37. The chapter with the misunderstanding

Rose

I would like to be romantic and claim that I woke up the next day sleeping on Christian's chest enjoying his body heat, but I was still on my stomach in the same position I fell asleep in. In fact, Christian had moved, passing his arm around me, spreading his hand on my exposed buttocks by the T-shirt built up around my waist.

I moved my face, turning toward Christian who was still sleeping beside me with a peaceful expression.

" Chris. Hey, Chris," I called out.

All I got in response was a small annoyed grumble.

" Are you really sleeping? " I insisted.

" I'm trying, but you won't shut the hell up," he yawned, opening his eyes to look at me.

He was close, very close.

" How are you feeling today? Feeling better?”

" I'm tired and a little sore, but definitely better than yesterday, thanks," he gave a half smile at my concern.

" Great, so can you please take your hand off my ass? " I asked.

He lifted his head slightly, looking down at the accumulated sheet at the foot of the bed and his hand still on my ass, as if to confirm what I was saying.

" Sorry," he withdrew his hand.

I turned over, sitting up before stretching, the alarm clock on the bedside table read a quarter past nine in the morning. We hadn't gotten much sleep since we got back from the hospital, but soon it would be time for Christian to take his medication, and I still had to go to the pharmacy to get some.

" I know we are at your father's house, but do you mind if I go back to sleep? I feel like I've been run over by a tractor," Christian sighed, closing his eyes again.

" I have to go buy your medicine, you can sleep until I get back." I got out of bed, going to the closet, choosing a sweater and jeans.

" My card is in my wallet, but I have no idea where it is.”

" I put it in my purse yesterday when they took you away for your exams, along with your cell phone," I warned.

I picked up the bag from the bedside table, opening it to get his wallet and his cell phone, noticing a few missed calls on the device.

" Your parents called you a few times.”

" Argh, they must have been told I used their health insurance," he groaned, "can you text them and let them know I'm okay?”

He raised his hand with difficulty, and I went over, placing his finger on the fingerprint sensor before typing a quick message to his father's number, leaving Christian alone to change in the bathroom. It took me a few minutes to get ready, when I came out I found the boy asleep and his cell phone ringing at the foot of the bed.

The picture of a couple that didn't seem conventional at all was on the screen. The man was in his fifties with a gray goatee and eyes as blue as Christian's, he was wearing a leather vest and his hair was hidden by a black and white bandana, while the woman had perfectly platinum hair in a pixie cut and a tattoo that I couldn't quite identify the design on her neck.

" Chris, your parents are calling you, don't you think you should answer it? " I tried to call him in vain " Chris?

I thought about my options for a second, I could ignore it, after all I had already sent the message saying that I was fine, but if it was my parents, they would be freaking out by now for not being able to talk to me.

I took the cell phone in my hand, hesitating for a second before answering the call.

" Hello?”

" Who is this? " A female voice sounded on the other end.

" Ms. Davis? My name is Rose, I'm a... friend of Christian's," I tried to sound as natural as possible.

" And where is he that he can't answer his cell phone? We have been notified that his health insurance was used at a hospital in a New York City hospital," a male voice sounded.

" Yes, I spent the night with him in the hospital, he is sleeping. We came to a party in Rochester and he had a kidney colic, but he's fine now," I tried to reassure them.

" A renal colic? Like a kidney stone? " The man asked

" Something like, look, I'm sorry I had to take this, I just thought if it was my parents they would be freaking out not knowing what happened. But as soon as he wakes up I'll tell him to call back.

" When you say he's sleeping, do you mean that you're sharing a room? " the woman asked.

For a moment I didn't know how to answer that, so I thought of the most neutral answer possible.

" Actually, we're at my mother's house, and…”

" He traveled to meet his mother? " The man interrupted, making me choke at his conclusion.

" You see, I have to go and get some medicine for him, and when he wakes up I'll have him call you," I decided to hang up before I made things worse.

I ended the call without waiting for an answer, throwing the phone on the bed as if I had been shocked.

Damn it, Rose. You were just supposed to reassure them, what did you do?

Without thinking further about the situation, I grabbed the card from his wallet and left, grabbing my cell phone and wallet before going downstairs. The house, as expected, was silent, but my mother was already awake preparing breakfast.

" Good morning," I greeted her from the kitchen door.

" Good morning, I thought you would be sleeping late," she glanced over her shoulder at me.

" I have to go get Chris's medication," I explained.

" What do you choose? " she asked.

I moved closer to see what she was talking about, smiling at the ingredients on the counter.

" It's missing, where are the others?

" At your father's, and I'm too lazy to go out, the wind is freezing today, put on another coat.

" The second one," I pointed out, "I'll get one too?

" Are you sick? " she returned, I stuck my tongue out at her in response before grabbing a blueberry from a bowl " I thought.

" I'll be back in a few minutes," I warned, taking Brigitte's key before leaving.

I didn't take long to go to the pharmacy and come back, when I arrived, my mother was finishing preparing a tray for me to take to the room with some Waffles, syrup and orange juice. The typical breakfast when one of us would get sick.

" What am I going to eat? " I stared at my mother as I picked up the tray after putting a bottle of water and the pill boxes next to the juice.

" We have toast, jam, and cereal," she shrugged.

" Mom! Why is his food better than mine?

" You're not taking antibiotics, Rose!

I huffed, taking the tray and going to the bedroom, knowing that there was no point in arguing with her.

If there was one thing my mother hated to do, it was cook in the morning, so we always opted for the obvious instant meals, like a nice bowl of cereal and milk. But this always changed when someone got sick, so that person would get a deluxe breakfast in bed.

And it seems that Christian has just been promoted to honorary member of my family.

Christian was still asleep when I entered the room, and I put the tray on the dressing table before climbing into bed, thinking of a gentle way to wake him up.

The big issue is that I don't know how to be gentle. Touching his shoulder, I shook him a little.

" Chris, wake up. You need to eat," I insisted, increasing the intensity a little.

" Can you stop? " he murmured, "Just stop.

" You have half an hour left on your antibiotic, so you need to eat. Come on," I stood up, going to where I had left the tray.

Christian sat up in bed, looking more awake than before, frowning when I carefully placed the tray beside him.

" What is this?

" In this house the rule is clear, if you had to go to the hospital, or have a fever over thirty"eight degrees, you get breakfast in bed," I explained.

" Rose, there's a Yoda on your plate," he raised his eyebrows, pointing at the waffle.

" The Millennium Falcon machine is at my father's house," I returned.

" Do I have to insist on this?

" Breakfast is themed. When I was little I had to work hard to eat when I was sick, so my parents were creative. The other choices today were Spiderman, butterflies, and Charlie Brown," I listed.

Christian sipped his glass of juice while I poured the berry syrup over the two waffles my mother had prepared for him.

" I hope you know that you will share them with me," I warned him.

" I thought this was my prize for getting a kidney infection," he gave me a cross look before tasting some of the waffle, "wow, this is good! Why didn't you get one for yourself?

" Because the house rule also states that only those who have gone to the hospital or have a fever higher than thirty"eight degrees are entitled to a breakfast other than cereal " I explained without turning my attention away from the fork with another piece of waffle Christian was about to bring to his mouth.

" Then get your own kidney infection," he shrugged, "I'm not sharing with you.

I gave him a little pout, crossing my arms in displeasure with his decision. Christian continued eating for a few seconds, before stopping with his fork halfway to his mouth.

" Are you going to stare at me until I finish?

" You're lucky I didn't hit you and take your waffle," I returned.

He stared at me for a few seconds before sighing, leaning toward me a little.

" Open your mouth," he murmured, popping the waffle into my mouth, "you act like a brat, you know that?

I didn't answer, just gave him a satisfied smile as I chewed, winking at him until I saw his cell phone where I had left it earlier, reminding me to warn him about his parents.

" Your parents called you again earlier, I hope you don't mind, but I answered and told them you'd be back when you woke up," I tried to sound as natural as possible.

Christian frowned, alternating his gaze between the cell phone and me, looking as if he didn't know how to react to the news.

" You talked to my parents?

" Yes, it was no big deal. I told them not to worry that you had a kidney colic, took some medication and were resting, but when you woke up you would call," I summarized the story as much as possible.

" Did they take it well?

" I think so. I mean, I don't know how your parents would react, but they said they would wait until you called," I shrugged.

Christian put his fork aside, reaching for his cell phone, and I took advantage of his distraction to eat some more of his waffle.

" The call was quick," he commented.

" I told you, it was a simple conversation," I assured him, drinking some of his juice.

" Okay, I'll call them," he decided.

That set me in motion, and I got out of bed, feigning indifference and trying to get away as quickly as possible.

" Okay, I'll leave the rest for you to eat, these are the medicines you have to take, and I'll get your bag from my dad's house, you'll need your stuff and you might want to take a shower, brush your teeth, whatever," I snorted as I walked backwards toward the door, while Christian stared at me with a frown, seeming to find my reaction strange, "I'll see you later.