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Lincoln trembled violently on the bed, thrashing so hard he’d ripped the IV from his arm. The covers were a tangled mess around his hips and halfway on the floor. A wet spot the shape of his body where he lay had soaked through the sheet.
Mom brushed past me and went straight to him.
I leaned against the wall and pressed my hands to my chest as I cried. He convulsed so hard that his body bucked up off the bed. Blood trickled out of his mouth from where he’d either bitten his tongue or his cheek.
Or worse, maybe he was bleeding internally.
I put a fisted hand to my mouth to keep from crying out.
Dad wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close. I rested my head on his shoulder as I sobbed, and he made a hushing sound and rubbed his hand up and down my arm.
Mom tore the sheets and comforter off Lincoln and went to the bathroom. A moment later, she came back with some wet towels. She started laying them over Lincoln’s body and turned to me.
“Sloane, I need you to go downstairs. Listen to me. I need you to get the following items and medicine.”
My ears buzzed as I tried to pay attention to her. Lincoln’s life depended on me pulling myself together.
I sucked in a deep breath and wiped the tears from my eyes with my thumbs as she rattled off the drugs and supplies she needed.
She turned back to Lincoln, dabbing the wet towel at his forehead. “Hurry, Sloane. We need to calm his heart rate and bring this fever down.”
I gulped and pulled out of my dad’s embrace as Mom started ordering him around next.
My footfalls thundering, I bolted for the stairs. I hit the bottom step, and my foot skidded across the hardwood. I almost fell but managed to catch myself on the banister, rolling my ankle in the process.
I cursed under my breath and caught my balance. I flew down the hallway and ran into the infirmary door because I didn’t open it fast enough.
My hands shook, and I couldn’t catch my breaths as I dug out the medicine my mother had asked for. I gathered everything I needed and then hurried back upstairs.
Mom and Dad had finished laying the cool towels over Lincoln’s body, but the spasms hadn’t stopped.
Lincoln’s face twisted, and he clenched his jaw like he was in pain.
I hurried to the bed. “I have everything you asked for.”
My arms trembled so badly I was afraid I’d drop something. I dumped the items on the bed where she could reach them and then got out of her way.
I covered my mouth as my mom injected something into his IV and then something else right into the vein in his arm.
The seizure stopped after a few seconds, and Lincoln’s body went lax. His face softened, and his breathing evened out.
I walked on wobbly legs back to the bed and sat down on the opposite side as my mom as she continued working on him. I picked up Lincoln’s hand and squeezed it.
Mom sighed as she backed away from him and swiped the back of her arm across her forehead. “He’s stable for now.”
I cleared my throat as I clasped Lincoln’s hand harder. “What happened?”
Mom looked at the IV bag and adjusted it so it drained faster. “He spiked a fever. I gave him some Tylenol to help bring it down and also some more medicine to help him relax.”
I mashed my lips together and swallowed as I gathered up the courage to ask her what I needed to know. “Is he going to be okay?”
My mom and dad shared a look. I held my breath.
My mom exhaled as she tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “I’m not sure, Sloane. The fever could be a good or a bad thing. He’s either fighting the infection, hence the fever, or there is something else going on that we don’t know about.”
I nodded and prayed it was a good thing. He might be waking up soon if that were the case. My belly did a little flip-flop at the thought.
I flexed my fingers. “If it’s a bad thing, what then?”
