18- Doctor Nick

Kyra woke up startled with the feeling that she had overslept. She searched for her phone to check the time but couldn't find it anywhere on the bed. "I must have left it in the living room," she thought.

Kyra got up to fetch the phone and also to check Dante's fever. She opened the bedroom door, went to the kitchen counter to have a glass of water, and found the phone. She checked the time, and it was still 5 in the morning. "Phew, that's a relief! I can sleep for another hour and a half," she thought. (Every day I would wake up at 6:30, get ready, and catch the bus at 7 to make it to college on time).

I went to the sofa, saw that Dante was fast asleep, and measured his fever once again. It was slightly warm, so I grabbed the thermometer and placed it under his arm. I waited for the time, listened to the beeps, and checked that it was 37.5. I fetched the fever medicine, which needed to be taken every 6 hours, along with water, and woke him up to take it.

— Dante, wake up because I need you to take the fever medicine," I said, touching his shoulder.

— I still have a fever?" he asked sleepily.

— Yes, if it doesn't go away today, I'll take you to the doctor," I said, concerned.

— No need to worry.

— How can I not worry? Suddenly you fall ill. Fever is a sign that something in the body isn't functioning well.

— Okay, since you insist, you can call my friend Nick, who is a doctor. He'll know what to do and will come here to examine me.

— Perfect! What's his number?" I said, excited about the idea.

— I'll send you his contact through a message, could you reach my phone over there on the TV stand, please?

I went to the location, grabbed the phone, and handed it to him.

— Thank you very much," he said.

Dante unlocked the phone, searched for his friend in his contact list, and sent me the number.

— Done! It'll be good for him to come and examine me because I'm quite exhausted. Considering I practically slept the whole night.

— I agree with you. I'll message him right away because it's still early, and I don't know if he's awake.

— No worries, you can wake him up. I always do that, and he never gets mad at me.

— Okay, I'll call then.

I dialed the number Dante had given me. It rang four times, and on the fifth time, Nick answered the call.

— Hello," a tired voice said from the other end of the line.

— Good morning, Dr. Nick. It's Kyra, is everything okay?

— Good morning... How can I help you in the middle of the night?

— Sorry for the time, I didn't want to wake you up, but Dante has had a fever since yesterday afternoon, and it hasn't gone away with medicine and rest.

— Dante? Wait, I'm still a bit slow to process things.

— Yes, Dante said he's your friend.

— Ah, yes... What?! Dante is sick, but how did that happen?

— I'm also trying to understand.

— He refused to go to the hospital, right?

— Yes, and since I insisted, he gave me your contact so I could call you.

— He's quite stubborn, and very rarely have I had to take care of him. I'll get ready to come over, please send me your location.

— Yes, I'll send it to you right away through a message.

— Perfect! See you in a bit.

With that, he hung up the call.

— Kyra, is he coming?" Dante wanted to know.

— Yes, I just sent him the location for him to come and see you.

— Will he come this morning?

— Yes, he said he'll get ready and come here right after.

— Okay, thank you so much, Kyra. If you don't mind, I'll go back to sleep.

— Sure, rest while I receive the doctor.

I went towards my room to let Dante rest. I stayed close to the phone to see when Nick would arrive. An hour passed, and I received a message that Nick was in front of my building. I buzzed him in through the intercom and also gave access to the floor where my apartment was located. Within minutes, he was standing in front of my door.

I went to open the door. When I saw the figure standing in front of my door, I couldn't believe if he was really a doctor. He didn't look like one, he looked more like a personal trainer (I know you, dear reader, are curious about his appearance. Calm down! I'll tell you now). Nick had shoulder-length blond hair, blue eyes, was tall, around 1.80 meters, and had a gym-toned body. Yes, I managed to observe all that in a matter of seconds.

— Hello, Kyra!" he said.

— Hello, doctor, please come in," I said, granting him access. — Dante is sleeping here on the couch.

— When was the last time you measured his fever?" he asked, coming closer to Dante and placing his hand on his forehead.

— It's been an hour, doctor.

— Okay, I'll examine him. Dante, could you sit up so I can check your lungs?

— Good morning, Nick!" Dante said. — Of course, what don't you ask for crying that I wouldn't do with a smile?

— Jokes at 6:30 in the morning? Then tell me, what are you doing on the couch?

— What do you mean? I don't understand your question.

— You, Casanova as always, are on the couch instead of a woman's bed? With all due respect, Kyra, but I couldn't let that pass.

— I wanted to sleep here because I didn't want to disturb her," Dante quickly thought.

— I didn't sleep all night, doctor. In fact, I stayed up monitoring his fever, and since I wanted to sleep on the couch, I couldn't bring him to bed. Look at his size, he's twice my size," I said, trying to cover up.

— True, but I just had to have the pleasure of teasing him," Nick said, winking at me. — Let's examine him.

I left the room and headed towards my room to get ready. After finishing getting ready, I left my backpack in the kitchen and wanted to know what the doctor had discovered about Dante.

— Doctor, what's wrong with Dante?" I wanted to know.

— Initially, he caught a cold, but I've already requested some tests, and if he doesn't improve by tomorrow, please bring him to my office.

— Perfect, I'll make sure to take him by force.

— I like you! Finally, he's out of complicated relationships. The bad luck with partners! Nick said.

I blushed; I wasn't used to being praised. I put my hands on my cheeks, and they were burning. "Pull yourself together, woman!" I thought.

— Nick, don't even think about trying to win this girl over! You know she's my girlfriend, right?" Dante said.

— Relax, I'm not a backstabber to my friends. Kyra, did you really stay up all night taking care of him?

— Yes, did I do something wrong, doctor?" I asked, furrowing my brow.

— No, on the contrary, I've never seen a girlfriend of Dante's take care of him, let alone stay up all night doing so. Friend, I'm genuinely happy for you! Don't let her slip away.

— Don't worry, that's not the plan. Changing the subject, what do I need to do to get better?" Dante asked.

— First, Kyra will buy the medications I prescribed her. Second, you need to rest for another two days. Third, improve your diet. And finally, reduce your exhausting workload, or you'll keep falling ill.

— I'll try, buddy. Thank you so much for coming," Dante thanked.

— No problem, you've done so much for me that I couldn't leave you hanging," Nick said, patting Dante's back lightly.

— Doctor, is it okay if I leave him alone in the morning because of my exam?

— I believe that since he already took the fever-reducing medication and you'll need to pick up the other medications at the pharmacy, you can go and take your exam. If anything happens, he'll let me know, and I'll come.

— Thank you for your help! After the exam, I'll stop by the café to let Anne know that I won't be working today and then come straight here," I said.

— Kyra, go ahead, and if anything happens, Nick will visit me again," Dante said.

— Okay, guys, I'm leaving now. Let me know if anything comes up," I said, getting closer to the apartment entrance.

— Kyra, wait," Nick said. — I'll give you a ride.

— Don't worry, doctor, I don't want to trouble you, especially because it's far from here.

— I insist," he said.

— Kyra, he's trustworthy. You can go," Dante said.

— Alright, let's go then?" I said.

Nick dropped me off in front of the university, bid farewell, and headed to his clinic, as he had a full schedule of appointments and would be busy for most of the morning. I entered, sat down, looked out the window, and started thinking about life when Lucy arrived. There were still a few minutes until class began.

— Kyra, good morning!" she said with a smile.

I got a huge fright since there was no one in the room when I arrived, so caught off guard, I let out a little scream. Lucy burst into laughter and ended up sitting on the floor because she couldn't stop laughing at my reaction.

— Lucy, that's not funny," I scolded her, resting my face on my hand.

— Only you can get scared so easily. How do you manage it?" Lucy said, wiping the tears from her face, a result of her laughing fit.

— I don't know, I've been a bit absent-minded.

— This absent-mindedness has a name, and it's quite popular," Lucy winked at me.

— Alright, I won't lie, yes, it's partly because of him.

— I knew it! At least you're able to study and get good grades. That's what really matters. Keep it up!" she said, smiling.

— You're teasing me! Stop it and focus on the exam!" I said, seeing the professor enter the room. — Good luck!" I smiled at her.

It seemed that I did well on the exam. Exam days had their pros and cons. The negative side was that exams always caused anxiety, and you had to study to avoid doing poorly. The positive side was that we were released early. After finishing the exam, I left and went to the café where I worked to talk to Anne.

— Kyra, good morning!" Anne said.

— Good morning! Anne, I'd like to ask you a favor.

— Go ahead, I'm all ears.

— Could you let me have the day off today? Dante is sick, and I need to buy his medications, take care of him, and bring them to him.

— Dante is sick? What's wrong with him?

— The doctor said it's a cold, but his fever hasn't gone down since yesterday.

— Ah, now I understand your dark circles," she said, analyzing me.

— Are they that noticeable?" I asked, looking alarmed.

— Yes, unfortunately. But I'll give you the day off, you can go. The café isn't too busy today, so take care of him.

— Thank you so much, Anne!" I said, giving her a hug.

— No problem, Kyra. You always help me here, and you have overtime to compensate. Let me know if anything comes up, okay?

— Sure, I'll keep you informed," I said, leaving the café.

Now I just needed to go to the pharmacy and buy the medications that Doctor Nick prescribed. I bought the medications and headed home.