself. “So you two are… what? Official now?”

I shook my head. “Not officially. It’s complicated. We just… needed time. Away from everything. And it was… it was good, Cass. Really good.”

She studied my face, softening a little. “Did you stay with him the whole time?”

“Yeah,” I admitted. “His family has this lake house. It was peaceful, romantic… until his parents showed up.”

Cassie winced. “Yikes.”

“His mom thinks I’m a gold digger. His dad barely acknowledged me. But he defended me. And when we were alone again…” I trailed off, a tired smile tugging at my lips. “He was so sweet. It felt real.”

Cassie leaned back in the chair, thoughtful. “I want you to be happy, Wills. But I also want you to be safe. This thing with Declan…it’s not just complicated. It’s risky.” She sighed, “I probably sound like a broken record about this.”

“I know,” I whispered. “You’re right.”

“But you love him.”

I looked up and met her eyes. The feeling settled in my chest.

Fuck. I really did.

“Yeah,” I said softly. “I do.”

Cassie left me to rest for a while. She was such a good friend, and I was so grateful for her. I lay in bed for maybe ten minutes, before thoughts of failing my exams began to settle in my mind.

I opened my laptop again, playing a YouTube lecture about a topic I was confused about.

I pulled my blanket tighter around me and curled deeper into my bed, laptop glowing beside me, but I could barely keep my eyes open. I was hot and cold at once, sweat clinging to the back of my neck while chills raked up my spine.

When my phone buzzed on the nightstand, I didn’t move. I just stared at the screen.

Dec: How is the studying, dove?

I reached for the phone with shaking fingers and typed slowly:

Me: Think I’m sick.

The three dots appeared immediately, then disappeared, then reappeared again.

Dec: How bad?

Me: Bad.

There was a pause.

Then,

Dec: I’m coming.

I didn’t even have the strength to protest. I put the phone down and turned onto my side, breathing shallowly, my head spinning with exhaustion and fever. All the stress, the pressure, the anxiety, it had caught up to me like a wave crashing in slow motion.

I heard the front door open twenty minutes later. Cassie must have let him in. I heard them talk softly, exchanging pleasantries and him inquiring about my health. Cassie was letting him know that I had eaten.

“Willow?” Declan’s voice echoed through the apartment.

I barely managed a soft, “In here.”

And then he was at my door, eyes filled with worry, already moving toward me like he didn’t care about anything else in the world.