Chapter 60: Chapter 60

Chapter Sixty

Ava's POV

Right after Jasper told me to go inside the bathroom and take a bath, I realised that I was way weaker than I let myself believe. With every step I took towards the bathroom, my energy drained. I felt my breathing getting heavier and heavier and exhaustion taking up my body with every step.

It was like my own body was weighing me down. Every part of my body felt heavy and pressured, like all the body parts in me put through some heavy training or exercise. It was like my whole body had gained weight in mere a few seconds. All my muscles were aching.

It took my whole body's strength to keep me on my toes and stay upright. Otherwise I would have fallen down very easily. Weakness that I was trying to avoid was catching up on me for good.

Anyway, the moment I finally reached my bathroom, the first thing I did was to clutch the door or else I would have slumped down very easily.

However, as soon as I clutched the door to hold myself up, two armed men emerged from behind and engulfed me from around my waist. And then in no time a firm and warm chest was behind my back, that collided with me giving me a tough wall to lean behind. Gaining a firm grip on my waist and using their muscles to keep me from falling down.

The moment Jasper's arms came around me, my head fell back to his shoulder and I slumped against him. His breath hit against my hairs, when he said in a shocked and alarmed tone, "Ava."

His breath fanned over my earlobe and I let out a shuddered breath. Feeling as if everything within me had been exhausted to death.

"Let's get you right back to bed, you can bathe sometime later." Jasper told me, worried about coating his voice. I spun around in his arms and faced him, and Jasper let me, letting go of my waist to let me move. However, as soon as I spun around to see his face, he grabbed my waist back and grabbed it firmly, again holding me upright.

Still, unable to hold on my own, I slumped against his body to lean onto something. Needing to hold onto him. I grabbed a bunchful of his t - shirts in my fist and used it as leverage to give myself some balance. I had to crane my hand to look him in the eyes. He was so damn tall.

Peering him in his eyes, I shook my head.

"No. I NEED to bathe. It is not an option. And it cannot wait." I told him.

My answer seemed to annoy him because Jasper let out a deep voice in the back of his neck. Seeming like I was playing with his patience. Which to be honest, I was. But this time it was out of necessity and not because I was being playful. Although, I knew that he would look just as good while I teased him for no good reason.

"But why? You are clearly sick. You need to rest first. You can take a shower later." He argued. Looking only mildly irritated. He appeared more concerned for my health and me sticking to my demand for a bath was irking him for sure. But I could not go back to bed without feeling fresh. No, I just can't.

"I - I just can't. I'm feeling way too sweaty to go back and lie down on that dirty bed again." I told him, letting out a big pant of exhaustion.

"Why are you so damn stubborn? Why can't it wait?" He asked me, holding all of my body weight and peering down at me. All while, his face was contorted with a frown.

"I don't want to go to bed feeling this dirty. Please, just ... I just want to have a bath." I told Jasper.

"I will feel better after that. I promise, I will go back to bed and take a rest right after that." I said, trying to convince him.

Jasper closed his eyes and muttered something under his breath. Something I could not quite understand. He let out a big sigh before opening his eyes.

Something similar to resolution glinted in his eyes. His expression calmed down when he stared down at my face.

"Okay. Okay, fine." He said, before taking a breath and continuing.

"I'm going to fill the tub with warm water and then I will help you in. You can take a warm bath for as long as you can but after that you HAVE to take some rest. That is not an option. Okay?" Jasper asked me. Expecting me to say yes. I liked his idea. Lying in the tub won't take any effort or energy from me but standing in a shower will. I can just lie in the tub and relax.

I gave Jasper one of my cheeky grins and nodded.

"Okay. That will work. Thank you." I told him, still smiling. His offer for help was like a pill of sudden burst of energy. It felt really nice to realize to have someone by your side. Ready to help you when you need it the most. Even though I was well aware of the fact that it was nothing new coming from him. From the moment I met him, he had been helping me one way or another.

"Good. And don't say thank you. I had even told you that before." He told me calmly. Adjusting my slipping body. For a second, all I could see was him until he adjusted his grip on my body and I realised that because of holding me, he had turned sweaty too. The few places he was touching me, had gotten soaked with sweat as well. Honestly, that was disgusting.

I felt disgust for Jasper because I knew how I would react if someone else had got their sweat on me. It would certainly repulse me.

Dropping my head, I stared at the place he was clutching me. And there I saw it. I turned out to be right. My sweat was seeping into his shirt as well.

I made a face of disgust. It made me want to pull away from him, so he would not get anything from me on his skin.

"I'm sorry about this." I told him, pointing at where I could see my sweat had left a stain on his shirt. Jasper's head dropped to see where I was pointing at. Once he saw the place I was talking about, he shook his head.

"Don't worry about it." He told me. Appearing completely unbothered by it. Not even a hint of frown on his face. It made me wonder if he really did not mind it or was just acting this way because it would be rude especially to a sick person.

Out of the blue, Jasper bent down and scooped me up in swift motion, pulling me up in a bridal style, without warning. I let out a startled gasp at his sudden action, and my hands shot up to fold around his neck instinctively. It was so unexpected that even after my body managed to tell me to put my hands around his neck, my mind took a few minutes to follow up. It was like my mind went static.

I was not expecting him to do that. He picked me up like I weighed nothing, as if I was a child or a thing that weighed less than nothing. I only gazed up at him. Unable to wear off the shock of his sudden actions. However, when I did manage to wear off the shock and my mind did manage to catch up, then I felt my heart give out a beat and my stomach fluttered with butterflies. My cheeks burned and I wished that it did not show my blush.

So, close to him, I felt a very weird sensation low in my gut. A foreign sensation that made me feel something that I did not want to ponder about.

Although, I did not get too much time to think about whatever I was feeling.

Once he picked me up, he carried me over to the bathtub without another word. Not explaining a single thing. I did not ask him as well. We reached the bathtub and he bent down and very gently, very easily deposited me on the edge of the bathtub. Right after placing me on the edge of the tub, he pulled his hands under me.

"Stay here. Hold on to the edge of the tub if you are feeling dizzy." He instructed me. HIs words suddenly made me realise that I was not feeling as weak of energy as I was a few moments ago. In fact, I had almost forgotten about it. For a few seconds, when I was thinking about Jasper, it completely left my mind that I was feeling weak.

Was it because I was not holding my own weight but Jasper was? Was that the reason I was not feeling that exhausted now? Or was it because Jasper's proximity, his closeness, his touch did some sort of magic on me. Was it that? Whatever it was, I knew for a very fact that it had given me a boost of energy. Even if it was a short doze.

The moment he placed me down on the side of the tub, Jasper stood right back up and began rolling up his shirt's sleeve. Swiftly, he worked up his first arm's sleeve, rolling it while his muscled arm moved to accommodate his movements, thick muscles working. When he completed his task, his arms showed me it's veiny self. Which seemed to be popping up from his arms. I told myself to refrain from staring at it. But I couldn't help myself from glancing at it a few times.

He repeated the same process with his other arm's sleeve and I tried not to glance at his moves but failed miserably again. I sure had gotten a few bursts of energy if I could gather enough energy to notice his way.

Once he was done with that, he moved to the end of the tub and opened the tap. I watched the water gush out of the tap and I realised I shuddered. It must be cold.

"I think it is cold." I told him, a shudder coursing through my spine. Right now, I really wanted a warm bath. Needed one.

"I think this water is cold. And I really want to bathe in warm water." I told Jasper, looking inside the tub as water started filling up.

Jasper listened to me before facing away from me. He reached over to one of the switches and flipped the geyser on. To turn the water to warm. The button turned red, indicating that water was beginning to heat up.

After switching up the button, Jasper stood up and we both stared at the water filling the tub. Soon, the steam began rising through the filling water. Then suddenly, the geazer's buzzer beeped and the light turned green, telling that water had been warmed. Jasper bent down and turned it off. After that the water continued to fill. Finally, when the tub was filled with water, Jasper checked the temperature and then stirred the water with his hand. As if passing his test, he nodded his head approvingly.

"Umm ... hum ..." He let out a noise. Flicking his hand to the other side, sending water droplets everywhere, while his body was still facing me.

He nodded towards the tub, when he proceeded to dry his hands with shirt.

"It is good. You should go ahead and take a bath. I will come back later when you are done. DON'T try to walk by yourself. You will exacerbate yourself. CALL me, when you are done dressing up." He instructed me, in a commanding tone.

I gave him a cheeky smile.

"Okay. Boss." I replied to him in a teasing tone. Addressing him as a formal boss, like this was an office.

Jasper actually rolled his eyes at me before walking out of the bathroom.

"Make sure to call me." He reminded me, speaking over his shoulder before shutting the bathroom door, leaving me alone to take a bath, and with a warm feeling inside me.