Oliver had asked her to come early the next morning for class. He had some essential things for her to do that morning, 'supposedly'.
So she decided to pick out what she wanted to wear that night after getting some work done. Choosing clothes always made her late due to the huge walk-in closet she had. Clothes she would have to sell soon.
He loved to play with her mind and make her feel things so she would return the favor. Did he want a slave?
"Watch and see, Oliver Wilde, you would most certainly get one."
The outfit on the bed lacked something. Something she couldn't put her finger on.
It was a chic oversized white button-up shirt paired with a black corset-style belt around the waist.
What was missing? Normally, she would have just worn the clothes and her mood affected if she liked it or not so she could change but wearing it now and tomorrow were different things.
Maybe it was the hairstyle? She could her hair in a casual updo and… that was it! Accessories! If she did her hair in a casual up-do she could she would leave two curled tendrils to frame her face and hold the hair with a claw hair clip. The look came together in her head perfectly.
"Perfect!" She said before rummaging through her jewelry drawers for the Golden hair clip she had.
"Where is it?" she shifted through the entire drawers but couldn't find the clip.
Where could she have kept it? Her already messy room became more scattered as she searched everywhere for the clip.
"Where is the goddamn clip!?" her left eye twitched. "Argh!" she flung the clothes on the floor blocking her from walking swiftly to the other side of the room.
Kay left her room and went to search the living room. When she found it wasn't there, Louisa's room became the next target.
It was 1 in the morning but Louisa who scolded her for sleeping late also did the same so she must be awake.
"Loui! Have you seen my golden hair clip!?" She asked busting into her room. It didn't matter if she wore the clip or not but it was made out of real gold and therefore, would be expensive to sell.
However, Louisa lay in her bed, brows furrowed.
"Loui?" Kayla walked up closer to her friend to notice that she was shivering under the covers and her face had lost all color.
She touched her friend's forehead with her palm and the hotness made her eyes widen.
"Loui, you're burning up!" she exclaimed. "Gosh, you should have told me you were not feeling too good!"
Kayla rushed out of the room, prepared hot and cold water, and poured them into a bowl to give a lukewarm temperature. She took a small towel and went back into the room.
Louisa had a fever, so Kayla wasn't too worried because she knew what to do in situations like this. She had to know. This was what she was born to do as she was told all her life.
Still, this was her best friend—her anchor since childhood. The thought of something happening to Loui made her heart constrict, a sharp pang of fear running through her. Memories flashed through her mind: sleepless nights nursing her sister back to health, the helplessness gnawing at her. But this was Loui. She had to hold it together.
"It'll be okay, Loui. I'm here." Louisa stirred, her lips moving, trying to say something but it came out as a whisper. "Cole."
Kayla heard it and she pressed her lips into a thin line. "He's not here, Loui."
'he can never be here' was what she wanted to say but kept doing what she was doing. Louisa was always delirious when she fell sick. This was normal to Kay.
Using the thermometer to check her temperature and saw it was 49.6 degrees.
"Geez, Loui!" it was almost winter so this was Louisa's body's way of adapting to the change of seasons.
Kayla went to the first aid box to get ibuprofen but saw there wasn't any.
"Shit!" she would have to go out to buy some.
She rubbed her temples, yawning as she wore her shorts and a big sweatshirt over it.
Leaving Louisa here alone was a very bad decision so she hurried her pace but most of the pharmacies and supermarkets a walking distance had closed.
"Ugh!" Both her eyes were twitching as she walked three streets away from theirs to a store that was thankfully open.
When she got back home and went to Louisa's room she saw her friend had sat up and was vomiting on the floor beside her bed.
Kayla rushed over, the smell of bile already heavy in the room. The heat radiating from Louisa's body was stifling, sticking to her own skin as she hoisted her up. Loui's weight pressed into her, her legs dragging as though they belonged to someone else. The nausea, the heat, the damp sweat—everything clung to Kayla, who struggled to keep her footing.
"You gotta help me, Loui. I'm not that strong!"
She wheezed out but they made it to the bathroom and Louisa puked some more as Kay held her hair back.
Later, she splashed water on her friend's face and changed her out of her vomit-stained clothes before taking her back to lie down.
In a few hours, she would prepare chicken soup and feed her some bananas to help reduce the vomiting then give her the medicine.
For now, she scrubbed off the stains on the rug.
Every ten minutes she changed the water and put the towel on her head to cool down her temperature and checked it after twenty minutes.
Kayla sat on the floor close to Louisa's bed, watching her friend. She rested her chin on the bed, her eyelids heavy but she wouldn't sleep.
She remembered when she stayed up for three days when her sister fell very ill. She had to be on her toes and watchful to make sure her sister's condition didn't worsen over the night or it would be her fault. It was always her fault.
She sighed heavily. If Loui didn't get better by tomorrow, she'd skip class—an easy excuse not to deal with him. She clenched her jaw at the thought of his smug smile, his voice curling around her like smoke, wrapping tighter until it choked her. She rubbed her temples; no, she wouldn't think about him now. Loui needed her.
****
Throughout the night and the wee hours of the money, Louisa puked three more times but the fever went down by three degrees.
That was what Kay used to comfort herself as she prepared the food for Louisa.
Her eyes were swollen and her Hazel eyes were dim as she brought in the food and placed it on the bedside table before helping her friend sit up to eat, putting a pillow behind her neck so she would be comfortable.
She scooped the soup, blew on it, and brought it to Louisa's lips but the latter scrunched up her nose and turned her head.
"Oh, don't be a child." She chided softly.
"B…bitter," Louisa mumbled, her words slurring together, eyelids fluttering. She seemed lost, eyes struggling to focus, as though Kayla's voice was coming from far away. Her hand weakly pushed the spoon away before her head slumped back against the pillow.
"Your tastebuds are whacky but if you don't eat this you won't be able to take the medication and you won't get better! You have a spoken word presentation next Monday so how will you do it if you're sick?" That did the trick because reluctantly she accepted the soup.
"Good Girl. Eat for Kay, okay?" However, Louisa didn't finish the soup which was fine by Kay and as she wanted to grab the banana from the tray the bowl tumbled over and spilled on Kay's hands.
"Fuck!"
"Huh?" Louisa muttered but Kay shook her head, "I'm a klutz, don't worry. I'm fine." She forced herself to speak with the pain. The soup was very hot so her hand became red. She would apply some ointment later.
She fed her the banana before proceeding to clean up the soup mess and then gave Louisa the medicines.
As she was waiting for the dishes to be done, she cracked her neck and let out a breath. "Gosh, I'm so tired. I need to sleep for like ten days after this."
When she checked her friend's temperature again, it had gone down by only a degree. If it didn't decrease she would have to take her to the hospital. She exhaled.
She would be fine. Nothing would happen to her. She had done this repeatedly so it was going to be fine.
Kay heard the doorbell ring. "What do people want!?"
"Get lost, we're not—" Kayla's breath caught in her throat. The amused glint in his eyes was unmistakable, sending a chill down her spine. He looked too pleased with himself, as if he'd been waiting for this exact moment. Her chest tightened, her pulse quickening as she backed up a step.
"Good afternoon to you too, Hastings."