He Waited She Wilted (Ottilie and Yorath) novel Chapter 28

Her head was pounding, her fever raging, and her body slick with cold sweat. Ottilie was drifting in and out of consciousness.

But since she had a guest, she forced herself to stay upright.

"Yorath, have a seat."

She dragged her scattered clothes to the side, laying them out near the edge of the mattress so he'd have a clean place to sit.

Only after Yorath sat down did she carefully lower herself onto the absolute furthest edge of the bed.

As much physical distance as the tiny room allowed.

Ottilie opened the container of soup and offered it to him. "Yorath, you eat first."

"I'm not hungry. You eat," Yorath said, his eyes fixed on her as he took small, hesitant bites of the soup.

Every swallow seemed like torture, his brow furrowed as if he were enduring a brutal interrogation.

Ottilie was starving, but her throat felt like it was lined with razor blades. After forcing down just a few bites, she gave up.

There wasn't a single chair in the room.

All she could do was close the lid, tie the plastic bag shut, and set it on the floor.

Then she sat on the edge of the bed, her head nodding as sleep threatened to overtake her.

A few times, she nearly face-planted straight onto the hard floor.

Through the haze, she heard Yorath's voice. "Lie down and get some sleep."

Taking the order, she curled up into a tight ball on her side of the bed and fell asleep almost the second her eyes closed.

Yorath sat near the door, watching her. Even in sleep, her body remained rigidly tense.

He stood up and pressed the back of his hand to her forehead. Her skin was unnervingly cold, much lower than a normal body temperature.

Frowning, he slipped his hand beneath the waistband of her pants, pressing his bare palm against the small of her back. She was burning up, radiating heat far beyond what he had anticipated.

A quick scan of the barren room confirmed there was no medicine in sight.

Yorath took off his coat, spread it over the mattress, and gathered Ottilie into his arms, letting her rest her feverish body heavily against his chest as she slept.

Half an hour later, his phone buzzed.

It was a text from Jevon.

Yorath carefully laid Ottilie back onto the bed and opened the door.

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