Take Me From This Hospital Bed

Kadence waited for Rowan to get out of the bathroom. He had jumped up, on the verge of puking, and locked her out when he went in. Not that Kadence wanted to see puke. The thought made her gag. But she wanted to make it less gross and uncomfortable for Rowan. There was a small click and the door slightly came ajar. Kadence pushed the thing in and saw Rowan at the sink, brushing his teeth. He looked over at Kadence. The girl crossed her arms and leaned against the frame, shaking her head. Her steel blue-grey eyes were saddened.

Rowan felt his heart clench, as if he was the one that upset her. He rinsed his mouth out and cleared his throat. Rowan walked passed Kadence, carting the IV rack behind him. He climbed in bed again and covered up with a sighed. Kadence made her way to the bed.

“You feeling better?” she asked sweetly.

“I’d be better if the food you gave me wasn’t poisoned,” he replied with a smug look.

Kadence was about to argue when she realized his tone had been a teasing one. This shocked her for a second and she said, “You must really be bad if you’re in an actual playful mood.”

“Shut up,” Rowan growled. He cleared his throat. It grew quiet and Rowan looked over at Kadence and asked, “How old are you?”

“What?” Kadence asked, screwing her face up at the question.

“Well, you seem to be still at the naïve age of about fifteen, but you look a little older so.”

“I’m almost seventeen,” Kadence glared. “How old are you anyway?”

“I’m over the legal age for you, sweet heart,” Rowan retorted.

“Like I had any of that in mind,” Kadence argued.

“Because I’m sick?” Rowan couldn't help but blurt the question.

“What?” Kadence was again taken aback by the question. Kadence was baffled but she didn’t completely miss the dark tone in his voice. “I’m not a jackass; if anything, it’d be because you are.”

Rowan grinned at Kadence’s saucy reply and retorted, “So if I told you that you were pretty cute, a nice guy compliment, you’d consider?”

Kadence stumbled over her words. This guy was unbelievable. He really was sick. How could he suggest something so crazy. Sure, the guy had some look to him and he had his charms. But there was no way Kadence would think of him as anything more than a friend. He was obviously older and had some big issues, not to mention he had more jerk-faced moments the nice-guy ones. Kadence didn’t like to get caught up in a net that wanted to suffocate everyone that was stupid to get near it. And that was what Rowan was. He was a trap.

“I don’t think that would be the least bit appr-”

Kadence was cut off by a soft kiss to the lips. The gesture stunned her. After she just ran through why she wouldn’t consider Rowan as more than a friend in her head. He kissed her. He kissed her, his dry lips rough on hers but felt warm and pleasing. The trap had already sprung and Kadence had one leg caught in it.

She wanted to curse but when Rowan parted, all she could do was pull away, glare at the boy, and say, “I can not believe you just did that.”

“I can’t believe you’re a horrible kisser,” Rowan chuckled. “You really aren’t that bad looking. Haven’t you kissed a guy before?”

“Of course I have,” Kadence barked as she got off the bed. “The guys I’ve kissed were nice enough to ask before they parked their lips on mine.”

Rowan scratched his ash blond hair and laughed. Kadence ground her teeth and started out the room. Rowan wanted to stop her and apologize, but he forced himself to keep his mouth closed. He thought it best that she left anyway. He had been sinking in the quicksand she had layed out. Rowan didn't want to chance anymore time in the pit, for fear of seriously losing control of everything. Kadence stormed out the room and didn’t stop until she reached the elevators. Her heart was pounding against her rib cage. She held her chest as if it would burst. Kadence’s cheeks were hot and she wanted to cry. How could Rowan be so…? It was hard to finish that question. Kadence was trying her hardest to unlock the trap and free her leg.

It wasn’t that hard to hate Rowan again and want to make him pay. It only took about two days, when Kadence ended up in the hospital for meningitis. She recalled Rowan being sick and had no doubts that when he kissed her he gave her the illness. The good news was it was only a bacterial infection and she was able to get treated. Kadence was given medicine for the fever and headache. She suffered through the nausea. Kadence’s mom sat by the bed and sighed.

“I don’t know how you could have gotten this,” she said. “You usually have a good immunity to most colds and flues.”

“I guess my luck just ran out,” Kadence replied.

Of course she wasn’t going to tell her mom a sick guy kissed her and was the culprit in transferring his meningitis to her. Kadence was so mad that she could punch Rowan for it. It had been a big argument about Kadence coming to the hospital. Her grandmother wanted to come but her mother refused to bring her on account that she was having trouble breathing. Her grandmother had an appointment to get a check-up soon and they didn’t want to push her luck. Kadence’s dad was going to just take Kadence and go in work late, and then her mom was going to stay with her after work. But her dad had gotten called in on an emergency. So Kadence’s mom took the day off of work but now was forced to go into work the next day. This left Kadence in the hospital alone for a day.

Her parents were worried but it wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t like Kadence planned on getting into trouble. She couldn’t just go around puking on people to pick a fight, because that’s all she could do right now. Kadence groaned and shifted in the bed, trying to find a spot that didn’t make her want to taste breakfast again. Kadence slept when she could. Her mom petted her hair as comfort. When it came to that time, her mom lingered by her side still unsure about leaving her.

“Just go, mom,” Kadence urged. “It’s a lot easier getting to work from home than it is from here. And at least there, you could get a nice shower in the morning.”

“I’ll have your father stop by before work,” she promised.

“Then he’ll really be late,” Kadence joked.

Her mom laughed and pecked the top of Kadence’s forehead. She touched her cheek before reluctantly leaving her child to the horrors of hospital life at night. Kadence sighed and sat back. She didn’t feel so nauseous now but she felt like it was thirty below in the room and the covers the nurses gave her were not working. Kadence shivered under the blankets, the sheets being wrapped around her to the head. She tried to watch As Told By Ginger, the old show bringing back memories.

Someone knocked on the door. It was almost eleven and the nurse had already checked on Kadence. She wondered who it was. When the person came in, she immediately growled and slanted her eyes at him. Rowan gave Kadence a cocky grin and waved. It was then she noticed the teddy bear in his other hand. This paused her hot words.

“Sorry,” Rowan said before anything else. “How you feeling?”

Rowan sat on the edge of the bed and held out the stuffed bear. Kadence slowly took it, still in a state of shock. She looked up at Rowan, his dark eyes actually holding a sense of sincerity. Kadence sighed and set the bear next to her.

“I’ve been better,” she replied.

“Well, it is your fault,” Rowan had the nerve to say.

“Excuse me?” Kadence spat out, ready to tear his head off.

“If you hadn’t been so cute, I wouldn’t have been so tempted to kiss you,” Rowan smirked.

“I can not believe you just said that.”

“You can’t believe a lot of things I say or do,” Rowan said back.

“I’m saying I can’t believe that you'd just come and lie like that,” Kadence shook her head. “And you blame me for you being a pushy jerk.”

“I agree that I may be a bit pushy and a jerk,” Rowan nodded. “But I wasn’t lying about you being cute.”

“Don’t try to sweet talk your way out of this,” Kadence chewed.

Rowan chuckled and shook his head. He said, “I was actually starting to leave when I saw you came in.”

“Oh, really?”

“The food court’s still open,” Rowan suggested.

“I need the toilet right now,” Kadence mused, raising a brow.

“Do you want me to bring you something up?”

“Why the sudden hospitality?”

“I owe you for yours,” Rowan shrugged.

“You got me sick,” Kadence huffed.

“You really do act like your still fifteen.”

“You shut up,” Kadence ordered. “Maybe you should be hanging out with jerks your own age then.”

“Maybe you should grow up and realize the world ain’t all rainbows and sunshine,” Rowan growled.

Kadence crossed her arms and turned from Rowan. He almost fainted at how childishly funny it was. And it made her look even cuter. This girl had shown him more kindness in one day than anyone has shown him in a week. She succeeded in annoying him past the levels others dared not venture. She angered him in minutes, making him just want to spit at her. And she still continued to warm his heart. What was it about this girl? What made her different from the backstabbing slime that walked the streets every other day?

Rowan looked down at his hand where a rash had spread from to scatter near his elbow. It was itchy, even after starting the thalidomide cream. He started to scratch it, trying to be as subtle about it as possible. When a hand reached out for his, he almost died of surprise. Rowan looked up to see Kadence using a damp napkin to wrap around his hand. The water on it was cool and soothing. It dulled the itch and made it bearable again. The gesture brought heat to his cheeks. Rowan turned his head, as if something caught his eye.

“Thanks,” he said.

“I’m still mad at you,” Kadence said and went back to ignoring him.

Rowan shook his head and chuckled to himself. He couldn't help but tilt his head a little at the picture before him. Kadence saw Rowan out the corner of her eye, his eyes shimmering. The sight made her heart skip a beat. He was staring at her and it was making her nervous. Rowan sighed slightly. He got up and left the room. Kadence stared at the empty chair and regretted her attitude for sending him away. She shook her head. She shouldn’t care. The guy was the one that got her sick. Every time she tried to be nice to him, he gave her a sour attitude himself. Rowan made it extremely hard to be kind to when all you got in return was nasty looks and snide comments. Kadence sighed and bundled up in her blankets. She laid back down, her arms wrapping around the teddy bear Rowan had given her as an apology. It held his scent, a kind of baby powder smell.