“Hey, sleepyhead,” I whispered and touched her arm. “You okay?”
"I'm fine… I just need a minute." But her voice sounded strained like she was in pain.
"Hey, what's wrong?" I touched her arm again, and she whipped around to face me. Her eyes were full of tears.
"Dammit, Cole! I said I was fine." She winced and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Well, I don’t believe you. What’s wrong? What can I do?”
She groaned and rolled her eyes. "I have cramps, okay. My period must be coming." She screwed her face up and winced again.
“Do you need Midol or something?”
“Ha,” she gave me a mirthless chuckle. “I might as well take M&M’s.”
“Do you need something stronger?”
“I have a prescription for pain meds, but I didn’t bring it—like an idiot—because I never know when my period is coming.”
“I’m gonna go get my mom.”
“Oh, God. No.” She covered her pale, pain-stricken face with her hands. “Please, don’t do that. This is embarrassing enough.”
“You never need to be embarrassed around me. And my mom is a doctor who can write prescriptions.”
“She can?” Her hands fell away. “Well, what the hell are you still doing here? Go get your mom! Go! Go get her!” She shoved me before wincing again.
I jumped out of bed, ran to the balcony, and returned with my mom a few seconds later. She sat on the side of the bed and pressed her palm to Lisa’s forehead.
“How are you feeling, sweetie?”
“Like my abdomen is being ripped apart,” Lisa said in a voice that made me feel helpless and concerned.
“Scale of one to ten?”
“Eleven point five.”
“Okay.” Mom smiled and smoothed her hair. There was a thin sheen of sweat on her forehead.
“Let’s see what we can do. Who’s your doctor?”
“Dr. Douglas. Suzanne Douglas.”
“Oh, I know Suzanne. You must have good insurance,” Mom said with a chuckle. Lisa gave her a small, pain-filled smile. “We’ll get you fixed up,” Mom said as she stood. “Cole, come with me.”
“I’ll be right back, okay?” I patted Lisa’s hip under the cover.
She nodded and mouthed the words, "thank you."
Mom turned to me after I pulled the bedroom door closed.
"I'm gonna call Suzanne, then the concierge, to see how fast we can get Lisa's prescription filled. I'll also have them send up a couple of heating pads and some ibuprofen, just in case. Your dad and I will take CJ for the day."
“Are you sure?”
She patted my cheek. “You take care of Lisa.”
“Is she gonna be okay? I’ve never seen cramps like this.”
