Our Love Breaks Like My Fever Did

Viola's POV

When I crossed the threshold with a huge bag of prescription medication, my boyfriend, Joshua Sanders, was just about to leave.

The moment he saw me, he casually asked, "Where'd you go so early in the morning?"

My hands froze as I was changing my shoes. So, he hadn't even realized I wasn't home last night.

"I went to get some medicine." The moment the words left my mouth, I startled even myself. My voice was hoarse beyond recognition.

Joshua didn't bat an eye, as if he hadn't heard me. His eyes, however, landed on the large bag of medicine in my hand, and he frowned.

"The medicine I bought for you is on the nightstand. Why'd you buy so much medicine for a common cold? If you take too much, you'll build up resistance to it," he said with disapproval.

I looked up at him. The "common cold" he had dismissed had run a fever of 104 degrees. When I went to get an IV last night, the doctor had told me that if I had arrived any later, it could've developed into pneumonia.

Setting the bag of medicine on the table, I went into the bedroom. I came back with the medicine Joshua had bought for me and handed it to him. "You bought the wrong thing. This is for period cramps, not a fever."

Come to think of it, Lynn Nelson's period was right around the corner.

Joshua and I knew Lynn's cycle better than she did. Every month when that time rolled around, he made sure to bring her medication for period cramps.

When it came to Lynn, Joshua—who was usually as oblivious as they come—transformed into the perfect gentleman.

He'd been supplying her with period relief medicine for a decade, from the age of 16 to 26. He had been doing it since before I even entered the picture.

Joshua took the box and slipped it into his pocket. "I must've grabbed the wrong thing by mistake. Don't be mad."

"I'm not," I responded calmly.

What else could I say? What kind of drugstore stocks menstrual relief in the same place as antipyretics? Let alone the exact brand Lynn always took.

I had cried, argued, and even broken up with Joshua before over Lynn. In the end, all it ever got me was a single question. "Are you done making a scene yet?"

Seemingly satisfied with my response, he went into the kitchen and brought out a bowl of risotto wrapped in a cheap plastic bag. He then placed it in front of me.

"When Lynnie found out you had a fever last night, she made sure to save you some of the seafood risotto we had. Heat it up and eat it later. It's the thought that counts."

After an entire night, this bowl of risotto that had allegedly been saved especially for me had already turned into a congealed, gelatinous blob. So, in his eyes, sick as I was, all I deserved were the leftovers from the meal he and Lynn had shared.

I remained rooted to the spot, making no move to take it.

Joshua urged, "Go on and eat, Vee."

"Joshua, you've probably forgotten," I said, "but I'm allergic to seafood."

When I first met him, I had accidentally eaten seafood and gone into anaphylactic shock. He was the one who'd carried me on his back to the hospital. Now, he had forgotten all about it.

He froze. Then, as realization struck him, an apologetic look washed over his face.

The sound of the door creaking open shattered our silent standoff.

Before she was even in sight, Lynn's sweet voice drifted in. "Josh, what's taking you so long? I bought the pancakes that you love and my favorite oatmeal. We can eat in the car. I heard the zoo is showing off its new koala today, so it's going to be packed. We have to hurry!"

Her voice came to a sudden halt the moment she saw me. "Viola, you're home as well?"

Her words were rather amusing. This was Joshua's and my house. If I wasn't home, where else was I supposed to be?

I looked at Joshua. "Did you give her the passcode to our home?"

Joshua frowned. "Lynnie's family.

I couldn't help but find it laughable. "Whose family is she? Yours? That's strange. Your mother never told me you had a younger sister."