Like she’s run out of energy, she slides to the floor, resting her back on the tile wall. “Can I stay here and go to sleep?”
This is not good. She needs to see a doctor. “Let me get Miss Lucia to watch you while I call for a doctor.”
Closing her eyes, she shakes her head. “I don’t need one.”
“You have a fever.”
“I’ll take Tylenol and sleep it off in my room. I bet it’s just some twenty-four-hour bug.”
“You’re bunking with four kids and another parent. You might be contagious.”
“I’ll book another room,” she says, closing her eyes and leaning her head on the wall.
“You can stay with me.” There is no way she can stay in a room on her own. I could ask one of the teachers or parents to stay with her, but that would take them away from supervising the children. I’d booked a separate room for me and Lily—there was no way I was sharing one with a bunch of kids and another parent.
A ghost of a smile tugs her lips. “Are you trying to have your way with me again?” Then she frowns. “No, you don’t want me. I’ll be okay on my own.”
Don’t want her! Each morning I wake up with the biggest hard-on after having erotic dreams about her. If I weren’t so fucked up, I’d have her in fifty different positions by now.
“You can’t stay on your own,” I say. “You’re sleeping with me—I mean…” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “You’re sleeping in my room.”
“You said I might be contagious. I don’t want to pass it onto you or Lily.” She folds her legs to her chest and rests her head on her knees. I can’t let her stay on the bathroom floor much longer. She needs a bed.
“Lily can bunk in with one of her friends. Don’t worry about me.”
“Are you sure?” She rolls her head to the side to look at me. My heart squeezes in my chest seeing her so sick.
“I’m sure. Wait here for a few minutes. I’ll let Miss Lucia know what’s happening. Will you be okay?” I don’t like leaving her, but I can’t take her with me.
She gives me a thumbs-up, like she’s too tired to speak.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Rushing from the bathroom, I stop at the hotel’s reception and ask them to deliver some Tylenol to my room. Then I race into the restaurant. Kneeling next to Miss Lucia, I fill her in on Alyssa’s condition and what I have planned for her.
“Is there room in one of the other rooms for Lily to stay in? If Alyssa’s contagious, I don’t want her catching anything.”
“I’d be happy to take Lily with me,” Margo, a parent sitting on the other side of Miss Lucia, offers. “Unless Lily wants something specific from her bag, I’m sure I can find something for her to sleep in.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it.”
I’m anxious to get back to Alyssa. I hate I left her alone on the bathroom floor, but I need to speak with Lily. “Lily Pily, Miss Alyssa is sick. I need to take care of her. Margo said you can sleep with the girls in her room tonight if that’s okay with you.”
“Yes, that’s okay.”
I rub a hand down her hair. “Margo has something for you to sleep in. Do you have anything in the room you want to take with you?”
She shakes her head.
I give her a hug. “Call me any time of the night if you need me.”
She smiles. “I will.”
Kissing her cheek goodbye, I hurry back to the bathroom. Alyssa is where I left her. Still looking like death.
I squat next to her and tap her shoulder. “Hey, how are you feeling?”
She cracks her eyes open. “Sleepy,” she mumbles.
