Peter carried me from the bathroom into the bedroom; the master one with a lock on it. He effectively kicked Paul out of it for the night. I was all wrapped up in a comfy towel cocoon, resting peacefully on the bed he placed me down upon. "If you're ok with me leaving the room for a sec, I'll go get you some dry clothes. Then I'll start packing and we'll get the hell out of here." "Yeah, that's fine. Just please lock the door," I nuzzled into the pillow; man, this was nice! Peter made sure I was all covered and warm before turning towards the door. He froze dead in his tracks at the sight of another person standing at its entrance. Big surprise, it was Gen; wisely not wearing Peter's bathrobe this time. Peter's face went from startled to enraged in two seconds flat.
"Out now!" "What is she….?" "Get out now! But don't go far; I want to talk to you." Oh boy, someone's in trouble. She must have known this too, since she immediately complied with Peter's command. He marched out of the room after her, turning to me one last time before exiting. "Won't be long, Covey. Just get some rest." Then the door shut, and I heard it lock from the outside; don't worry, I could still leave whenever I wanted- it automatically unlocked from the inside. I don't know who spoke first or what they said, but the moment he left the room a shouting match broke out. Gen was audibly louder than Peter.
But that the moment, I could have cared less. Peter could handle himself with her; I wasn't worried about that. I still was enjoying the sensation of elation from earlier. Sighing with a grin to myself, my eyes shut as my mind began to drift off. Fuzzy, indistinguishable images phased in and out of my stream of conscious. This was followed by soft, unrecognizable voices rising up from the recesses of my figure. Forget all this for two minutes. Mmmmmmm, this feels so lovely! You will dream about me one more time before August. So warm….. My perceiving essence slipped away from me. So, so warm….
Turns out that Peter didn't wake me right away. Apparently, I didn't have to go to the hospital since my body temperature was stable now. Lucky for us, a female med student was also at the party; he asked her and Chris to go check on me while I slept. Chris would later tell me that Peter stepped out of the room to make sure he didn't see anything… my naked body, I mean. Words cannot describe how happy that made me; to know that he didn't want to see my body without my permission. I think it was in that moment that my feelings for Peter intensified dramatically. I still wouldn't say I'm in love with Peter per se; like I told Chris, the next man I love will be the one I marry- if I do fall in love again. But there was something swelling up inside my heart. Peter began to carve his mark out on me, inside of me. This only added to my joy.
When I woke up- naturally I might add- I found Peter sleeping on the floor beside the bed. I think he worried it may have freaked me out if he slept in the bed with me. He woke up with my hand gently brushing my hair. From there, everything seemed to go in fast motion. I didn't need to go to the hospital, but I still got sick from the experience. Chris went to the closest pharmacy for medicine and Peter called my dad. It surprised me- in a good way- to learn that he also contacted Josh about the situation. Wow, he actually phoned Josh without my asking… Again, Peter felt endeared to me. He cared not only about me but my family and Josh… He knew this would cause him to worry; he knew and respected that. Peter… My eyes lowered adoringly onto him. Just when I don't think you can get any better, you surprise me. You always surprise me in the best ways.
Oh, and just to note, no; I don't know what Peter said to Gen or vice versa. And I didn't bother asking either; he clearly had bigger things on his mind at the moment. Still, he did inform me that Gen would buy me a new bottle of soap if I wanted. I respectfully declined; it would have been petty revenge if I accepted and to be fair, I never ordered it in the first place. That was the last I heard of their "conversation". I didn't see Gen at the house again though; she was either actively avoiding me or already left. We left pretty soon after I woke up too. Peter packed up the jeep and carried me to the back seat. While I was still suffering a fever, I slept the whole drive back, only waking once the car stopped in front of my house.
The front door opened around the same time Peter carefully helped me out of the jeep. Kitty ran out, followed by Josh; I guess he was hanging out at our place. "Whoa! You look awful!" My sister blurted with her usual lack of filter. I didn't reply; too tired. Josh looked horrified, immediately reaching his hand up to check my forehead. "Oh my god, you still have a fever," he gasped. "She's had one since I brought her out of the ocean. I gave her some medicine a while back," Peter explained, noticing Josh's concerned expression. "We should get her inside. I'll go start the kettle." "Alright, thanks bro. By the way, where's Stephen?" "He got called in; some early labour. Can you carry her upstairs? I told him I'd call once you guys got back, and I'll make her some tea." "Yeah, I can do that. Make sure it's green tea, ok?"
"Uh, hi? You two sound like a pair of moms," both men blinked over to Kitty, who was standing there with her arms cockily crossed. She simply smirked in response, leaning her stance a tad. "What do you mean, Kitty?" "Yeah, we're just worried about your sister." "Then why don't you let a professional take care of things?" Josh caught on instantly while Peter didn't understand what, or who she was referring to. Still wearing her knowing grin, Kitty then stepped out of the way to reveal the front door's threshold. Peter's eyes grew as a familiar figure emerged. My eyes would have grown too, if I hadn't had been so tired. We all looked to see none other than Margot stepping out into view. Peter's mouth hung open slightly in confusion while I just lowered my gaze. "M-Margot?" She grinned, though not uber happily, as she approached us. "Hello, Aerity. Long time, no see."