It’s nothing more than a little Mexican white magic she used on me and Alex whenever we were sick. Abuela would take a raw egg and make the sign of the cross with it all over our bodies. Then she’d break the egg open in a bowl by our beds and construct a little cross out of toothpicks and set that on top of the exposed yoke. She’d leave it on our bedsides until we got better. Abuela once said something about how the sickness would go out of our bodies and into the egg. Crazy, I know, but she’s my abuela. She gets away with anything.
The threat to call my grandmother must be enough because Millie sinks down into her pillows. “Fine. I’m sick. I feel like shit,” she says, grumpily. “Happy now?”
“H-happy?” I choke, laughing. “No,boba, that doesn’t make me happy.”
She frowns.“Boba?What does that mean?” She bats my hands away from her arms, and I sit back, ignoring the sting her brush off delivers.
“I’ll give you one guess,” I say, but give her no time to respond. “Have you taken anything for the fever?”
Millie looks over at her nightstand, her brows knitting tighter. I follow her gaze to the bottle of Advil. “Yeah…?” She drags out the word.
“Yeah?” I ask, picking up the bottle. “When was that?”
She purses her lips. “This morning and…” Her gaze drifts to the left as though she’s searching her memory. “Maybe before I fell asleep. I know I meant to.”
I set the bottle back down. “Have any Tylenol? Just to be on the safe side?”
Millie nods. “Bathroom cabinet.”
I’m up and across the room. Her bathroom is small but neat. No stray lingerie, unfortunately. I grab the bottle of Acetaminophen, carry it back to her room, and shake out two pills into my hand.
“Here.”
She pops them into her mouth and then chases them with a sip of water that makes her grimace. Seriously, it hurts just to watch her.
When she lies back against the pillow, she looks spent. As though the last twenty minutes with me took all she had.
“Get some rest,” I tell her. “I’m taking you to a walk-in clinic tomorrow.”
I expect her to put up a fight, but Millie just closes her eyes. “We’ll see.”
Shit. I’d like it better if she put up a fight. The fact that she doesn’t means she probably feels even worse than I imagine.
I’ve never wanted to wrap someone in my arms more than I do this minute, but that’s not allowed. Instead, I collect the food containers and takeout bags and head downstairs. Harry, Mattie, and Emmett are sprawled across all three sides of the sectional, but when I step into the living room, they all perk up.
“How is she?” Mattie asks, her green eyes pinched with worry.
“Under the weather, but okay.” I keep my voice light. Not just for her, but for all of them. Mattie is the one who’s most obviously worried, but her brothers are paying close attention, so I know they feel it too. And who could blame them? Without their parents, Millie is all they have. I don’t have to see the tightness in their faces to know that at some point, they’ve all wondered what would happen to them without her. “She ate some soup, and she’s resting now.”
Emmett’s face clears at this. “Are you going to stay with us?”
His question stops me in my tracks. I was planning to put the rest of Millie’s soup in the fridge and tell them goodnight. Make sure they lock up behind me. Come back in the morning.
But I don’t really want to leave. Not Millie. Not the kids. It’s just not my place to stay.
I look to the twins. They’re looking at me. Waiting for my answer? Do they need me to stay? Fourteen is old enough. I know Millie leaves them in charge now and then. But would it make them feel better if I stayed?
“We’re just about to watchGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,”Harry says, holding up the remote. “Wanna join?”
The three kids are wearing the exact same expression. Cautious. Hopeful.Hell, yes, I’m staying.
“Hit play.”
“Yay!” Emmett launches off the sofa cushions like he’s spring loaded. He smacks the space next to him. “You can sit in Millie’s spot.”
Warmth floods my chest. “Sure,” I say. “Just let me put this away.”
When the credits roll two hours and fifteen minutes later, my bicep is just pins and needles. Emmett’s sleeping head has been using it as a pillow for the last forty minutes. The other two are awake, but they seem just as relaxed as he is.
