Add taking care of Kenny and taking on a few extra evening meetings here or there from work. Otherwise, the clients wouldn't be able to attend an outside meeting, and Kerrie hated the idea of them not getting to experience a meeting while in treatment. It increased the likelihood that they would go on their own after leaving treatment. Of course, other people could have volunteered, but it never seemed to occur to them that someone other than Kerrie could help out. Or perhaps they just assumed Kerrie would do it, so why should they bother?
She wouldn't call her time with Bette a chore. Certainly wasn't tiring. But some nights had her going to bed later than she would have liked, and she couldn't really remember the last time she had a few hours to herself without anyone around. She absolutely loved spending time with Bette. She couldn't imagine her not being around now. She could feel herself falling for her, and she didn't want to stop, but her body was telling her she needed to slow down, and she wasn't quite sure how to do that. She just needed some good rest and fluids, and she should be okay again. Surely that was all that was needed?
Still, it was terrifying to think of how close Kenny came to being on his own. To Kerrie losing her life. What if she had hit her head and died? What if she had passed out behind the wheel of her truck? Fear tugged at her gut, gripping her throat and making it difficult to swallow. What if she had died?
A little while later, she was released from the medical jail. Twenty hours later, she wanted nothing more than to get back to her regular routine.
"I'm giving you a prescription for the nausea, and I want you to keep drinking liquids. Not just water. Something with electrolytes. Avoid dehydrating drinks like coffee or Coke. You need to rest as much as possible, nothing strenuous, and take a week off from work."
Kerrie shook her head, grimacing only slightly at the mild headache still plaguing her. It had eased up, but not much. "I can't take a week."
"You need rest. If you don't, you'll just end up here again or worse."
We'll seeabout that.
When the nurse insisted she be taken out in a wheelchair, Kerrie was overcome with humiliation and kept her head down, hoping no one would see her being treated like an invalid. It didn't help that the nurse and Bette fretted over her while transferring her to Bette's SUV. Her legs were still unsteady if she moved too fast, but pride prevented her from accepting that she needed the help.
Bette slid into the driver's seat and put her seatbelt on. She gave Kerrie a hard look. "Are you sure you're okay? I feel like you're leaving too soon."
"I'm fine. I'll drink my liquids and relax this weekend. I'll be good as new by Monday."
"You heard what the doctor said. You need at least a week to recover."
"I know what she said. I know my body better than anyone else. I'll be fine."
"But—"
"Bette, can we just go?" snapped Kerrie in a harsher tone than she meant to use.
Stone-faced, Bette put the car in drive, staring straight ahead. They rode in a tense silence all the way home.
"Kerrie!"
Relief like nothing Kerrie had ever felt burst from her chest at the sight of her twin on the porch. She stumbled to him. Bette grabbed onto her sweatpants-covered hips to steady her while Mabel held Kenny back from trying to trip his way down the steps. Once both were on the porch, arms wrapped around each other, Kenny's sobs carried out over the backyard.
"It's okay, Buddy, shh, it's okay," said Kerrie in a soothing voice, rubbing his back with one hand and bracing herself up on the railing with the other. She could feel Bette's hands still on her, making sure she didn't tip right over. Like her smaller girlfriend had any chance of catching her.
Kenny pulled back and cupped Kerrie's face, looking it over like he wasn't sure it was her. He stuttered over his words. "I missed, I missed you."
She kissed his forehead and squeezed him tighter with her arm. "I missed you too. I'm sorry I scared you. Can we go inside? I need to sit down."
Kerrie gave Mabel a short hug and then stumbled her way to the recliner. It felt like heaven to be back in her home.
Chapter 29
Kerrie groaned, rolling over. Monday had come too soon. She grabbed her blaring phone and slid the alarm off. She was tempted to hit the snooze button but wasn’t sure she would wake up if she tried to catch a few more winks.
For the last two and a half days, she had done nothing but drink Gatorade, be shadowed by Kenny, and reiterate to Bette and Mabel that she was okay. She was happy to be leaving the house and away from them. It was touching that they all cared so much for her, but she couldn't take being treated like glass anymore. She all but had to make Mabel and Bette go home. She was thankful Kenny had gone to bed early the night before; the stress of the last few days was draining him. She finally had a moment alone to sit in her recliner with the TV muted and a glass of sweet tea with just a lamp on for light. Mabel and Bette both had gotten onto her about the sweet tea, claiming it was going against her hydration, but she'd be damned if she'd give up one measly glass. One wasn't going to hurt anything.
Kerrie carefully swung her legs over the edge of the bed, still a little susceptible to vertigo. She decided firmly that a few more days of Gatorade and getting back into a routine would fix everything. She needed to get back to normal.
After getting herself ready, she went downstairs to the kitchen to start breakfast and heard Bette's car start up. She must be going in early to play catch-up from missing Friday.That would save her the argument of Kerrie going to work. Thankfully, Mabel didn't know that the doctor had told her to take the week off; otherwise, she would have refused to sit with Kenny like normal.
The morning routine went off without a hitch, except for the fact that she had to sit down for a moment after making breakfast, which she thought was a little sad becauseall she did was make bacon and scrambled eggs. Kenny stared at her with concern, but he didn't voice it. She knew he was scared. Their roles seemed to have reversed. It was like he was expecting her to break into a million pieces at any moment. And sometimes, the same thought would enter her own head, but she would quickly push it back into the deep, dark places of her mind. No need for that kind of thinking. She was just a little tired. She would be fine.
As her little pickup neared Turtle Grove, she mentally crossed her fingers that Bette would be down at The Main for the morning meeting. She had purposely left a few minutes later than normal so she would arrive at exactly 8 am and hopefully not see Bette until she had already clocked in and had been there for an hour. Bette would not be happy to see her at work. She would just have to get over it, though. Kerrie rested for two days and did what the doctor asked. Well, mostly. Not the resting for a whole week part, but she needed to get back. Turtle Grove needed her.
Kerrie let out a breath when she saw that Bette's office door was closed. That would give her a little longer before she had to face Bette.
