Rocco came through the door with his hand covering his eyes.
“Here,” he said as he blindly tendered a bucket over to Carly.
“Geez, Rocco! Have you never seen a girl in her underwear before?” Carly went to grab the
bucket and poured its contents into the bath water. It was ice, and I wretched forward as the
chill hit my skin once more.
“Please … stop …” I managed to voice through my teeth.
Carly laughed. “And she finally speaks. Must be a good sign.” She poured another bucketful
over my head. “I come from a family of six kids, remember? Too bad for you, a cold bath is the
only thing that will bring the fever down. I’m afraid you’ll have to suffer through it until
your skin stops boiling.”
My body had graduated from trembling to full-out convulsions. Carly looked worried, but she
continued to soak me, over and over. After a short while, she dunked her hand in the bath water
to check the temperature. She cursed again. The ice was melting quickly under the heat of my
skin. Rocco followed her shouted order and rushed back with another bucket full of ice.
“I’m still mad at you, you know,” she finally said softly. I was curled up in a ball and just
stared at her while she continued to douse me. “Spider told Cameron that you would disappoint
him—something about betrayal being in your blood. But I defended you … the whole time, I stuck
up for you. Why you decided to mess with that Griffin guy is beyond me. I mean the guy had
nothing going for him. He looked at us like we were trash, even though we’re the ones who put
money in his pocket.”
“Just … friends,” was all I could stutter between shivers to defend myself.
“Right. Like I’ve never heard that one before.” Carly sneered. “I swear, people like you are
way more trouble than you’re worth. Now it looks like I’m stuck playing nurse Carly just
because you and Cameron can’t get along.”
“Can … take care … of myself.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I can see that.” She poured another ladle of water over me and
placed the back of her palm over my forehead and cheeks. She contentedly hummed as she pulled
the rubber plug. I watched the water drain out of the tub while she wrapped a thick towel around
me. She walked out, and Cameron walked back in to carry me back to bed. I looked up at him. He
kept his eyes out front and left the room like a ghost. Carly helped me get changed into my
pajamas and threw all the blankets that Cameron had brought in over me. I gobbled down the pills
and a few sips of the tall glass of water she gave me. Every bone and muscle in my body ached. I
closed my eyes and fell into a comatose sleep.
The smell of food hit my nostrils, and I thought I was going to be sick again. I opened my eyes.
Carly had brought a bowl of soup in. It was dark out, and the room was lit solely by the bedside
lamp. I turned away in revulsion as Carly shoved the bowl under my nose.
“I’m not leaving until you eat all of this,” she announced.
My hand struggled to bring the spoon to my mouth. My stomach heaved. I dropped the spoon back
into the bowl.
Carly grumbled and picked up the spoon. “It’s late, and I’m getting really tired of this
babysitting thing. This won’t be a pretty visit if you don’t hurry up.”
She fed me the soup, and I ate as quickly as my stomach could manage. She gave me another round
of pills, which I took without argument, and then she left. I laid my head back on the pillow
and closed my eyes, focused on keeping the soup down.
The door opened and clicked back closed. I opened my eyes and confirmed my sick intuition.
Cameron stood by the bed with his arms folded. My head was pounding from watching him stand
there. I couldn’t focus on him and on my stomach at the same time. I squeezed my eyes shut for
a bit and felt him sit next to me on the bed.
When I slit my eyes open, I saw him leaning over his knees, looking at the ground.