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Joseph weakly pushed past the female residents of Molly Kay’s boarding house, who swarmed around him like a pack of seagulls, squawking catcalls in his ear. Usually he’d be flattered by all the attention, right now he wanted nothing more than to lie down.
“Some fight tonight, Joseph,” a woman with loose blond hair teased as he passed her.
“You look tired, handsome. Come to my room tonight, I’ll make you feel like a new man.”
Joseph wrapped his coat around his shivering frame, coughing harshly into his balled up hand as he pulled away from the women, feebly trying to force open the broken door to he and Shannon’s shared room. He just wanted to get away from their prying eyes that mentally undressed him whenever he walked by. Another round of coughing tore through his raw and swollen throat, loosening the thick phlegm that coated it and worsening his already pounding headache. He shouldn’t have fought that night. He already hadn’t been feeling well before but it wasn’t like he could’ve told the Boss Kelly no. So he toughed it out and fought. But the beating his body took in the ring only made him feel worse, leaving his entire body in pain, battered and bruised from the night's endeavors.
“There you are, Joseph,” Shannon said as Joseph stumbled into the room, scarcely looking up from her book. “I was starting to think you had gotten your brains bashed in for good.”
Joseph shut and locked the door behind him. “Please, not tonight, Shannon,” he groaned, bringing a trembling hand to his aching head.
“Why not? Are you too worn out from being exploited all night?”
Joseph didn’t respond and flopped down onto his shabby pallet on the floor, not bothering to take his clothes off or crawl under the covers.
“Well, are you going to say something, Joseph? I’m trying to pick a fight with you.”
“I’ve no wish to fight you,” he whispered before another coughing fit ripped through him. He turned away from Shannon and coughed into his blanket, trying to stifle the deep, chesty sound.
Joseph heard Shannon’s mattress creak under her weight as she shifted to look at him. “Joseph?” she asked, her voice softened with concern. “Are you alright?”
Joseph sighed and rolled onto his back. “I’m not feeling so well, Shannon,” he muttered after a moment.
Shannon was quiet. “Hpmh, serves you right,” she said finally. “I hope you’re proud of yourself. Getting into all those fights, staying out late every night.”
Joseph bitterly rolled back over, kicking himself in the ass for believing for even a second that Shannon actually cared about him. “Okay, I get it,” he grumbled.
“I’m just saying, it's your own fault you’re sick, so don’t expect any sympathy from me.”
“I wasn’t.”
“Good!” Shannon said, laying down in a huff.
Joseph stayed quiet and broke into another coughing fit against a fistful of his blanket.
Shannon was disappointed with Joseph's lack of reaction. Most nights when he returned from fighting she could get something out of him whether it had been a good night or not. All she had to do was give him a hard time about his reckless spending habits or that…well endowed girlfriend of his and they’d be bickering like a married couple. But tonight nothing she said seemed to get a rise out of him. He couldn’t really be that sick, could he?
“Aren’t you going to at least take your shoes off?” she asked.
Joseph wordlessly toed his shoes off, knowing that saying anything would just instigate Shannon’s cruel tongue more.
Shannon no longer found herself to be in a teasing mood.
The bed creaked as Shannon sat up. “Joseph?” she asked again, quietly. “Wouldn’t you prefer to take the bed tonight?”
“Why would I do that?”
“It’s just…” she hesitated. “It’s cold on the floor.”
As miserable as he was, Joseph couldn’t stand the idea of taking the bed and leaving Shannon to shiver on the floor, as she would never stoop so low as to share a bed with him. If she slept on the floor Shannon would just end up getting sick herself. What good would that do them?
He shook his head.
The hardwood floor groaned as Shannon stood up and kneeled down to Joseph’s pallet. She placed a hand between his shoulder blades, his clothes were damp with sweat and she could feel heat radiating off him. “C’mon, Joseph, you’re in no condition to be sleeping on the ground,” she softly pleaded.
Joseph, against his better judgment, leaned into her touch, just wanting to be comforted, to feel better. Which Shannon took as him accepting her request as she helped him up before guiding him into bed.
“Shannon, no…” Joseph tried to protest.
“Shhh, it’s okay, Joseph,” Shannon whispered, tugging his coat off his shoulders. She gently pushed him down, pulling the covers over his chest. “Quiet now. I’ll get something for your fever.”
Shannon hung Joseph's coat and quietly left the room. She went into the bathroom, keeping her eyes to the floor to evade the stares of the women in the hall as she returned with a small water basin and a washrag.
She came to Joseph’s side, sitting down on the edge of the bed. Joseph turned away from her, coughing. Shannon rubbed his back in circles to ease him through the fit, wringing out the excess water soaked into the washrag.
Joseph settled back down on his back and looked up at Shannon as she brushed away his sweaty bangs and placed the cool compress to his blistering forehead. A sigh of relief escaped Joseph's mouth at the refreshing coolness. He closed his eyes. Gentle moonlight streamed through the half open curtains and faintly illuminated his flushed face. Fresh bruises painted his face and blood crusted around his nostrils.
Shannon felt her heart sink in her chest.
“Oh, Joseph,” she whispered, running her thumb across his cheek. “What have they done to you?”
Joseph tiredly opened his bleary eyes. He opened his mouth to speak but all that came out was a raspy cough. “I-” he choked out.
“Shhh,” Shannon soothed, running her fingers through his hair. “Sleep, Joseph.”
“What about you?” he asked hoarsely.
“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me, just rest.”
Shannon went to get up but was stopped by Joseph’s cold, clammy hand around her‘s.
“Wait,” he said. “Stay.”
Shannon looked at him, his big, soft brown eyes pleading with her. She felt her heart flutter in her chest and electricity spark from his touch.
He wanted her to stay.
“Please,” he added.
Shannon sat back down. “Okay,” she whispered, nodding with a blush creeping up her neck she hoped Joseph—who hadn’t let go of her hand—couldn’t see.
Joseph shut his eyes, giving in to his exhaustion and spiraling into the comfort of sleep. Shannon’s cool fingers smoothed down his damp, messy hair.
Joseph shifted towards her. “Don’t stop,” he mumbled when he felt her hand retract. “It feels good.”
Shannon nearly melted at how adorable Joseph looked, half curled up in her lap. A storm of butterflies swarmed her stomach as she ran her fingers back through his hair and played with it, feeling him lean into her touch.
“Shannon?” Joseph whispered, clinging to consciousness by a thread.
“Yes, Joseph?”
He didn’t respond. He softly exhaled, his breathing slowing with the gentle rise and fall of his chest.
“Joseph?” Shannon repeated.
It was all he could do to murmur back.
Shannon smiled. “Okay,” she said, leaning down to plant a soft kiss on the top of his head. “Feel better soon, mo ghrá.”