AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I shrugged. “Just…better.”
She grasped my hand, giving it a firm squeeze. “We have her here for a little longer. Let’s make the best of it, yes?”
I nodded, still unable to look at her because the urge to cry hadn’t faded yet.
“It will be okay, my little love,” she murmured, pressing a kiss to the side of my head. “Just because she eventually has to go home doesn’t mean you won’t see her again.”
Again, I nodded. I knew Nova had to go home with her family at the end of their vacation, but I needed to find a way to keep her with me. I liked the way it felt when she was right beside me. A lot. I would be her best friend and make her smile every day if she lived with us.
5
Ryan
After a day of swimming in the pool with Nova and my cousins, I was tired when I went to bed that night. At dinner, Nova was so exhausted, she fell asleep with her head on the table before she’d even eaten all of her pasta, and her dad had carried her up to bed. The rest of us had finished our meal and then watched a movie in the family room, but when the others said they wanted to watch another, I’d told them I was going to bed to read.
After a shower and brushing my teeth, I had dropped down and picked up the new book I’d started the day Nova had arrived, but my eyes were too heavy to focus on the words. When the book dropped onto my face, I groaned and pushed it away, turning over in bed.
The soft click of my door opening made my head snap up, however. My bedside light was still on, so I had no problem seeing Nova fully as she wobbled in, holding Bun-Bun close with one arm and tugging on her ear with her other hand.
“Ryan?” she whispered, her voice sounding a little scratchy. “Can I sleep with you again?”
I sat up and patted the bed beside me. She gave me a tiny smile as she reached the bed.
“Will you hold Bun-Bun for me?” she asked in a small voice.
I took the stuffed bunny and held it protectively while she grabbed on to the covers and struggled to pull herself up onto my bed. It wasn’t too high off the floor, but her legs were so short. The determination on her pretty face told me to stay where I was and not help, even though it was hard to watch her without doing something to assist.
Once she finally settled in beside me, she took Bun-Bun back and then cuddled right up against me. As soon as I felt her hand on my stomach, something deep inside my chest eased in a way I hadn’t realized needed easing. But it was as if I’d been holding my breath since she’d fallen asleep during dinner, and now I could finally release it.
She made a slight whining noise and started tugging on her ear again. That was when I noticed how bright her eyes were and that her cheeks had a faint flush to them. Concerned, because that was how Ciana looked when she was running a fever, I touched my fingers to Nova’s forehead.
“Your hands are cold,” she grumbled, tugging on her ear.
“No,” I said, shaking my head as I carefully turned her head to better see the ear she was messing with, trying to explain why she thought I was cold to her. “Your skin is just hot. That makes anything not as warm as you feel cold.”
Her ear was red, but I couldn’t tell if it was because something was wrong with it or from how much she was pulling on it. But a little bit of fluid was draining out of it, and it felt a little hotter than her forehead did.
“Nova, does your ear hurt?” I asked as I gently rubbed the outer shell.
“Yeah,” she whispered, holding Bun-Bun a little tighter. “It hurts a lot.”
“Does…” My voice broke, and I quickly cleared it so she wouldn’t know that I was worried. “Does anything else hurt?”
“My throat,” she admitted. “It hurts, and it itches a little.”
I started to move, knowing I needed to tell my mom. Nova was sick and needed to go to the doctor. The thought of her hurting made my eyes sting, but I blinked the tears away, knowing I needed to be brave for her.
“Don’t go!” she cried, her fingers twisting in my T-shirt. “I don’t feel good, and I don’t want to be alone.”
“I won’t leave you alone,” I promised her, carefully unlocking her fingers from my shirt. Sliding out of bed, I reached back for her. Her tiny arms and legs wrapped around me, and she laid her head on my shoulder as I carried her out of my room and down the hall to my parents’ room.
I knocked twice before I heard Mom’s groggy voice calling out. Holding Nova tight with one arm, I was able to twist the knob before kicking the door open a little. Papa switched on the light when he saw I had something in my arms, and he and Mom jerked upright in bed as soon as they realized it was Nova.
“What’s wrong?” Mom asked as she got out of bed. She touched Nova’s back, and Nova tightened her tiny limbs around me.
“I think she has a fever. She says her ear and throat hurt. Her ear is really red, and there was something that looked like water coming out of it. She’s been pulling on it.” I tried to remember everything I needed to tell her so she could help Nova, but I was so worried I didn’t know if I forgot anything.
Mom touched Nova’s forehead with her palm, and she whined, trying to turn away and bury her face in my neck. “No, no, no,” she whimpered.
