“I don’t know how to play nursemaid,” I admitted. “And I can’t make soup. I mean, I can warm some up in the microwave. Or order it.”
“That would be more than I’ve ever gotten.”
“Don’t sound eager for it,” I said, shaking my head at him.
“It’s gotta be nice to be taken care of.”
“Well, I haven’t had someone take care of me when I’m sick, but I can speak from experience that it’s really nice to have someone care about you when you don’t feel your best.”
“What’s going on?” Liam’s voice called, making his uncle and me glance back at where he stood halfway between his bedroom to the bathroom.
“Char’s sick.”
“Again?” Liam asked, sighing. “Time to start guzzling orange juice.” Then, softer, “She okay?”
“Fever’s a little better. She’s probably going to feel like shit by morning, though.”
“Couch drops, ice pops, electrolytes…”
“What are you doing?”
“Making a mental list of everything she’s gonna need to keep her from complaining too much.”
“Oh, she’s still gonna complain.”
“You guys are being mean. Like you wouldn’t be moaning and complaining you’re half dead if you had the flu.”
“You’re not wrong. Liam was ten times worse than Char when he caught the flu from her last time. Why don’t you go to bed? I’m just gonna make sure she’s out before I move her.”
“You sure?”
“No sense in us both being sleepless. We can pull shifts.”
“Okay,” I agreed, carefully sliding off the couch.
“Alara?”
“Yeah?”
In answer, he reached for me as I passed behind him on the couch. He reached behind my neck, pulling me down for a quick upside-down kiss.
“Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” I said, running my fingers over his hair before I walked away.
I couldn’t say how long I managed to sleep before the bedroom door flung open, making me yelp and whip around.
“Chris?” I asked, slow-blinking at him as he reached to flick the light on, making me wince. “Is everything okay?”
But my vision adjusted.
And I could see that he was very much not okay.
“Char’s fever is getting dangerously high,” he told me. “I think I need to get her to the hospital ASAP.”
“What? What time is it? Is she due for meds?”
“Not for another two hours. She can’t wait that long.”
