I awoke to find someone placing a cold towel to my head.

The curtains were raised, inviting in the golden light. On my exposed skin I could feel the soft touch of a cool breeze hit me as I lay in bed, somewhat feeling groggy and a little weak.

It must’ve been late afternoon. I’d fallen asleep because of sheer boredom. I didn’t want to leave the room to run into grandma, much less the boy who would be ‘taking care’ of me. What was she thinking? Hiring someone who was clearly here to take our money again. It was ridiculous.

This was not the reason why I agreed to depart from Russia. Yeah I hated father, but I still had my friends and school that I didn’t want to leave behind. Father though, would’ve made sure I never left without taking up the duties as his apprentice. I surely would’ve been kept there forever . . .

But grandma—

Why did she have to do this?

Who was this guy anyway? I’d never seen anyone like him, nor has anyone ever spoken to me in such a volatile manner. Who did he think he was? Yelling at me when his intentions were clear. 

Another leech, I thought, a mere normal person who doesn’t understand my position in society.

I dreaded knowing how grandma would force him on me. It wouldn’t be easy shaking him off. Though with a large amount of money, anyone would leave. That’s how we always got rid of people anyway. Money.

Again, something cold was placed on my burning head. Half-awake, I didn’t fully notice just how hot I was. I was also cold, weirdly, there was no in between. Despite having the cool air come in, I so desperately just wanted to wrap myself in the covers.

My throat burned too. I felt quite weak.

Did I catch a cold or something?

I tried getting up with no luck. I was proud to call myself a very fit individual, but for some reason just lifting myself from the bed was tiring.

A warm hand pressed against my shoulder, pushing me down. It surprised me, because I assumed I locked the door so that no one could come in.

“Stay down, idiot.” A boy’s voice commanded.

I opened my eyes, only to be met with a bespectacled individual sitting at the side of my bed, wringing a white towel above a basin of clear water.

My voice faltered. How did he get in here?

As if reading my mind, he jutted a thumb at my door and said, “Mr. Rangel gave me the skeleton key to this house.” And then he added with a sharpness in his eye. “You aren’t going anywhere, much less out of my sight. When was the last time you drank water anyway? You need to get out at least to hydrate.”

The tone in his voice irritated me. What was he, my mother? No, he sounded more like grandma. The severity in such a tiny person made me somewhat annoyed.

I stayed where I was, even though all I wanted to do was disobey. “This is called harassment.”

He gazed knowingly at me. “Oh, really? I thought this was called helping.”

“You . . .” I made to grab at him, but the weakness in my arms astonished me. Was I actually sick? How?

The boy named Sammy dipped the towel in the basin once again and gave it a squeeze. I watched as his sweater sleeves dripped with water. The simple act of forgetting to roll them up made me want to scold him.

“You’ve developed a temporary fever.” He told me with an indoor voice I didn’t think he was capable of. That last time we spoke (argued), we’d been shouting at one another. “Probably because you haven’t left this room. Now you’re dehydrated.”

“And that’s my fault . . . ?” I whispered to myself.

He must’ve heard me, because he placed the towel on my head abruptly, shocking me. “Just be thankful I found you before you got worse.” He warned, pushing a glass of cold water to my hands. “Drink this entire glass, and then drink another glass. Don’t stop drinking water at all, got that? We need to flush out the fever.”

“What are you? A nurse?” 

He shook his head. “My uncle is.”

I sat back, observing him. Even though we were ready to fight yesterday, I couldn’t help but notice how much smaller he was than me. I tried not to laugh at the fact that he would’ve lost terribly.

What was he thinking? And now he was here tending to me because I was sick? Like I’d mentioned, we were fighting only the day before. So why go through the trouble of helping me?

Grandma must’ve told him something. Or maybe she paid him off? Either way, this was how everyone did it. They get close enough to us in order to obtain what they want.

I took the towel and threw it into the basin, splashing water at us both in the process.

“What was that for?” He said calmly, though he appeared furious.

“I’m not asking for your help.” I told him. “Leave me.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“I’m trying to help you.” He grumbled, taking his glasses off to wipe them with his sweater paws.

His appearance differed greatly without them. I’d say they even made him look younger than what he already was.

I brought the covers over me, shielding myself from the breeze. “I don’t need your help.”

“Acting like a baby is not going to help you with our situation.” He said, bringing the sheets away. “I’ll be your babysitter forever at this point.”

The boy brought his glasses back to his face, eyes cast down. I couldn’t help but glare at him. The ones who appeared the most innocent were always the ones to betray you first. I couldn’t trust him.

“What should I do? I offered you money and you didn’t take it.” I said. I got up shakily. My limbs were betraying me. “Do you need more money than that? How much do you need?”

“I don’t want your money.” He stated flatly, placing the cold towel to my forehead again. He stared at me with a blank expression. “I don't like you. So don’t give me your money.”

This kid . . .

What was he going on about?

I wiped my brow. “So do I have to make you like me?”

Sammy grabbed the towel from my head and smacked me lightly with it. He didn’t look pleased by my observation. “No.”

“Is this how a babysitter is supposed to treat people?” I asked.

“Is this how human beings are supposed to treat each other?” He retaliated.

“Who do you think you are?”

His voice rose. “Someone who wants to be treated with respect.”

“Why would I treat a leech fairly?” I questioned.

He huffed and rubbed his temples. The expression on his face was stricken with pure frustration. “Are we not going to get along at all?”

“It’s like I’m talking to a wall.” I pointed out, collapsing onto my bed to stare at the ceiling.

We stayed quiet for a few minutes.

I truly did not want to complain, because that is what my father was best at. I hated people who complained. They did nothing to make themselves happy.

This kid was trying his best to get under my skin. And even if he had good, pure intentions, it didn’t help the fact that he was still working to get our money. Without the deal, he wouldn’t be here helping me. Simple as that. This was how the real world was like.

Yeah, I thought, the only thing keeping him here is that deal.

I hated reality.

“Just leave.” I begged, groaning. My anger towards my realizations were beginning to leak out. “You’ll leave early if I pay you now, correct?”

He regarded me silently.

Did I hit the nail on the head?

The boy got up from his seat to sit on my bed. He breathed out softly, gathering his thoughts visibly. I was sure he was going to scold me.

I merely stared up at him. He looked like a nice, normal boy. So what was he doing messing around with our affairs?

“I don’t want to leave.” He muttered quietly.

I continued to not believe him.

“I’ll break your fever by the end of the day.” He told me determinedly. “Or else I’ll get my grandma to make her famous tea.”

Famous tea?

“What?”

“Very poisonous, but breaks a fever in no time, without the hassle.” He said quickly, so as not to draw out anymore questions from me. He clasped his hands, “Now, since I’ve cooled down. I’ll make you aware of the chores we need to do—”

I cut him off. “Wait . . . did you say chores?”

The boy brought out a crumpled list from his jacket pocket, but I stopped him there. Was he really serious about all this? It made me more confused as to what his intentions were. Just what was he planning?

This didn’t give me a good feeling, and the fever wasn’t helping either. How could he break a fever anyway? I’d never gotten over a cold within a week, much less than a day. How could he heal me?

He mumbled something in Spanish when I refused to let him place the towel on my head.

This time, I raised my voice. “What did you say?”

“Nothing.” He said. “Just a bit of Spanish slang.”

“You just cursed at me in Spanish.” I said incredulously. This kid really wanted a fight, huh?

A small smile slipped from his blank expression. “No.”

I sighed and rolled my eyes.

My summers here were always the best parts of my life. The garden especially, was the only place I could escape to whenever I remembered just what was waiting for me at home. But now, now it’d been infested with him.

There must’ve been something I could do to get rid of him, so that I could have my sanctuary back. He was annoying, cheeky, and above all else, he was a leech.

And the people I hated most in life were leeches. The boy named Sammy was no exception. It made me want to do something cruel—something so that he could never return here again.

Father would pay him off. Grandma had too much of a good soul left in her. And I, well, I didn’t know where I stood when it came to being mean. Most of the time, I felt nothing when I left people.

So this would be a piece of cake, right? I just needed to be myself, or, the me who drove people close enough so that I could abandon them.

I watched him carefully. Would it work on him though? I had enough experience under my belt, to the point where I was fully confident but—

“That’s it.” I said. 

He turned, “What?”

“I’ll make you leave.” I stated.

It seemed as if he didn’t believe me. Overall, he looked like nothing could shake him. Though that would change, eventually.

“How?” He tested my declaration. He did not look amused by my words.

“Sammy.” I said, for the first time. Surprisingly, I didn't dislike the way the word rolled on my tongue. 

His stiffness faltered when I called out for him by his name, like he couldn’t believe his ears that I’d said it. He stayed quiet.

“I’ll be as annoying as ever.” I warned.

“Is that it?”

“No.” I admitted.

That was not it. Annoyance was one thing, but this—this was another. We were grown men after all, correct? There was no harm in it.

With a tilt of my head, I smiled at him. He inched backwards, clearly hesitant by my actions. He was smarter than I assumed at first.

I took his hand. “I’ll get rid of you, Sammy, by making you mine.”

It was half-past 1 AM in the morning when I woke up again.

I didn’t know how much water the guy made me drink, but it was most likely around 100 glasses.

He broke the fever with all of his hard work though. It surprised me that such a thing was manageable. I still felt weak, but the chills were long gone and I felt able to actually eat.

I stared out the open window. Earlier it had been quite cool. Now the air settled into a comfortable warm breeze, perfect for the summer. I could even smell the garden from where I lay. It was peaceful.

What wasn’t peaceful, was the fact that the source of my annoyance was still there.

I wiggled out of my covers so as not to disturb the sleeping form on my right. The boy was sitting in his chair by my bed, head resting on my mattress.

His glasses were slipping down his nose, and his hair was strewn all over the place. He’d also fallen asleep holding onto the towel tightly, leaking water all over the sheets.

I laughed at him quietly.

Even though I’d said such stuff when I was awake, he still persisted to help. He was definitely a strange case. Anyone else would’ve left quickly.

Maybe he didn't believe me? That was a possibility. I wouldn't believe me either. Having someone say, out of the blue, that they were going to make you fall for them—and all for the sake of breaking their heart. That was pretty terrible. 

And he didn't display any sort of emotions when I'd said it either, like, I hadn't affected him in any way. He merely continued to converse in a normal manner. It upset me, because I did want to entice a strong reaction from him. It was amusing when I did. 

Though it became confusing all the more. Was he so determined to get a lot of money out of this? Probably.

This irked me.

Still, I didn’t disrupt his deep sleep. It even astonished me when I noticed that I’d been watching him this entire time, simply thinking.

I was probably being too cruel, but what could I do?

With careful hands, I took the towel away from him and dropped it into the basin full of leftover water. The boy moved slightly and grumbled, though he did not wake up, thankfully. I didn’t want another explosive argument to erupt so early in the morning. Maybe later, but not now. 

Again, I sat there and pondered as to what I should do about him. It would be easy to place my fake affections on him, to make him leave. I'd done it many times before. I just wondered how easy it would be to make him actually fall in love.

Had he ever been in love before? I surely hadn't. That was a good thing, considering it'd be easier to fool the boy. 

I reached out to him, but I stopped instantly.

Yes, I was being too cruel.

Though he was too.