Page 38 of Under Your Spell

He disappears for a minute and comes back with my duvet and also a flannel soaked in cold water which he lays across my head.

‘Ahhhh,’ I say. ‘’S nice.’

‘That’s what my mum always did for me,’ he says softly, stroking the hair away from my face. ‘Anyway, I’m sure you’ll feel better in the morning after some sleep.’ He hovers uncertainly for a moment. ‘And I’m just next door, so if you need anything, yell.’

‘Mmmm.’ I’m too groggy to make words.

He stands looking at me for another beat and then stuffs his hands in his pockets and leaves, pulling the door not quite shut behind him.

‘Thank you,’ I mutter, but I don’t think he hears. He’s already gone. And then my eyes drift closed once more.

Chapter Fifteen

I dream there’s a burglar in my room. But it’s not a dream, it’s real, and the burglar is crawling on the ceiling and he has red eyes behind a mask and they’re staring at me and when he reaches towards me he has long, grasping arms like a satanic Mr Tickle.

‘Don’t let him get me, don’t let him get me,’ I pant, grabbing on to the (thankfully normal-sized) arm beside me on the bed.

‘I won’t let him get you,’ a gentle voice reassures me. ‘I promise, Clemmie, you’re safe. Go back to sleep.’

I look back at the burglar but he’s gone and I feel panicked. Where is he? Then Theo is there, right in front of me, and he cups my face between his hands while he says slowly, carefully, ‘There’s no one here but me, sweetheart. You’re safe, I promise.’

‘Okay,’ I agree, closing my eyes. ‘You won’t let him get me.’

When I next wake it’s because someone is touching my face and I don’t like it. I bat the hand away with my own.

‘Get off.’ I try to wiggle away, but it seems that my whole body is made of lead and even prying my eyelids open is a struggle.

‘I’m trying to take your temperature.’ Theo’s face comes into focus above me and he sounds annoyed. ‘Just stay still.’

‘You have to point it at her forehead and press the button until it beeps,’ a disembodied voice floats through the air.

‘Oh no!’ I moan hoarsely. ‘It’s David! He’s here! He knows the secret!’

‘What secret?’ David’s voice is suspicious and I peer around wildly, trying to find him. Perhaps he is under the bed? That seems a reasonable assumption.

‘Don’t listen to her,’ Theo huffs. ‘She’s hallucinating, doesn’t know what she’s saying.’

‘That’s good,’ I whisper with approval. ‘Don’t let him find out about the biscuits. Maybe we should just keep him under the bed?’

There’s a beeping noise. ‘It says 39.4 degrees,’ Theo says, talking over me. ‘And it’s flashing red. I take it that’s not good?’

‘She’s definitely got a fever.’ David’s voice sounds even more pissed off than usual. ‘You need to—’

Theo picks up his phone and holds it to his ear. David’s voice stops and I close my eyes in relief.

‘Yeah,’ Theo nods. ‘Yeah. Okay. Yeah, put her through if you can.’ There’s a pause before he says, ‘Doctor Swain, thank you for getting back to me.’

I sit up and sneeze. Once, twice, five times. Each time it jars my whole body. Theo hands me a tissue out of the box on the nightstand and I blow my nose. Ow.

‘That’s right,’ he carries on talking into the phone. ‘Over thirty-nine degrees and she’s been having nightmares, hallucinating I think. She was sick last night but nothing so far this morning. Now she’s sneezing and she looks’ – he eyes me consideringly and I try to stretch my mouth into a smile – ‘awful. Really pale and clammy.’

Charming.

Theo listens for another moment, a frown on his face. ‘How would I know what her glands feel like?’ He casts me a nervous look. ‘Right, right, I’m going to put the phone on speaker.’ He places his mobile carefully on the nightstand and advances on me like I’m a horse he doesn’t want to spook. ‘I just need to feel your neck a moment, Clemmie.’

‘I don’t think I want your hands round my neck,’ I say.

‘Believe me, if anyone’s going to throttle you it will be David,’ he grimaces. ‘He definitely heard that biscuit comment.’ And then his fingers start pressing up the side of my neck, under my chin.