41 - The chapter where Rose takes care of Christian

Christian

We left right after dinner, and to my misfortune, I was forced to let Harry drive my motorcycle while I curled up in Brigitte's car seat, under the watchful eye of Rose who seemed willing to take me back to the hospital at any sign of worsening.

Once we arrived at the campus she walked me to my room, sitting on the edge of my bed with a worried expression as I curled up in bed. After taking one more painkiller.

" Are you sure you'll be okay here alone? You look terrible," she frowned.

" She's right, you do look pale," Theo, who had helped me up and was standing beside the bed, agreed.

" I just need to sleep, the drugs will kick in soon," I took a deep breath, "besides, I won't be alone, Harry is my roommate, remember?”

" You better not count on him too much," Liam warned, entering the room, "he asked me to give you back your keys and your helmet, he intended to take Sky somewhere.”

His voice was full of disgust, but I didn't feel like focusing on his dramas at that moment. Not when I was in so much pain.

" I can stay here with you, at least until you feel better," Rose proposed.

" I don't have to…”

" What if you have to go back to the hospital and you're here alone? " she insisted.

" She's right, I could offer to stay here with you, but first of all, I don't share a bed with other guys, and secondly I'd probably sleep in and not notice if you needed anything," Liam returned.

" I'm not sharing a bed with him, I'm just going to stay here until he gets better," Rose assured him, holding my hand.

" I'm curious, if one day I get sick, will you take care of me like this, my little Tarsila do Amaral? " Liam sneered.

Rose turned her face to look at him petulantly, not shaken by the assumptions implicit in that question.

" Get a kidney infection and we can discuss the possibility, Van Derr Waal.”

" I'm fine with my kidneys being healthy, thank you," he returned.

Rose sat down on the floor beside me, starting to fiddle with her cell phone as the guys left the room, leaving just the two of us there. I confess that I didn't expect that she, of all people, would be the one most concerned about my well being, but I was happy that this was the case.

" Thanks for the meds," I called her attention.

Rose raised her face to me, smiling before answering.

" It was nothing, Davis. If you want to amuse me a little, you can get stoned and make more statements like yesterday. I'd sure enjoy that," she winked.

I frowned, trying to remember any statement I might have made to her yesterday, but nothing came to mind at the moment.

" What are you talking about? Did I say something?”

" Well, thanks to morphine I know you have a particular fetish for anything to do with motorcycles," she teased me.

" What?”

" I promise I'll think about the jacket proposal, but right now you'd better sleep," she warned.

I could insist on that subject, but I felt exhausted and her suggestion to sleep seemed more and more appropriate. I closed my eyes for a second.

" You will tell me about this later," I murmured before going to sleep.

I awoke the next day feeling a little dazed. Rose was nowhere to be found, but on the nightstand there were some cereal bars with a note advising that she was late for class, but would be back to check on me later.

And it looks like I missed the class day.

I was feeling a little better, even though that antibiotic was making me feel constantly sick, I felt that I was getting better. I lay in bed for much of the morning, until I decided to go out in search of something besides cereal bars to eat. Rose and the others would soon be leaving for lunch, and I could meet them in the cafeteria.

After changing and making myself minimally presentable, I left the room, walking nonchalantly through the deserted corridors of the dormitory, out into the campus that was beginning to come alive with students leaving towards the cafeterias for lunch. I made my way among them without any difficulty when one particular scene caught my attention.

Camille, the girl with whom I had some classes, was trying to get away quickly from a group of girls who seemed to mock her as they followed her.

I looked around for a good vantage point, trying to understand what was going on.

" Do you think that if we keep following her, she will cry? " one of the girls asked the other.

I knew most of them from classes and a few parties. I even danced with one of them at the last party we went to, but somehow I ended the night locked in one of the closets with Rose and didn't bother to get her number.

That's when Camille's attention caught on me, for a second, a small gleam came into her eye, and I nodded in acknowledgement, approaching her.

" Hi," she began in a timid voice, which was drowned out by the sound of giggles from the girls who passed by without any politeness.

" Christian! I haven't seen you for days, since that party when your friend had too much to drink and you disappeared," the girl I met smiled, approaching me, "I heard you got sick, are you better?”

Camille blushed, bowing her head before turning away and walking briskly again.

" I'm fine, but I have to go," I shoved the two of them aside, "Hey, Cam. Camille…”

" What? " I heard the girl stammer as I left her behind, struggling to catch up to Camille before she disappeared among the other students.

" Cam.”

I managed to catch up to her, holding her arm to stop her advance.

" Oh, hi, Davis, I didn't see you there," she tried to play it off.

" Yes you did, and you tried to run away," I teased her.

" I didn't want to get in your way," she bowed her head, "I saw that you got sick over the weekend, are you better?”

" I got a kidney infection, but I'm getting better, Rose is taking good care of me.”

" Ahh, yes. I am glad to hear that you are well. I have to go," she amended quickly, then walked away with her head down.

I frowned, watching Camille walk away, trying to understand what was going on with this girl.

" Who's that? " Rose asked as she approached.

" A girl in my class," I explained, still not looking away, "Did you make it to class on time?”

" You'll have to make it up to me for having to put up with Phillip Black picking on me all day for being late. " She gave me a little punch on the shoulder.

Casting one last glance at Camille, I followed Rose toward the cafeteria where the others were waiting for us.