An Angel

Rowan

Still very confused and strangely sated, I trudge up the four flights of stairs to my apartment door. I fumble with my keys until my brain decides to cooperate. When I get inside, I lock and deadbolt the door per usual and set all my stuff down.

I just had my first kiss with the most beautiful man I have ever seen.

I check the time and force myself to focus on cramming for my test tomorrow. I load up on shitty store-bought and poorly-brewed coffee made my myself, then kick off my boots. I get to work, flipping through hundreds of notes pages and textbook examples.

Before I know it, it's 2AM and I haven't even eaten. I decide I don't need to and take a brisk shower. I can't stop thinking about how soft his lips were on mine, or how skilled...

I flop into bed with sopping wet hair and drift off into a deep sleep. My dreams are filled with Adam's eyes and his angled jawline. Toward the end of my slumber, it takes a turn. My dream shifts to focus on an empty room with bones on the floor and blood leaking from the one piece of furniture there is: a freezer.

My alarm wakes me with a jarring, abhorrent beeping. I shut off the noisy box and get ready for the day.

I have a renewed sense of purpose today, probably because of Adam. I stare into my closet, wondering what I should wear. He wears dark colors. Perhaps I should go for something darker as well?

I finally decide on a burgundy top with black lace around the shoulders. I go for the usual skinny jeans and boots, knowing I have nothing else. I clean up all my mess from studying last night and go about my usual morning duties: coffee and getting to class on time.

Several hours later, the test is done and I feel thoroughly obliterated. Good thing I'm not lecturing today in my internship, just observing. As I sit down in the dining hall for a quick lunch, I begin to feel the onset of a headache.

Really? Today?! But Adam...

Adam. As if he would care if I wasn't in class. It was one bad date and a scorching hot kiss, that's all. He could be the one-night-stand type for all I know.

I look through my bag for some ibuprofen, but realize I forgot to stock up after the start of semester. I went through the whole bottle in less than three months due to my wonky sleep schedule and overconsumption of caffeine. I sigh and resolve to stop by the store this afternoon after my internship.

After eating half a turkey sandwich, I start jogging toward the psychology building. However, halfway there I am hit with a wave of dizziness that brings me to a lurching stop. Holy shit, not another migraine. I have a paper to finish tonight!

I continue slowly to the classroom, then take my seat in the back. I pull out an old compact I've had in my bag since last semester when I regularly wore makeup. My face is very pale already.

As the students file in, I notice that Adam isn't here today. Perhaps he had something come up, or an appointment he couldn't miss? Why do I even care so much?

Suddenly I get a sharp pain on both sides of my head, aimed at my temples. I grab the desk for support until it passes, then notice my vision has gone blurry. I can't focus on my research for tomorrow's class right now with this damn migraine wreaking havoc!

My head is throbbing now to the best of my heart. Professor Bailey seems to have noticed I am not at my best today, as he approaches my desk once everyone gets started on their quizzes.

"Rowan, you don't look well. You should go home and rest." I look up at him, squinting because of my poor eyesight at the moment.

"Just go. I won't mark you absent." He starts putting my things away for me as I am assaulted with another zing of pain. It feels like someone is drilling into my temporal lobe.

Someone approaches the professor and smoothly takes my bag from him. "I'll make sure she gets home safely. I walked her home yesterday."

Adam helps me out of my seat and feels my forehead. "Do you want to see a doctor, Rowan?"

"N-no, I can't afford the copay right now-ugh!" I press against the sides of my head with my palms, willing my nerves to calm themselves.

"Let's get you home then." My knight in shining armor leads me slowly out of the building, letting me lean on him. I can tell that he's very concerned again, just like last night when he insisted on accompanying me to my apartment complex.

Once outside, Adam picks me up in his arms princess-style and before I can object, he pushes my head close to his chest as if forcing me to close my eyes. I simply let him do what he wants, in no condition to fight about it.

Seconds later, he's taking out my keys from my pocket. I look up at him, confused. He unlocks my door and brings me inside, laying me on the couch tenderly and putting a pillow under my head.

"H-how did we get here so fast?" I can't speak about a mumble now, as anything higher in volume would surely make my head pound more.

"You blacked out. We took a taxi. Do you not have any medicine here?" He rifles through my cabinets in the kitchen and bathroom, trying to find some painkillers.

"No, I ran out. I was going to get more..." I have to shut my eyes now as any light makes everything so much worse.

"I'll get you more. Stay there and don't move, please." I hear my keys jingling and the door closing softly, then the lock turning. So considerate.

I curl up and try to fall asleep amidst all the pain I'm going through. I suppose I am successful, because someone ends up shaking me awake. I open i eyes slowly and squint, still not able to see well.

"I got you ibuprofen, extra strength migraine medicine, and some tea. Do you want me to make you something to eat?" Adam brushes the hair off my face and I can feel my blush.

"I don't think I can stomach food right now..." I cringe as some force hammers my brain. He helps me sit up and I take the meds he hands me without question. He feels my forehead, then walks back to the kitchen quickly. I wonder if something's wrong, but before I can ask he's handing me a thermometer.

"You're burning up. If you have a fever, I'm taking you to a doctor and I'll pay for it." I obey his silent command and take my temperature. He looks at the number on the thermometer and grabs my keys yet again.

"Bad?" I ask it as if the answer isn't obvious.

"Your temperature is 102 degrees. I don't think this is a migraine, Rowan. Can you walk?" His voice is still low, which makes me melt a little inside. He's trying not to hurt me more.

"Hopefully," I mumble as I stand up. I'm wobbly, but with Adam's help I can walk well enough. He hails a taxi once we're outside and we soon arrive at the local urgent care.

After almost an hour's wait in the plastic chairs of the lobby, I am called back. I tell the nurse to let Adam stay and keep my eyes closed, even when the doctor arrives.

Adam gives him the rundown and after a brief checkup, the diagnosis is just a bad migraine. They stick us with a 200 dollar bill and rush us out the door.

I can tell Adam is annoyed as he tries to get a cab's attention. "I'll pay you back."

"That's not what it is. This is not a migraine. Not if you have a fever like that."

I stay quiet, feeling very woozy and unsteady. My legs start tingling like crazy, feeling like pins and needles. I tip forward and he catches me right before I fall unconscious.

I dream of an angel with grey-green eyes and slightly messy dark hair. Then I see blood. The same flash of red oozing from under a freezer. I hear the words, in my own voice, ring in my head: "You need to leave him. He is no good for you." The last thing I see in my mind's eye is a pale body on the ground. My body.

"Rowan? Rowan, you passed out. I've been shaking you for five minutes." I open my groggy eyes to see his face clearly. He has a deep line between his eyebrows. I want to raise my hand to touch it, but my arm won't obey. I must look alarmed because he has me sit up immediately.

"What's wrong?" His eyes look over everything and he feels my arms and legs. At least that's what I observe, because I feel nothing right now except the throbbing behind my eyes.

"I can't feel your hands. None of it." I start to panic as I hear my own voice echo around me, telling me Adam is going to kill me. "No, he wouldn't...he's not like that..."

He lifts my chin up so our eyes meet. "Who are you talking to? What are you hearing?" My angel is so calm and stoic.

"My voice, but you're not going to kill me. Right?"

"Why would I kill you? Of course not!" He seems so flustered and frustrated. After quite some time of him trying to get some reaction from my body by poking and prodding, he gives up and moves to the kitchen for the millionth time today. I can see him mixing something into steaming water. That must be the tea he brought over.

When he deems the tea well-incorporated, he brings the mug over to me. "Clearly you can feel your face as you've been talking. You should be able to drink this easily. It's a fever-reducing tea that also has herbs known to cure migraines by calming the nerves in your body."

Why haven't I ever heard of this before? I don't have time to speak before he puts the cup to my lips and watching intently as I gulp it down. "Good. It should help you sleep as well because of the calming agents. Let me get you comfortable."

He cradles me in his arms and lays me on my bed, covering me with the comforter. He seems so sweet right now. He would make an excellent doctor with this bedside manner.

He sits beside me and runs his fingers through my hair, which is soft because of my shower last night. His touch is relaxing and my lids feel heavy. I succumb to a deep, dreamless sleep.