Everyday as Roommates 4 (Emmakarin)
Karin wanted to tear out her own throat.
Not quite, but she was almost there. "Ugh..."
Heaving out a dry cough, she slumped back against the couch, staring out the gloom overhead. Clouds had made it nearly impossible to tell the time at a glance, relying on her phone's clock to check the time.
A seemingly easy task deemed impossible by the fact she had a mug of hot tea in her hands at all times.
Karin coughed again, feeling her throat itch with small stabs of relief before settling down. Then, it'll become painful again, making her heave out another breath of coughs.
Her only solace was the hot drink pouring down her throat, soothing the unbearable itch that had plagued her these past few days. The remedy was temporary, each scalding sip burning her tongue. Yet, she kept drinking, the temperature giving her much needed relief.
Peering in her mug, she was almost done with her tea. It had gotten warm, too. She needed another.
Sliding herself out the cushions below the bay window, she stepped towards the kitchen, holding a forearm over her mouth to cough. Another day of this and she will have to resort to drinking boiling water to resolve the pain. That, or melt her entire throat. At this point, she would take anything to get rid of the pain.
Her coughing echoed in the room, and unknown to her, a head of braided brown peeked over an opened fridge door. "Karin?"
The sickly girl forced a smile, instantly dismantled by another set of coughs. "H-Hey, Emma... You busy?"
Emma shook her head, shutting the door and walking over to Karin. "Why are you out of bed? Didn't I tell you to rest?"
Karin waved her worries with a small hand, already missing the warmth of the mug. "It's just a throat infection, Emma. I just came here to get a drink-"
A pang of pain rubbed against her throat, forcing her to cough. She took a step back, turning away from Emma. A thickness expelled itself up to her mouth, a frown forming on her face at the texture on her tongue.
With non-verbal sounds, she sidestepped past Emma and rushed to the sink. She bent over, spitting out thick green mucus in the drain. A practiced motion from the past few days, ending it with the gush of water from the tap.
"Eugh..." Karin was normally a fan of the color green, but this particular shade carved a hole in her stomach. "Sorry about that, Emma."
A hand touched her shoulder, a gentle warmth that relaxed her stiff body. "You can go relax, Karin. I'll make more tea for you, okay?"
Karin watched her disarming smile through watery eyes. The past few days haven't only been unkind to her, but also to Emma who had been taking time out of her day to care of her. "It's fine, Emma, I can-"
"And I'm telling you, I don't mind it at all, Karin," Emma interrupted, taking the mug off Karin's hand. She felt slight resistance, her face falling to one of concern.
"It's just tea. I'll be done in a moment."
"I'll boil some more water so it's hot."
Emma gained possession of the mug, now walking away to the counter.
"But-"
"No buts!" Karin dropped her gaze, forced to give up the pointless back and forth. She knew once Emma had settled on something, it would take a great deal of convincing to change her mind.
Another violent fit of coughing didn't help her case, so she resigned herself to walk back to her bedroom. She settled back in her seat, staring out the depressing afternoon.
Her thoughts couldn't wander far, the itching in her throat taking up all attention in her mind. If it didn't, then coughing was a sore reminder of her state.
Minutes later, Emma walked in her room, a steaming mug of tea in her hand. Karin accepted it with a weak thanks, testing the temperature with the tip of her tongue underneath the gaze of evergreen.
It was scalding. She wasted no time pouring it down her throat.
Emma frowned at the mix of pain and relief in Karin's voice as she recovered from the long swig. She sat down across from her, their legs bundling up between them. "How are you feeling, Karin?"
A small shrug was her answer. There was a pause as she exhaled a warm breath. "Better than yesterday. Thanks for the tea again, by the way."
"Don't mention it." Emma smiled, a gentle curve of the lip Karin tried to match, though her own was more sedated. The air between them was quiet, until Karin heaved another batch of violent coughing.
She grimaced. At least she wasn't spitting out mucus every five seconds like yesterday. Though, she knew it would come back again eventually.
For now, she sipped her tea too hot for human consumption in attempts to burn out the infection in her throat. Across from her, Emma watched with a sympathetic smile.
She knew the pain was self-afflicted. "I told you not to eat all those sweets at night, Karin."
Karin shrank in her seat, clutching the mug with both hands. "They were Christmas chocolates, and they were delicious, Emma."
"Leftover sushi, too!"
"It would be a waste to let them go bad."
Emma sighed, her feet brushing up against Karin's calves. She frowned every time Karin dry coughed or drank from scalding tea. "Next time, take it easy during the holidays, okay?"
As Karin finished coughing, she took another swig of tea. It burned, but not as much as her desire burned for culinary pleasures during the holidays. "Never."