Chapter 19

It was Saturday morning now, and I was watching three sweaty men and a little  man playing basketball together.

I sat far enough away from them on the grass, under the shade of a three. They all seemed to be having a lot of fun, and I didn't want to ruin that by my awkward presence.

All the men seemed to be pretty good at the sport, and of course, Phil and Felix, too, were in pretty good shape considering the line of work they were in.

It was pretty exciting to watch them play, and of course, I was rooting for Liam's team, and it had nothing to do with the fact that his teammate was Mr. Carlton. Not that anyone was asking, but still, just to be clear.

I wasn't at all enjoying looking at the shirtless men playing. Not at all. And my mouth was certainly not watering at the sight of one particular tall, lean, and tanned figure, with his skin glistening in the sun. Nope. Not.at.all.

And then he had to stop and comb his wet hair off his forehead with his hand and notice me sitting far away, staring at him like a stalker. Damn!

I instantly looked away, focusing on Liam and the others. He stood there for a few minutes, still staring until Phil called his name.

Get a grip woman! You came here to watch Liam play and have fun, not be a fan girl to Mr. Carlton!

I spent the rest of the game completely avoiding looking at Mr. Carlton - directly...

.......

It's Sunday night now, and after finishing his homework, Liam had gone to sleep.

I was sitting in my room trying to build up the courage to go speak with Mr. Carlton. I needed to talk to him about moving back home.

Three days ago, this would be so easy, but now... my palms were actually sweating, and my heart was beating so hard with how nervous I was to go and speak with him.

But I can't not talk to him about this either. I mean, he might just be keeping us here because he is too polite to tell us to leave. If that was the case, wouldn't that mean I am taking advantage of him now. Free stay. That also in luxury. Free food, free transportation...ok I need to go speak with him. Now!

Before I wimped out again, I marched out of my room towards his study. It's just a wild guess that he could be there. I'll have to just knock and see.

With a deep breath, I knocked on the door with my shaky hand. When I heard his reply, I quietly opened the door and stepped inside.

Mr. Carlton was sitting in his chair leaning back with his eyes closed.

I stood there wordlessly, not knowing what to say, while completely mesmerized by the sight of his face.

He sat there very still, and one would think that he was asleep if not for the slightly furrowed brows. I took a step forward, my footsteps completely silent on the plush carpeted floor, but he still felt the movement and slowly opened his eyes, the forrow deepening, and I saw that his eyes were red.

Alarmed, I hurried towards his desk but caught myself just in time. I stopped, eyeing him while he eyed me back.

I swallowed just to make sure my voice stayed neutral before I asked him, "Are you ok?"

He closed his eyes again, softly, murmuring a, "mmmm."

I bit my lip and clasped my hands together, not knowing what to do. He didn't look like he wanted to be spoken to, but he had let me in his office, which meant I should speak. But-

"Just say it." He said, interrupting my thoughts.

"Ummm.." I started trying to collect my thoughts.

He opened his eyes again, waiting for me to continue.

"I wanted to talk to you about Liam and I moving back home." I finally told him. I was looking down at the floor as I spoke, and as there was only silence, I took a peak at him to see his reaction.

He was leaning forward, rubbing his forehead with the tip of his fingers.

"Are you sure you're ok?" I just couldn't help asking.

"You can't go back yet?" He said quietly,  ignoring my question.

"Mr. Car-"

"I said no!" He growled out loudly, making me step back in shock. But the growl was quickly followed by a groan. He was slouched forward now, clutching his head with both his hands.

At this poi, t I just couldn't help it. I told myself that it would be very cruel of me to ignore the fact that he was obviously in pain.

I quietly walked around his desk and very slowly kneeled down in front of him.

"What's wrong?" I whispered to him. This time, I did not hide the worry and care from my voice.

"My head.." was all he said. He didn't open his eyes or move at all when I moved closer to him.

I raised my hand and gently touched his soft, silky hair, brushing it away, but as I did, I felt his hand, which was icy cold. I touched it, just to be sure.

Alarmed at how cold it was, I touched his arm, and it was burning up! My eyes widened in panic, but I tried to stay calm as I spoke.

"Hey, let's get you to your room so you could get some rest, shall we?" I asked.

"I have work..." He said very quietly, still not moving.

Seriously, dude? You can't even open your eyes. How are you going to get any work done? But I didn't argue with him as it would only hurt his pounding head more.

"I know. I'll give you some painkillers, and you can rest-just for a little bit," I said as he began to protest, "and then you can come back and finish your work. Ok?" I said instead, trying to gently coax him.

"Yea, ok." He agreed, much to my relief.

I stood up from my position and held his arms, pulling at it gently. "Let's get you up now.." I instructed gently as there was no way I could take this giant of a man to his room without his help.

He removed his hands from his head, taking my hand in his, while, with his other hand, he held on to his desk for support to push himself off the chair.

As soon as he stood, he began to sway, so I quickly let go of his hand and went and hugged him around his waist so he could lean on me.

He was so hot that I felt my skin burn everywhere that was touching his body.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, saying, "So dizzy." Then he rested his head on mine until he could get his balance back.

Im sure his fever is dangerously high at this point. What was he doing in his study, not even taking any medication. What if I hadn't come here today? How can he be so careless.

I was close to tears by now with worry. But I bit my lip and tried to stay calm. I can't stress myself out with what ifs.

After some time, he lifted his head slowly, saying, "Ok."

I slowly moved backward, guiding him around his desk and towards the door. As I reached it, I opened the door, guiding him out of his study. Thank goodness his bedroom was just a few steps away.

We reached it with just a couple of steps, and I turned the knob, pushing the door open.

His room was dark, and I tried searching for the lights. I've never been here before, so I didn't want to trip on something while Mr. Carlton was still keeping his eyes firmly shut.

Finding the lights, I switched it on, immediately flooding the room with a dim light.

I led him towards his king-sized bed and tried to put him on it as gently as possible. But I failed miserably. As soon as his weight tilted to the other side, I lost control, and he dropped on the bed like a sack of potatoes.

"Sorry, sorry." I quickly apologized. At least I didn't lose balance and fall on top of him. I managed to grab onto the bed and fall away from him.

I quickly got up as he let out another groan. He just laid there, not even bothering to get comfortable.

"Mr. Carlton? Are you still feeling dizzy?" I asked him, leaning down and brushing his hair out of his face. His face had paled, maybe due to the strain of walking while he was in so much pain.

He didn't answer me, so I gently patted his shoulder, and still no response. I rushed to his bathroom to check the drawer. I had seen a first aid box in my bathroom. Maybe there was one here as well.

I found the box in the first drawer I looked.  I checked to see if a thermometer was there, I didn't want to search his bedroom cupboards before I looked here, and unfortunately, it wasn't there.

I heard another groan from the bedroom so I quickly shut the box and went to see Mr Carlton.

He was lying down very uncomfortably on the bed with his slippers still on. I went and removed it for him and flipped him on his back.

Then I rushed to his bedside table, pulling open the first drawer, and there it was. A thermometer and a Tylenol card.

I took the temperature, and sure enough, it was 104 F. Before doing anything, I decided to call his doctor.

I tried calling Mr. Carlton again by patting him, and this time, he opened his eyes again. I asked him for his doctor's number and he asked for his phone.

I scanned his room, not finding it. But since he had been in his study, I assumed it would be there.

I ran to the study, grabbed his phone from the desk, and ran back.

"Speed dial 5." Was all he said when I called him again.

I tried it, and sure enough, it started dialing to a number that was saved as "doctor."

As soon as the doctor picked up, I told him what happened, and he informed me he was on his way and that I could give him the medicine.

I poured a glass of water and called him again. Dragging him up, I helped him with the medicine and water and helped him to lie down on his pillows.

The doctor arrived pretty quickly and took a blood test, telling me he would call with the results tomorrow. He left telling me to give him plenty of fluids and to call him if fever was not coming down.

I ran downstairs into the kitchen and grabbed a juice, a glass and straw, and ran upstairs again.

It was very late by now and the whole place was empty. Everyone had gone to sleep by now except for the guards on duty outside.

I sat by Mr. Carlton's bed on a chair I had pulled up next to him, checking his temperature from time to time and making him drink plenty of juice.

His fever kept getting high every four hours until early into the morning where I finally fell asleep while sitting next to his bed, on the floor, holding his hand so that I would know if he needs me...

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Two chapters for my lovely readers. Enjoy!

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