I set her down gently on the bed as she said, “Thank you.” Fluttering her eyes shut, she turned her head, clearly exhausted.
“Alyssa. You have a fever. I’m going to get you some medicine, okay?” I told her in a strong, clear voice.
She didn’t open her eyes but simply nodded, turning over and curling into herself. I was nervous about leaving her, but she needed something to lower her fever. I ran out into the hall and to the bathroom, pawing through the medicine cabinet, scanning the labels of the different bottles until I finally found something that would reduce her fever.
I ran downstairs, bottle of pills in my hand, collected my stuff from outside, and tossed it in the living room, quickly locking the door behind me. I didn’t know where my mom or Rich were, so I was on my own as far as helping Alyssa. I went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and bounded back up the stairs as quickly as I had come down.
She was still lying in bed, but I watched as her body shuddered violently. She was shivering even though sweat beaded her body. I placed my hand on her burning hot skin, turning her towards me as I sat on the edge of the bed. “Alyssa, I need you to take these,” I said carefully, placing the pills in her hand and handing her the water after I helped her to sit up.
She nodded, swallowing the pills with a big gulp of water. She drank a little more and said, “Thank you.”
“Is there anything else you need?” I asked, unsure how to help her. I watched her as she lay back on the bed, resting her head on her pillows and shaking her head weakly. I hated to see her so fragile like this. I sat on the bed for a while, watching her shake and shiver, feeling useless.
I decided to leave and let her get some rest. I covered her up with the pink comforter, shut her bedroom door quietly, and went to my room and laid down. The day had really wiped me out. I would check on Alyssa in a little bit and take a small nap in the meantime. My eyes closed, and sleep came fast and easily.
My eyes blinked open when I heard a weird sound coming from down the hall. I sat up, looking at the alarm clock near my bed. 2:54 am. I groaned, sliding out of bed, and entered the hallway wearily. I remembered Alyssa was sick and felt bad because I had never gone to check up on her. I stumbled quickly down the hallway, the heaving noises becoming louder as I neared the bathroom.
“Lyssa?” I called out, peering into the bathroom. She knelt on the ground in front of the toilet bowl in the same clothes as earlier, and her hair fell into her face as she leaned over it.
She was unable to answer me, though, as she gagged and vomited violently. The sight of it made me nauseous, but I stepped into the bathroom anyway, kneeling next to her on the ground. I pulled her hair out of her face, and she rested her head on the rim of the toilet seat, exhaustion visible on her sunken face. Her skin was deadly pale and covered in sweat, and she had dark rims under her eyes. Her chest heaved up and down with painful breaths.
I was nervous and unsure, and our parents must not have heard Alyssa because their bedroom was downstairs. I rubbed her back gently, and standing up, said, “I’ll be right back, Alyssa. I’m going to go get my mom.”
I hurried downstairs and knocked on our parents’ door. My mom opened it after a moment, wary. “Blake?” she asked, confused, rubbing her eyes with her hand.
“Alyssa is upstairs in the bathroom. I think she’s really sick,” I explained in a worried, rushed tone.
Mom followed me quickly upstairs, the concern for her stepdaughter’s health waking her up. “What happened?” she asked as we walked to the bathroom.
“She had a fever last night,” I said. “Now she’s throwing up, and she looks pretty pale.”
When we reached the bathroom, Alyssa was still kneeling over the toilet, sick and dazed. My mom rushed to her side and asked her how she was feeling. Alyssa weakly told her what was wrong, and my mother listened intently, nodding her head as she spoke. I stood helplessly in the doorway of the bathroom, feeling useless again.
After taking Alyssa’s temperature, my mother bent down, placing two pills in the palm that Alyssa weakly held open. She downed the pills with the water and stood up on shaky legs. “Sorry to wake you guys,” she mumbled quietly.
I shook my head, and without a thought, said, “Don’t be.” She gave me a fragile, grateful smile and stumbled towards the doorway where I stood.
“Take her to her room,” Mom told me as I grabbed Alyssa before she fell. I nodded and helped her walk out of the bathroom. She followed us and walked passed me to prep Alyssa’s bed. She helped me lay her gently in the bed and even went as far as tucking her in. She turned to me before she left and said, “I’m going to check on her in the morning, but she should be fine for now. She needs rest. If you hear anything, let me know.”
I felt relieved, grateful for my mother’s help. “Okay, I will.”
She gave me a kind smile before saying, “Goodnight, honey.”