Would You Rather: A College Romance (Campus Games Book 3)

In sickness and in health

She’s late.

I can’t believe this. After hounding me about being late to the photoshoot and assuring me she would be there on time, here I am, at her apartment, knocking on her damn door.

She still hasn’t answered, and my body breaks out into a sweat. Where the hell is she? I’ve called her, and it goes straight to voicemail. I’ve texted her, and she hasn’t replied. I’ve been knocking on her door for the past five minutes, and no answer.

I bang on her door once again, reaching for my phone with the other hand to check on the time. Five minutes until the interview is supposed to start, and she’s nowhere to be found.

“Madeline,” I shout again, knocking harder. “Where the hell are you?” I run a hand through my hair, cursing when my phone buzzes, Ana’s name on the screen. I quickly hang up the call and stuff my phone back in my pocket. I can’t deal with her right now, not until I find Madeline. I can’t exactly show up girlfriend-less, which means I need her. Wherever the hell she is.

“Madeline,” I call out, knocking again. “Are you in there?”

My shoulders drop in relief when I hear mumbles from behind the door. Thank fuck. I don’t know what the hell she’s been doing or why she’s late, but at least now I know she’s alive.

But as soon as the door opens, and I see her face, I quickly retract my statement. She might be alive, but holy fuck, she looks halfway to death. Her sunken eyes are squinting, trying her hardest to open them.

“Jesus,” I exhale. “What the hell happened to you?”

“What are you doing here?” she asks, her brows furrowed as she tries to open her eyes wider.

As charming as ever, I see.

I let out a sigh, not wanting to argue. “You’re late,” I point out, trying not to convey how pissed I am. I trusted her. She assured me she’d be there, and she’s not.

She blinks, shaking her head. “Late?” she asks, her face contorting as if the word tastes bitter in her mouth.

“For the interview?” I remind her. “The CelebCentral interview we had planned to announce our relationship and how I’ve settled down. Blah, blah, blah,” I trail off, waving my hand.

Her eyes widen immediately as she covers her mouth with her hand. “Oh shit!” She turns around, rushing inside her apartment, closing her bedroom door once she’s inside.

I blink, staring into her apartment. Does she want me to wait inside? I walk into her apartment and close the door before sitting down on the armchair as I hear her mumbling to herself in her room.

She wasn’t just late. She forgot. The girl who writes down what she’s going to eat for the week just simply forgot?

Something falls to the ground, catching my attention, and I snap my head toward the sound coming from inside her bedroom. “Are you ok in there?” I ask her, a little worried.

“Yes,” she snaps, a little harsher than needed. “I’m fine. Just… wait for a second while I get changed.”

I scoff, shaking my head. “It’s not like I can show up without you.” I doubt it’s going to take a second. I’ve seen what that girl wears, how she always seems to have her makeup and hair done to perfection. She doesn’t rush anything, and based on the warzone going on in her bedroom, I can guess I’m going to have to wait a lot more than just a second.

I glance down at my phone, ignoring the hundreds of calls from Ana, and notice the time. We’re clearly not going to make it.

Ten minutes and a bunch of curse words later, Madeline’s door opens, and she walks out, looking as beautiful as ever, with her usual gorgeous outfit, this time, a little pink dress on her body and her makeup done. But something about her is… off. She doesn’t look the same; she looks completely defeated.

I rub my chin, my brows knitting together as I look up at her. “Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask her.

She glances down at her outfit with a frown. “Do you have a problem with what I’m wearing?”

I shake my head. “No, that’s not—”

But when she sneezes, my eyebrows furrow, and I lift myself off the chair, heading toward her. I place the back of my hand on her forehead. She tries to step back as soon as my hand touches her, but she’s too late. I already felt her skin. She’s burning up. “You’re sick,” I say, realization dawning on me.

“What?” she says, sniffling. “Of course, I’m not sick. You’re crazy.” She shivers, trying to push past me. “We’re going to be late. We need to go.”

We’re way past late, but I don’t mention that to her. If she thinks I’m going to let her go like this, she’s dead wrong. “Madeline.” I reach out to grab her wrist. Her eyes fall to my hand wrapped around her, and I quickly drop my hand, remembering how she doesn’t like when I touch her. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“What are you talking about?” She shakes her head. “The interview is today. Can we still make it? How long does it take to get there?”

A long fucking time. “Madeline, you’re not going anywhere,” I repeat. “Not like this.”

“Like what? I’m fine.” The way she coughs tells me she definitely is not fine. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“Ridiculous for looking out for you?” I tilt my head at her. “It’s okay to admit you’re sick, you know?”

“I am not sick.” She frowns before sneezing again. “I’m perfectly fine.”

“Yeah,” I scoff. “Real convincing.”

“I am not sick,” she repeats, her face hardening. “I don’t get sick.”

I let out a laugh, thinking it’s a joke, but from the hardened look on her face, I can tell she genuinely means it. “What the hell are you talking about? Everyone gets sick.”

She shakes her head. “Not me. Now, can we go?”

My hand wraps around her waist, halting her when she tries to move past me again. Why the hell is she so adamant about this? “You are so stubborn,” I grit out, feeling her body heat up. She’s shivering, and it takes everything in me not to wrap my arms around her. “You’re not going anywhere but to bed.”

Her chest is an inch away from mine and her eyes drop with exhaustion. “But…” She shakes her head. “We can’t miss this. You said it’s important.”

Not as important as this. “It’s been cancelled,” I tell her, holding on to her when I feel her body melt into mine. God, she must be exhausted.

“It is?” she asks, peering up at me beneath her lashes.

I nod. “Yep.” At least, It’s about to be. “Come on.” I attempt to straighten her body enough so she’s able to walk before I grab her hand in mine. She doesn’t even try to push me away. That’s how I know she’s too out of it to argue.

Pushing open her bedroom door, I find her bed all crumpled up, her clothes scattered everywhere. My brows furrow at the mess, and I turn to her. “Are you sure this is your room?” I joke.

She sighs, closing her eyes. “I was in a rush, okay?” She coughs again, shivering as her hand sweats in mine, and she looks downright exhausted. I let go of her hand, heading toward her bed to pick up the pile of clothes and place it on the empty chair in the corner of her room. She drops to her bed, and reaches down to take off her heels.

I watch her fiddle with the straps for a second too long before I get down on my knees and place her foot on my leg. “What are you doing?” she asks.

“Helping you out.” I pull at the straps until the first shoe comes off, clanking to the ground.

“I can do it myself,” she says, reaching for her other shoe.

My chest shakes with a low chuckle. “You’re so stubborn. Always fighting me, even when I’m just trying to do something nice for you.” My hand wraps around her other ankle, working the straps off.

“Why?” she asks. “There’s no one around.”

I’m well aware.

My head lifts once both of her shoes are off, and I watch her swallow as she looks at me. Fuck, she looks so frail as she sniffles, shivering while her skin burns against mine. I lift off my knees, pulling off her covers. “Get in,” I tell her.

She doesn’t even talk back. She just slides into bed, letting out a relieved sigh when I pull the covers back up. “I’m not sick,” she reiterates. “I’m just… tired,” she says with a yawn.

“Yeah,” I let out a snicker. “I know. Just rest.”

I look down at her, buried in the covers, making little noises as she adjusts herself to get comfortable. I can’t take my eyes off her as I watch her cuddle the comforter. Reluctantly, I rip my gaze off her before I head out of her bedroom.

Opening up her bathroom door, I grab one of her face towels and run it under the hot water, soaking the material before I wring it out.

When I walk back into her room, I spot her on the bed, her eyes closed as she buries herself in bed. I watch with a smile until she cracks an eye open, glancing right at me. “Are you just going to stand there and stare at me while I sleep?”

I let out a laugh. “I can leave if you want me to.” I don’t want to leave her here when she’s like this, but if she tells me to go…

“No,” she says, closing her eyes again. “Stay. Please.” It’s stupid how much that one word makes me smile.

I press my lips together to stop my grin. “I’m not going anywhere,” I tell her, sitting at the edge of the bed. “Lie back.” I place the warm towel on her forehead. “Is it too hot?” I ask when she lets out a whimper at the contact.

She shakes her head, her eyes fluttering closed. “It’s perfect,” she whispers. “It’s just… humiliating,” she admits, her brows furrowing.

I adjust the cloth on her forehead. “There’s nothing humiliating about needing help once in a while, Madeline.”

Her eyes crack open, and she purses her lips together like she’s going to say something, but instead, she closes her eyes again, falling into a deep sleep. It isn’t long until she’s snoring. I smile to myself when I hear it, glancing down at her. My chest aches, and I have the urge to trail my fingers over her face. I keep myself in check, balling my hands into a fist before I do just that.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, the sound blaring compared to the quiet snores coming from Madeline, and I rip my gaze away from her and run a hand through my hair. I reach for my phone and let out a sharp exhale when I see all of the missed calls from Ana.

My eyes find Madeline once again, seeing she’s fast asleep, and I ease myself out of her room, making sure not to wake her up before I call Ana.

She picks up immediately. “Where the hell are you?” she yells. “You were supposed to be here thirty minutes ago.”

“Yeah,” I sigh. “There’s been a problem.”

“A problem?” she asks. “What kind of problem? Don’t tell me it’s because of Madeline. We thought she’d be professional, not cause trouble.”

My brows tug together. I don’t like how she’s talking about Madeline at all. “No, actually,” I interrupt. “It was me.”

“You?”

“Yes. I uh…” My hand reaches behind my neck, tugging at the strands there. Shit, what do I say? “I have some family problems right now, and I just couldn’t make it.”

“Unbelievable.” She scoffs. “Do you know how hard I had to work to get this interview for you? You know you won’t be relevant forever, Lucas. I’m trying to help you. I’m trying to make sure your career doesn’t fall down the drain. Do you want to lose everything?”

My jaw clenches, and every muscle in my body feels tight. I know what’s on the line. It’s all I ever think about. “Listen. I’ve got to go. Rebook it for another day, or don’t. I don’t give a shit. Right now, I have something more important to do.”

I don’t even wait for a reply, hanging up before I shove my phone in my pocket. Yes, this interview was important. It was CelebCentral Media, for fucks sake. They’re huge. But I’m not about to let Madeline go out there when she isn’t feeling or looking her best. She was struggling to keep her eyes open, her body breaking out into shivers in my fucking arms. I’m not putting her through that. No fucking way.

I open her door again, and walk inside, seeing her still sleeping. I head to the chair where all of her clothes are crumpled up and start folding. The last thing Madeline needs is to wake up to a mess. Knowing her, she’d probably pass out at the sight.

“Lucas?” My head snaps to where she’s lying in bed, shuffling in the sheets. Her tone is sweet and hushed, completely the opposite of what she normally sounds like.

My heart fucking melts. “Yes, Madeline?”

“You stayed?” She says it more as a question like she can’t believe I stayed.

“Yeah,” I tell her, approaching her. Her eyes are still closed, and I look down at her, swallowing hard. “I told you I would.”

Her brows knit together when she sighs. “I thought you’d leave,” she whispers. “I know you don’t like me. You didn’t have to do any of this.” Her voice trails off into a murmur. “Why didn’t you leave?”

I stare down at her, my brows furrowing and an ache in my chest that I don’t quite understand. “I’m not a bad guy, Mads,” I tell her, wondering if she’s fallen back asleep. “When we met… I was going through a hard time, and I guess I still am. But none of that is because of you,” I admit more to myself than to her. I might have resented her a bit for being forced into this situation when everything around me is crumbling, but if I’m honest with myself…

I hear her soft snores again, and I know she’s fallen back asleep.

I sigh, running a hand down my face and looking down at her face. “You’re the only good thing that’s been happening to me lately.”