Chapter 28 Fever
"I'll try to sleep it off right now," I mumble as I get under my duvet. I tuck the comforting piece of thick cloth under my chin and feel my body begin to shiver and tremble even more from the fever. I close my eyes, trying to go back to sleep, and then feel Dante's hand over my forehead. I stare up at him, and he's shaking his head at me with a frown.
"Uh, yeah, no. You still need to take some meds. I'm calling your father," Dante says. My eyes shoot open at the mention of my father. Not him. Dante can't tell him about this. I'm sure this fever will disappear soon. My body's probably just malfunctioning from stressing out about Antonio. I'm sure my body temperature will go down once I've calmed down.
"No. Don't call him," I say.
"I have to. Your temperature spikes up out of nowhere. This is an emergency," Dante says as he searches for my medicine box in my bedroom. He stops in the middle of the room for a second, dialling my father's phone number, and then rushes back to me.
"Shit, I should probably take you to the ER instead. This could be something life-threatening," Dante says.
"No. You're not bringing me anywhere," I say, glaring at him.
"Fine. I'm still calling your fa- Boss. Alessandra's sick," Dante says to his phone.
My eyes stay on Dante as he hastily searches through my bedroom for my medicine box. He explains my condition to my father as he rummages through every drawer and cabinet in my room. The way my body shivers vigorously makes it difficult for me to move and say anything to Dante. The only thing I can do at the moment is stay under my duvet. My safe place. Even though it doesn't do much in keeping me warm from the chill that's piercing through my skin and bones, it's better to stay under my duvet than expose my skin to the chilling morning air.
"I don't think she can. She's shivering a lot from the fever," Dante says as he walks towards me with the medicine box and a glass of water. His phone is placed between his ear and shoulder as he places the glass on the nightstand.
"Alright. Okay. We'll wait for him. 10 minutes? Alright. Thank you, boss," Dante says. After hanging up the call, Dante takes out one tablet and pulls me to sit down. The world around me suddenly spins. Dante's tight grip around my upper arms steadies me, preventing me from falling.
"Are you dizzy?" Dante asks.
"Yeah," I say.
"Here. Take this first," Dante says. I do as he said and down the glass of water in one go before wrapping myself under the duvet again.
My surroundings seem to get colder with each passing second. It feels as though I'm standing outside in freezing, cold weather without any warm clothing. I know it's supposed to be autumn soon, but the weather hasn't even turned cold yet. So, why did I suddenly get this fever? I really hope it's nothing serious and only because I'm stressed out. I can't afford to lose more time. I still need to do my digging into the Ricci's family secrets. I must uncover the truth soon rather than later.
"Let me check your temperature quickly," Dante says. He puts a thermometer in my ear, and his frown only goes deeper once he sees the result.
Is it really that bad? Am I actually sick? Well fuck. That was definitely an instant manifestation. Ugh. If only manifestation worked on bringing down the Romanos, they would've died years ago after they killed my brothers.
"Tsk. 38.6°C. That's quite high," Dante says, shaking his head to himself.
"I'll be fine. It's nothing," I say shakily. Dante tidies up my medicine box, sighing at my response.
"Stop saying that. You're not. You're fucking shaking violently from the fever. Don't lie to yourself," Dante says. His eyebrows furrowed, and his frown is deep, but I know it's not because he's angry. He's just concerned about my well-being.
"Can you hold me? I feel really cold," I say. Dante's face lights up a bit as he stands up from my bed.
"What you need is a thick sweater or jacket. Wait here," Dante says. He leaves my side, and I frown as the sight of his back disappears from my sight. Damn it. Can't he take a hint? I just want him to hug me, not give me a damn sweater to put on.
After a few minutes, he's back with my thick, cream-coloured, sherpa sweater. He helps me put it on quickly, and it kinda warms me up a bit, but the cold still seems to attack me from every direction. It also sucks that I'm starting to sweat a lot to the point where I can feel the droplets of sweat dripping down my neck and body. Ugh. I hate that feeling.
Dante and I wait in silence for Salvatore, my family's trusted doctor. Minutes pass, and the doctor finally arrives in my bedroom. Without wasting any more time, he begins checking on my condition.
"How are you doing now? Are you dizzy? Still shivering? Nauseous maybe? And did you take any meds before I got here?" The doctor asks.
"I'm a little dizzy and still feel cold, but not nauseous. I also took paracetamol right after the fever came up," I say.
"Good."
Salvatore continues to check on my body and condition. He checks my temperature once more and then looks into my mouth. He also checks my blood pressure, heart rate and other things as well. Once he's done, he puts all of his stuff back into his bag. He then jots something down in his notebook and then rips it off. It's probably the medication prescription for me.
Yikes. I hate taking medicine, and now I'm forced to take some because of this stupid fever.
"This seems to be the start of a common fever, nothing worse. If the fever and dizziness persist or worsen after three days, we might need a further check-up. Here's your prescription for the next three days. I'll come back here then," Salvatore says, handing the paper to Dante. "You must begin taking the medicine from this morning. Remember to take all the medication after you eat," Salvatore explains to me.
"Okay. Thank you, doctor," I say.
"You're welcome," Salvatore says with a smile. He then turns to Dante. "Please get the medications now so she can get started on them soon."
"Yes, sir," Dante says. Salvatore nods to Dante, satisfied with his response.
"Alright. That's it for now. Get well soon, Sandra."
After the doctor leaves, Dante stares at the prescription, nodding to himself.
"Stay here," Dante says. I give him a look, still trembling under my only protection from the chilly morning air.
Does it look like I can get out of bed with how shaky and dizzy I am? I'll definitely fall to the floor if I try to stand on my own right now. Oh god. It feels like the world is spinning even more right now. I hate this so much. However, it's a relief I'm not nauseous because that would suck even more.
"I can't even fucking move," I say. Sighing, Dante pinches the bridge of his nose.
"Just go back to sleep, okay? I'm going to get your food and your meds right now. Get some rest before your breakfast," Dante says.
"Okay."
A thought pops into my mind. Dante should be resting after yesterday, but now I'm a burden to him and disturbing his time to rest by suddenly getting sick. Now he has to take care of me when he should be resting, too. Shit. If only I hadn't had this stupid fever, he's probably already asleep by now. Whether he wants it or not, he must stay here next to me and get his damn rest. I'm not letting him leave this room until he's gotten enough rest. I might as well make someone bring his food here, too, so we can eat together.
"One more thing," I say. Dante turns around, puzzled.
"What is it?" Dante asks.
"You're going to stay here, eat here with me, and get some rest once you get my medicine. You've promised me you'll be resting today," I say. Dante chuckles at my order.
"I didn't make any promise, but fine. I'll do it. I have to keep my eyes on you anyway, in case something happens. Next time, just say so if you want me to accompany you," Dante says, winking at me. I open my mouth, but no word comes out of it. Before I can say anything to him, Dante leaves my bedroom, closing the door behind him. My cheeks are burning from embarrassment as I stare at the closed door.
Anyway, putting my embarrassment aside, that's good. Thank goodness I don't have to force him to stay. Now I can rest easy knowing Dante will actually get his rest for today and not force himself to work while he's tired and in pain.