Page 50 of Twilight of Embers
25
HAYDEN
I sat back on my bed to slip on my Vans. Everything hurt. My throat burned. My muscles ached. And I was pretty sure I was running a fever.
My bed called to me. It would be so easy to just slip beneath the covers and fall back asleep. But I couldn’t. I wasn’t going to miss classes this early in the semester.
“What’s wrong with you?” Delaney asked, her nose wrinkling.
I swallowed against the pain in my throat. “I’m not feeling that great.”
She took a giant step back. “Well, stay away from me. I have big plans tomorrow.”
Gee, thanks for the sensitivity.
Delaney bounced on the balls of her feet. “We’re going to Ashes & Emeralds.” Her voice went shrill on the name.
“Ashes & Emeralds?”
She grinned. “It’s this amazing club. Maggie’s getting us all fake IDs so we can get in.” Her smile dropped a bit. “But not if you give me the bubonic plague.”
The idea of traipsing to a club right now was about as likely as me running two marathons back-to-back. No, thank you. “Have fun,” I mumbled.
Her face scrunched as she took me in. “Maybe you should go to the health center.”
It wasn’t a bad idea. Between my almost-fainting spells and now this, I probably should get checked out. “I’ll go after my morning classes.”
“Just try not to infect anyone,” Delaney mumbled as she grabbed her bag and headed out the door.
That was as warm and fuzzy as I was going to get from my roomie.
I pushed to my feet, the world swimming around me. Crap. I took a second to get my sea legs and then pulled on my backpack.
It took me far longer than it should’ve to make it out of the dorm. By the time I got outside, I was out of breath. That definitely wasn’t normal.
Each step I took felt like my legs weighed one hundred pounds each. Students sent me puzzled looks as I passed. I was sure I looked like shit. Great. Just more of an epic first impression in my new world.
I made my way slowly across campus, and by the time I arrived at the science building, I felt like I’d crawled a marathon in the desert. My mouth felt as if it might crack, it was so dry. My muscles trembled and ached. And I was burning up.
As I stepped inside, I came up short, almost running into Professor Brent.
He frowned down at me. “Hayden?”
“Hello, Professor,” I croaked.
His brows pinched. “Are you ill?”
“I’m feeling a little under the weather.”
Brent took a step back. “You should go to the health center.”
“I’m going right after my class.”
He studied me for a minute, something working behind those hazel eyes. “I do admire your dedication to your studies. Feel free to lie down on the couch in my office if you need a break today.”
A shiver wracked through me, and it had nothing to do with the fever I was rocking. “Thank you,” I whispered.
He nodded. “And don’t forget to email me to set up our meeting.”
