once one of us got sick, it would make its rounds.
“Is Hannah still coming?”
I nodded, which did very little to help my inner ear equilibrium. Hannah wouldn’t be coming if Austin wasn’t still paying her. Another dagger to my heart.
The front door opened, and Sloan rushed in with Nick in tow. I closed my eyes, faking sleep.
“You can cut the sleep act. Your eyes were just open. And now I have a sore throat, thanks to you,” Sloan growled.
“What are you doing here, Nick?” I murmured.
“He has something to tell you. We do. Now that you and Austin are broke up, it may not matter.”
Hearing the words hurt more than I anticipated, but then again, pain wreaked havoc on my entire body anyway. “We aren’t broken up. We are in a fight. That’s all.”
Nick sat down next to my feet and instinctively, I pulled my legs up to my chest. Chills rippled throughout my body; I didn’t want to deal with this. With him.
“Have you Googled this guy?” Nick asked.
“What guy?” I asked, closing my eyes again.
“This Austin creep. There isn’t anything really about him outside of his college honors and shit, but his father is in the fucking mob, Pheebs.”
“The mob?”
“The mafia!” Sloan shouted. “Like Chicago mafia. Scarface! Let me introduce you to my ‘leetle’ friend.”
“Stop screaming at me, Sloan. I feel like shit. Hand me my blanket.” The chills had set in again. The ibuprofen had to be wearing off.
“Hannah!” Claire screeched, driving the searing sword even deeper through my brain. I winced in agony.
“Are you ok?” Nick asked.
I tucked the blanket beneath my chin and nodded.
Sloan’s cold hands touched my forehead and brought my eyes wide open. “You’re burning up.”
“I’m taking the younger kids to the park and then for ice cream,” Hannah whispered.
I nodded. I think. Then I heard the door open. Even sick, I knew what was going on. I had to. I had to protect the kids.
“Hi, Austin.” I heard Hannah say the words and my eyes came open a bit, but my body was riddled with chills and aches fighting their war against my muscles.
“What’s wrong with her?”
“She has a cold.” I think it was Sloan that answered. “Why are you here?”
“Phoebe?” I smiled. I think. Austin was here. He had come. My prince. “How long has she been like this?”
“It started yesterday. She’s pretty hot,” Sloan whispered.
“How about you get the fuck out of here,” Nick growled.
I fought to open my eyes.
“I’m taking her for some help.” I heard Austin’s voice again.
When my eyes opened, they blurred, but I saw Nick step in front of Austin.
“Over my dead body,” Nick blurted out.
“That can be arranged.”
“I’ll bet it can, Tony Montana. We know who you are.”
I could tell someone picked me up because pain shot in every direction on my body. Moaning out loud, I heard Nick’s voice. “Where are you taking her?”
“Sloan, would you please go open my car door.”
“Yes.”
I wanted to see him, more than anything but I simply closed my eyes.
The pressure and releasing on my arm brought my eyes open. I glanced down at a blood pressure cuff. An IV pole sat next to the bed. A hospital bed? When I tried to push myself up, the IV in my hand shot pain up my arm when it bent it. Austin stood at the foot of the bed talking to a doctor or nurse. When he noticed I was awake, he rushed to my side.
“Hey,” he said, releasing a long breath while his fingers wove through my hair.
“What happened? Where are the kids?” `
“Hannah is with the kids. They are fine. I came by the house and you were pretty sick,” he said, tenderly tracing the backs of his fingers up my cheek.
Seeing his face, hearing his voice, feeling his touch. I closed my eyes. It was too much. How was I going to pay for this damn ER visit? I didn’t have insurance. The thought of what those bills were going to be...it just made me feel even more sick. I didn’t want to be mad at him for bringing me there. There was no way for him to ever understand what someone like me worried about.
“You tested positive for influenza and you are completely dehydrated. This is the second bag of fluids. Why didn’t you call me?”
Even dehydrated, two tears managed to seep from my eyes.
“Baby, what’s wrong?”
“I can’t afford an ER trip. And I know you’re just going to flippantly say you’ll pay. And I was