7
Ava woke up feeling far better than she had the day before. Her stomach didn’t roll as soon as she moved, and that was progress. She pushed herself up and sighed. Her body was still weak, and her stomach growled. She needed food.
She got out of bed and went to the bathroom, brushing her teeth and hair before pulling it up into a bun. The door to Kelly’s room, now Ruby’s room, was closed. Ava had no intention of waking her sister up and wanted to let her sleep as long as she wanted. She had been through a lot lately and suspected that Ruby slept better when she stayed with her than when she was at home.
Home. With fierce determination, Ava grabbed a breakfast bar and sat down at her computer. She looked up what she needed to do to get custody of Ruby. It was time, and nothing would deter her. After an hour of research and printing off paperwork to read through and fill out, she heard a door open. She poked her head into the hallway to see Ruby rubbing her eyes.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” Ava said.
Ruby looked up. “Hi.”
“Hungry?”
Ruby nodded. Ava walked with her to the kitchen and got her set up with a bowl of cereal and then frowned. Cole hadn’t come out of his room yet. That wasn’t like him. He was usually up before her.
Ava walked over to Cole’s room and listened. It was quiet, so she cracked the door and peeked inside. The room was dark with the shades pulled. She could just make out the lump on the bed as Cole burrowed under his comforter.
“Cole,” she said softly so as not to wake him if he wasn’t already awake.
“Mmm?”
“You okay?”
“No.”
She walked over to the side of the bed. “Are you sick?”
“Yes.”
“Can I get you anything?”
“No.”
She left the room and went to the kitchen, pouring him a glass of ginger ale before returning to his room with the drink and a bowl. She set them on his nightstand.
“Shout or text if you need anything.”
He only grunted in reply.
She left the room, but paced outside the door. Seeing him sick after taking care of her and Ruby yesterday had her in knots. She wanted to force him out of his room so she could keep an eye on him. But that wouldn’t help anything.
“Ava?” Ruby called.
Ava went to the living room, where Ruby was seated, and sat down with her. “Yeah?”
“Is Cole okay?”
“He’s sick.”
“Oh no,” Ruby said.
“At lunchtime, let’s run to the cafe and pick up some soup for him.”
“Just like he did for me.”
“And me,” Ava said. She looked down the hall toward his room despite not being able to see it from where she sat. “I want to go check on him soon to make sure he doesn’t need anything.”
“Good idea. We can take care of him like he took care of us,” Ruby said.
