Coffee and Bliss novel Chapter 7

Since it was Saturday, Tristan has no work because it was his and Mia’s day. Weekends were their time together then the rest was for his class and work. Usually, they watched cartoon networks since it was Mia's favorite, tutoring her with her subjects, playing random games on Saturday. Then on Sunday, he would let his little bun play in the park near their dorm or it would be his rest day and Mia would just stay inside with her coloring books and barbies.

But since Harris happened to live in their dorm now—he was thinking that they could tag him along. So he waited for him to come outside and asked him but no Harris came out in the past days.

One week has passed since Harris became his roommate. For one week, he hardly saw him outside his room. He just saw him when cooking, eating, or sometimes when Mia requested for him to play. He didn’t know why Harris always locked himself inside the room instead of joining him and Mia when they played monopoly or watched T.V. He didn’t bother asking him why after all because he noticed that Harris loved his personal space most of the time. He just talked when being asked. He never saw again his cockiness like the first time they met. The Harris he knew in their first meeting and the Harris he knew in his first day living with them has gone. 

“Phi, do you think P'Harris is sick or mad at us?” Mia suddenly asked. They were sitting on the couch, watching Spice Girls. “I barely saw him. Unlike his first day here, I think he’s avoiding us for a week.” Mia had a sad smile. 

He looked at her. It was already 7 p.m and he had not seen  Harris since morning. The pale man just Line him telling him that he already cooked food for them and just reheat it. They barely saw him but this day, he felt something odd about the man.

“Why do you think he’s mad?” He tapped his fingers on his thigh, thinking how off today. 

“I knocked on his door earlier, he just said he’s tired and wants to sleep. Or maybe he just wants to be alone. Phi, you should check him. I’m worried for P'Harris.” Mia might not know Harris for a long time but she was already attached to him since the first day they met.

He nodded. He knocked on Harris’ room but he didn’t answer. He knocked again three times, still got no answer. He tried to call his phone, no answer too but he could hear the ring inside. Without a second thought, he looked for the duplicate key and got inside the pale man’s room.

“Sorry for entering but why—”

He stopped in the middle, the room was only covered with dim light. But he could catch a glimpse of bulk under a thick blanket, fully covered. He heard a low panting sound coming under the blanket. 

'Shia! He’s sick and I didn’t bother to look out for him.'

He just thought that Harris was avoiding them. He hurriedly went to him and removed the cover only to saw the pale man sweating non-stop. His usually pale skin looked paler. Harris moaned hard when he touched his forehead. 'For Pete’s sake! He’s burning.' He immediately asked Mia to give him a cup of water while searching for medicine in his own room.

“W-What happened to P'Harris, Phi?” Mia looked worried.

“He has a fever. Stay outside okay? You might catch a fever too, little bun.”

“But Phi. I want to be with him. He’s sick!” Mia was about to go near Harris but he stopped her.

“Little bun, your P'Harris is sick like what you said. I can take care of him, na? He’ll be fine, I promise. So go outside for now and play or watch. I’ll be there after making sure your Phi is okay.” Mia bit her finger but nodded after.

He picked a light shirt and boxer in Harris’ closet. He then put a basin of water and a towel on the table. “Hey, wake up for now. You need to take medicine.” He slowly patted his shoulder, waking him up.

But Harris just groaned and covered himself again but he removed it after. “You need to take your meds first,” he said.

Harris hardly opened his eyes and was about to smack him but failed. He snorted like he was hurting too much, placing his weak hands on his forehead and massaged it lightly. 

“Shia!” he growled. Harris hardly moved his body. He winced when he tried to get up. So he helped him and put more pillows behind his head. He could see how fluffy and red his face was. 

“Why did you not tell us that you’re sick?” He hissed. He arranged the medicine and water to give them to the pale man.

Harris didn’t answer him only to find out that he already closed his eyes again and turned to his side slowly. 

“Wake up! Wake up!” He tugged the duvet hugging Harris’ lower body.

“Fuck you!” Harris’ voice barely heard. 

“Oh we can do that later but please take your meds first.” He didn’t mind Harris’ stubbornness. He was worried sick. His heart filled with guilt because the man was suffering alone though he was just right outside his room.

“Don’t you think sick people need food first before taking a med?” Harris might have a fever but he was still sassy.

He opened and closed his mouth, trying to find a word. “W–Well, yeah. I need to cook some soup. Can you wait for another minute, yeah?”

“You couldn’t even cook a hotdog, remember? How are you supposed to make soup?” Harris asked innocently. Too innocent that made him want to smack him but preferred to calm down just because he was sick. 

“Only for now. Only for now. Be patient, Tristan.” He whispered to himself.

“A–Are you saying something?” Harris asked, then started to cough. 

He panicked again. “Nothing. Wait here, yeah? Don’t sleep.”