Penny took comfort in the strength she felt when Johnny took a hold of her hand. He had no idea, but it was almost as if he was helping to pull her out of the darkness. He was an anchor for her to latch onto, so that she wouldn't just slip away into nothingness. She had been so close too. She had wanted to let go. It was so easy to let go, to not fight, to give into the sweet bliss of eternal sleep. But that wasn't Penny. Penny never gave up. She might have thought about it for a moment, but her senses told her better.
Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked over at her cousin. He wasn't like the Johnny in her dreams. He looked so pale, so rundown. He looked as if someone had switched him with a ghost. She knew he was going through a lot. Hell, she was trying her best to get rid of one of his worries by trying to get better. But it wasn't easy, and she didn't like watching him deteriorate like this because of her, because of everything that was happening to him. So young.
"Better." It wasn't a lie, not really. She couldn't actually lie to Johnny. He somehow always knew. She did feel a little better though. Her body didn't ache as much, and the last time she had burned off her fever, she didn't sweat much either. She wanted to sleep, but she knew she had better control of things if she stayed awake, hold off the disease monster for as long as she could.