Chapter 14

It was late Thursday morning a few weeks later, and it had been unseasonably chilly and raining practically nonstop for three days! Since David was at work and I had the day off, I decided to clean the apartment and had just finished. I changed back into my nightgown and cracked one of the front room windows to listen to the soothing sound of the rainfall. After taking a book from my room I got ready to settle in for a nice relaxing afternoon. I eyed my comfy chair for a moment, but then looked at David’s couch. I glanced between the two a few times until I finally decided to give the couch a try!

Letting out a low chuckle I sat down in the middle, and I laughed out loud just before throwing myself into a laying position. David was right, the couch was comfortable.

Pulling one of my homemade afghans over me, I cracked open my book and started reading. Before long though, I was lulled to sleep by the warmth of the blanket and the sound of the rain.

Some time later I woke to the sound of heavy rainfall.

“Oh, no!” I exclaimed when I saw that water was starting to get in through the window I’d left open. I ran over to shut it, and through the haze of the downpour I saw headlights approaching. I glanced at the time and was confused because David wasn’t due to be home for another few hours. Regardless, the vehicle stopped in front of our apartment and a minute later he stumbled through the door completely drenched. Once inside he let out a couple of ragged coughs.

“David, are you ok?” I asked, it was then I noticed that he was very pale, and helped him get out of his wet coat.

“Not really...” he croaked.

“I’ll be right back.” I went to the kitchen and got a chair. After he sat down I took off his boots, and tried not to breath while taking off his socks.

“Thank you.” I helped him back to his feet and guided him to the bathroom. Once there, I turned the shower on and cursed that it couldn’t be used for a bath.

“There. You go ahead and warm up. I’ll get some comfortable clothes from your room and figure out something for food” He smiled weakly.

“You’re the best,” my heart skipped a beat, but I returned his smile anyway.

“That’s what friends are for,” I replied gently.

I left the bathroom and headed for his room. I took a deep breath before entering. I glanced around, looking at how different it was since he’d moved in. Like my room, most of the space was taken up by the bed, which had been neatly made. There was also a small dresser in the corner, and next to it was what looked like a narrow upright safe ... I shuddered when I realized that was mostly likely where he kept his guns. In his closet there were a bunch of shirts hanging neatly, and a few unmarked boxes on the top shelf.

I looked around until I found a fleece sweatshirt, and a pair of sweatpants. I groaned sheepishly when I found his underwear drawer, and quickly stuffed the pair on top inside the sweatshirt.

Having gotten everything I was looking for, I went back to the bathroom door and cracked it open.

“I’m leaving you some clothes on the floor, ok?” I heard a muffled acknowledgment, followed by more coughing through the door and I reached my arm inside with the clothing and dropped them.

With that done, I ordered some food. Figuring something spicy might help clear his sinuses, I ordered him a spicy chicken dish from a Chinese restaurant that was around the corner. I also ordered wonton soup, thinking the broth would feel good on his throat. For myself I ordered a grilled tofu and rice dish. I went to my room and quickly changed and headed back to the front room. Looking out the window I saw with dismay that the rain hadn’t let up any. The sound of another ragged coughing fit came from the bathroom and I sighed. I put on my raincoat and took an umbrella from the closet. With a deep breath I walked out the door.

With the wind blowing as hard as it was, the umbrella ended up only being useful in keeping my head dry. I was grateful for how long my raincoat was, but my knees and everything below were still getting soaked. Fortunately, the restaurant wasn’t very far, and before long I’d made it back home with my prize.

Shivering off the cold, I gave my hooves a quick brush off at the door before deciding to leave my slippers off to keep them from getting wet. After carefully making my way to the linen closet where I got a towel and dried my lower legs off as best I could and changed out of my wet skirt back into my nightgown. By the time that was done, David was turning off the shower. I took the end tables and put it in front of the couch to put the food on and got some silverware from the kitchen.