Goddesses Don't Get Sick (6 page)

FOURTEEN.

ANGELA’S CELL PHONE BUZZED LOUDLY
on her desk as it rang. Looking up from the textbook she’d been studying, she checked the caller with a slight frown before flipping it open and answering.

“Hello?”

“Hey!” Sharon’s voice piped up over the static. “Whatcha doing?”

“Just going over my readings,” Angela shifted in her seat and stretched, switching the phone from one ear to another.

“On a Friday night?”

“If I study now, it means I don’t have to do as much before exams.”

“You know, hon, that’d make a lot more sense if I didn’t know for a fact that you do just as much study—if not more—than I do around exams.”

“Well, I…” Angela struggled for a comeback, much to her friend’s amusement.

“Look,” Sharon laughed. “It’s Friday night and a bunch of us are going to see Mike’s band in town. Come with us.”

“Aw. Nah…I think I’ll pass tonight. I want to get this chapter finished.”

“Oh Ange, you’re no fun,” Sharon teased good-naturedly.

“Hey, someone has to do this, or else you’d have no one to come crying to for help before finals,” Angela grinned to herself at the memory. Her friend laughed again.

“Point. Although I bet you’d come out if
Tuyen
was joining us,” Sharon teased. When Angela didn’t answer, her friend mocked a gasp.

“He’s not there
now
is he? You little hussy!”

“Come off it!” Angela snorted a laugh. “No, he’s not here, and yes, I really am studying. Now go enjoy the concert and let me actually finish this damned chapter before it puts me to sleep!”

“Okay, okay. Have it your way. Still good for coffee tomorrow?”

“If you’re not too hung over, sure.”

“It’s a date then. Take care hon!” the static ended with a click as Sharon hung up.

Angela put the phone down and went back to her book, only to find her concentration gone as she wondered about Tuyen. It had only been a week since they’d gone to the movie together, and the time between each of her meetings with Tuyen was usually close to a month.

Still,
she thought wistfully, unconsciously playing with the feather on her pendant.
It’d be nice to see him again, soon
.

A knock on the door startled Angela out of her thoughts. She was about to get up from her desk when she heard one of her roommates clatter down the hallway in what sounded like heels to answer it. Sighing to herself, Angela rested her chin on the palm of her hand and refocused on her reading, only to be disturbed moments later.

“Studying on a Friday night?” A familiar voice spoke from the doorway. Twisting in her seat, Angela blinked in surprise to see Tuyen leaning against the doorway, an easy smile on his face. “Don’t you ever take a break, Goddess?”

“I…uh…” Angela frowned and shook her head. “How’d you get in here?”

“One of your roommates let me in,” Tuyen tilted his head and smiled at her. Blushing and dropping her head, Angela folded a corner of the page she was reading to mark it and closed the book, turning her attention back to her guest.

“So…uh…what’s up?” She struggled to sound casual. “Didn’t think I’d see you for another few weeks.”

“I’m sorry,” Tuyen’s forehead creased in a concerned frown. “Do you want me to go?”

“No! I just…usually don’t see you more than once every few weeks.” Angela resisted the urge to cringe at her words. Tuyen seemed to make her feel like a neurotic stalker at times. It really was an uncanny skill of his.

“Heh, I guess you’re right,” Tuyen grinned wryly. “I just happened to be free tonight, and I thought I’d stop by.” He nodded towards the books that hid Angela’s desk from view. “So, are you going to bury your nose in those books all night? Or can I persuade you to take a break? I’m willing to bet you haven’t eaten yet.”

When Angela’s cheeks flushed in unconscious confirmation Tuyen nodded, his eyes filling with concern.

“You need to look after yourself, Goddess. You run yourself into the ground, at times.”

Angela snorted and shook her head. “I’m not a goddess, Tuyen. And I’m just trying to stay on top of everything.”

Chuckling softly, Tuyen moved towards Angela and pulled her out of her chair, guiding her towards the door.

“You’ve done nothing but ‘stay on top of everything’ since I met you. Now come on, you need to turn your brain off for a couple of hours.”

“But…I have to study…” Angela protested weakly.

“Not tonight you don’t,” Tuyen scolded as he nudged her towards the living room. “Tonight you need to rest, eat, and take a break before you burn out.” Chuckling again to himself, Tuyen leaned forward and spoke into Angela’s ear as he continued to guide her. “Don’t think I won’t tie you to a chair and force feed you, Goddess.”

Angela opened her mouth to protest, before she sighed softly to herself and submitted. She supposed it wouldn’t hurt to take a night off.

Funny though,
her mind observed.
How he turned up when you were thinking about him
.

What’s that supposed to mean?
Angela asked the mental voice as Tuyen began to inspect what her kitchen had to offer, only to find it once more silence for the time being.

FIFTEEN.

“ANGELA?”
Tuyen stood self-consciously in the hallway, the front door still open behind him. He knew Angela was expecting him—they’d arranged it a fortnight ago—but the unlocked door that wasn’t properly shut on his arrival, and the seeming lack of people in the house was disturbing to Tuyen. He knew not all of the people sharing this house were careful with closing doors properly, but Angela often made sure they were shut when she was around. Something didn’t seem right. Hesitantly, he took another step into the house.

“Goddess?” he called softly. A groan of response came from the living room. Frowning in concern, Tuyen gently closed the door behind him and ventured into the living room.

Angela was lying on the floor, her body propped against the couch as she rested her head on the seat. She lifted it as she heard the footsteps and tried to smile at Tuyen as he entered the room, the weak attempt fading after only a second.

“I think ‘m sick,” she said, her voice shaking slightly along with the rest of her. Making a noise of worry as he took off his jacket, Tuyen moved to Angela’s side and wrapped it around her.

“What are you doing up?” he asked as he helped her up and began guiding her back to her room, practically carrying her. “You should be in bed, resting.” Angela shook her head in weak protest as she stumbled along next to Tuyen.

“Too much to do,” she mumbled. “Have work, and study, and class, and…was gonna…you…” She struggled to remember what they’d agreed to do that day. “Something,” she finished lamely as they entered her room.

Tuyen just shook his head and guided Angela to her bed, helping her lie down before kneeling to get a better look at her state.

“It’s not a problem, Ange. I keep telling you, you need to take care of yourself instead of running yourself into the ground all the time.” He sighed softly and shook his head again. “I told you something like this would happen if you weren’t careful.”

“Didn’t want to stand you up,” Angela responded after a pause. Tsking gently, Tuyen reached forward and placed his wrist on her forehead to feel her temperature. A smile crept onto his face as he watched Angela’s eyes close with relief at the cool touch, before it disappeared quickly at the heat he felt.

“Geez girl, you’re burning up,” Tuyen murmured softly with concern. “We need to get you looked at.”

“‘m fine,” Angela shook her head and got up. She stood for a moment, swaying slightly, before she gave up and sat back down on the bed. “Kinda,” she added weakly.

Moving about her room, Tuyen dug around in Angela’s closet until he found a warm jacket for her to wear, his eyes catching some of the gifts he had given her and bringing another smile to his face. Returning to Angela’s side, Tuyen helped her put the jacket on before he stood up and looked her over again. It was clear that Angela was in no state to walk to the clinic, even though Tuyen knew there was one close by. Wondering how he was going to get her to the doctor in her current state, Tuyen’s eye caught the set of keys sitting on Angela’s beside table.

“You have a car, right?” He asked. Angela nodded, gesturing vaguely in the direction of her window where her car could be seen.

Picking up the keys, Tuyen put them in his pocket and returned to the bed. With an almost effortless movement, he placed his arms around Angela’s back and beneath her legs, and gently lifted her up. Clutching at his neck, she looked at him in dazed surprise.

“What’re you doin’?” She asked, a slightly green tinge colouring her face at the sudden change of her position in gravity.

“What I am doing,” Tuyen patiently said as he began to carry her out of her room. “Is taking you to the doctor, Goddess.”

“Not a goddess,” Angela sighed and rested her head on Tuyen’s shoulder. “Goddesses don’t get sick.”

“They do in human form,” Tuyen said softly as he carried her out of the house.

A few hours later, Angela was back in her room and tucked into bed. A small pharmaceutical sat on the dresser next to her, and she had a guilty look on her still-pale face.

“Sorry,” she mumbled to Tuyen as he returned from the kitchen with a bowl and a damp face cloth, his shirt off and slung over his shoulder. He smiled at Angela as he placed the bowl within reach and sat on the bed next to her.

“It’s fine,” he reassured her as he folded the cloth and placed it on her forehead. “It’ll wash out easily. Just try and reach the bowl next time, okay?”

Angela smiled weakly. “You don’t have to stay you know.”

“I know I don’t,” Tuyen said gently and rested his hand against her cheek. “But if I don’t make sure you eat and take your medication, who will?”

“I can,” Angela’s response brought a chuckle from her friend.

“You can, but you won’t. If I know you, you’ll be up again before you’re better, and only make things worse for yourself.” He looked at her seriously for a moment. “Honestly, Ange, you really need to take a break and look after yourself. I keep telling you; since I’ve met you, you’ve been taking on more and more work for yourself. You work whenever you’re not studying, and the only time you’re not doing either is when you’re between semesters and your work won’t give you more hours. Why don’t you slow down once in a while?”

Resting against her pillow, Angela sighed and closed her eyes. “I need the work so I can afford to study without getting too much in debt. And I study because if I want to keep my scholarship,
and
get a good job, I need the grades to go with the degree.” Opening her eyes, she looked wearily at Tuyen. “If I can just get a decent, well paid job, it’ll all be worth it. I know my grades can’t guarantee it, but…It’s all I’ve got going for me.”

“Why is a high paid job so important to you?” Tuyen asked. Angela sighed again and shrugged.

“I just want a little security. My parents were always between jobs when I was a kid and I hated having no power for days at a time when they couldn’t make the bill. And when they died, the only money I did see was barely enough to pay off their debts and finish my last semester of high school. I managed to score the scholarship to study here, but I’ve got little-to-no savings. I need to be able to get a job as soon as I graduate, or I’ll spend the first few years chasing myself to catch up.”

“Doesn’t your degree offer internships or something with organizations in your final year?”

Angela pulled a face at the question.

“Yeah, they have a graduate system. They only take in about half of the class though, and those are for admin jobs. There’s one company that offers a career-starting opportunity but they only take about ten or so people. I’ve applied, but the chances…” Angela sighed and shook her head, “I need that job.”

Smiling softly, Tuyen leaned in and kissed Angela gently on the forehead.

“Have some faith in yourself Goddess. I’ve seen your grades.”

“It’s not just the grades. They get hundreds of applications every year. I sent mine in as soon as they were taking submissions for my class, but that doesn’t mean they’ve looked at it yet. Hell, maybe I’ve jinxed myself and it’s just sitting at the bottom of a growing pile. If anything, I need to pray that they actually pick up and read my application,” Angela’s frown deepened. “It’s like a damned lottery.”

Tuyen chuckled and shook his head, surveying Angela’s prone figure with a lopsided smile.

“Well you’re not going to do yourself any good worrying about it. Just relax a bit, Ange. You’re out for the rest of this week at least, and I’ve got the doctor’s certificate to prove it. So, you may as well make use of the time, and give yourself a break.”

Sighing, Angela lay back against her pillow and managed a weak grin. “You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?”

“Not a chance.” Tuyen grinned widely. “I’ll tie you to the bed if I have to.”

“What about your work? You can’t hang around here all the time.”

“Maybe not, but I’m going to look after you while I can. Those drugs working yet?”

Giving up her protests, Angela shrugged limply. “Maybe?”

“Well, you just lie there and let them do their thing, okay?”

Angela sighed softly and settled back in bed, eyes following Tuyen as he began to pick up after himself in her room.

His dark hair fell down over his eyes as he bent down to retrieve his jacket, allowing Angela to appreciate the toning of his upper body as she watched him move. She was surprised at the level of muscle toning he actually had: while Tuyen didn’t exactly look scrawny, the shirt and jacket she often saw him wearing hid a lot of his body’s detail.

His now-vomit-stained shirt hung down over one side of his back, but on the other side Angela noticed a long scar that ran down his shoulder blade. Frowning in confusion, she opened her mouth to ask about it before he stiffened slightly. Almost as if he’d heard her thoughts and didn’t want to answer the pending question, Tuyen stood and turned back to her with a disarming grin.

“Food?” He asked as he pulled the shirt from his shoulder and shrugged his jacket on. Caught off guard by the question, Angela managed to stutter a few times before shrugging her shoulders and half nodding. Smiling in satisfaction, Tuyen left the room.

Shaking her head in bemused wonder, Angela rested her head against the pillow and closed her eyes, her mind wandering over the mental image of Tuyen as she felt the drugs taking their effect on her.
He really is too good to me…

When Tuyen walked back into the room a few moments later with a tray of food, Angela was sound asleep. He gazed at her for a moment, before placing the tray on the table next to her bed. Moving to her desk to sit down, he noticed the pile of textbooks and papers that covered the table’s surface. Shaking his head in vague amusement, Tuyen spotted a small stack of fliers that advertised internships for various companies.

Glancing back—almost guiltily—at Angela’s sleeping form, he picked them up and began to read through them. Finding the one he wanted, Tuyen searched the mess for a pen, before picking one out of his jacket pocket and making a note on a scrap of paper he salvaged from the pile on the desk.

Pocketing the note, Tuyen picked up a textbook from the top of the stack and began to page through it as he waited for Angela to wake up.