The professor dismisses us, and I’m the first out of my seat. I’d have walked out of the lesson sooner if I could have but I didn’t want to bring any more attention to myself and Lana. I’m sure I’m just being paranoid and overthinking things, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to stop by her dorm anyway, just to be sure.
I speedwalk across campus, ignoring everyone and anyone who tries to speak to me, and finally make it to her building. I still remember the code from when I needed to get in last time, so I input the numbers into the keypad and make my way inside. I had paid off one of the students who volunteer in the admin office to get all of the information I needed the first time, and thank fuck for that, or I’d be scrambling right now to find out which building she’s in and how to access it.
Lana’s dorm is on the top floor, so I head up the stairs and bang my fist on her door when I finally get there. I press my ear to the door, but everything is silent.
I rifle through my bag and take out the little kit I keep in there. I have no idea why I even still have this. I haven’t used it since I was younger and used to use it to break into my parents’ liquor cabinet, but I guess I just always kept it with me should I ever need it, and thank fuck for that.
I slide in the lockpick, sighing in relief when I hear the lock disengage and quickly put it away before opening the door.
I open it slowly, not wanting to spook Lana if she’s just sleeping. Normally, I’d be all for doing something like that, but with everything she’s going through right now, I wouldn’t want her to throw a knife at my head, thinking I was someone sent to kill her.
The place is a mess, much like it was the last time I was here, but it’s silent. I glance around, taking in the empty water bottles littered on the floor and I creep through to the bedroom, only to find Lana sleeping peacefully in the bed. There are medication packets sitting on the nightstand, and upon closer inspection, I see they’re actually cold and flu medicines. Has she been ill, with no one here to take care of her?
That thought irks me more than I thought it would.
Then again, the thought of someone being here to take care of her thatisn’tme pisses me off too, so I guess it’s a lose/lose situation.
I tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear and almost jolt when my fingers brush over her forehead.
Fuck, she’s burning up.
“Lana,” I murmur softly, caressing her cheek. “Wake up for me, baby.”
Her eyelids flutter open before scrunching shut again and she groans, though it comes out as more of a whimper. I close the blinds, not wanting the room to be too bright for her, and grab her a bottle of water from the fridge. The fridge that is empty apart from a few bottles of water and a container which looks like days-old leftovers.
How long has she been like this?
Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen her since the day I took her down to the basement, which was… almost a week ago?
She must have been like this for around four days at the very least, since I haven’t seen her around campus and she’s normally everywhere I look. I can’t go anywhere without her popping up.
“Little menace,” I coax, running my hand through her damp hair, attempting to get her to wake up.
She blinks her eyes open again and this time keeps them open, staring up at me in confusion.
I’m not sure if it’s the illness that’s making her look at me like that or just because she doesn’t understand why I’m here, but I’m not going to dissect that right now when I have more important things to worry about.
“Let’s get you taken care of, huh?”
I help her into a sitting position before shifting us so she’s sitting between my legs. She comes willingly, which further proves just how unwell she is. I help her take a drink and run my fingers through her hair again. I’d give her some more medication, but I have no idea when she last had some and I don’t want her to end up taking double the recommended dosage.
I’d ask her, but she’s out of her damn mind right now.
Once she’s fallen back to sleep, I carefully lay her back down on the bed and get to work cleaning the dorm room. It doesn’t take long, and once I’m done, I wet a washcloth and run it across her forehead. Her fever seems to have come down a little, and I think maybe all she needs is rest and plenty of fluids.
She would probably be okay on her own, but I’m not just going to leave her like this.
No, I’m staying here until I know for certain that she’s okay.
THIRTY-TWO
LANA
The next week or so after I finally come back to the land of the living passes in a blur of classes and quick fucks.
I didn’t leave my dorm room for over a week, and I have no memory of most of it, though I must have seen Dare at some point because when I was finally lucid enough to get up and walk around, I noticed the place had been tidied up and the fridge had been fully stocked, so I’m guessing he stopped by at some point to check on me and stuck around to sort the place out when he saw how much of a state it was in.
Cole and I have been sleeping together almost daily. It’s never planned, we usually just bump into each other, start arguing, and end up fucking.
