The Gift- Complete

13

Arthur pov

I held lyd close to my chest as foam escaped her mouth and her body shook. Her gorgeous eyes are now in the back of her head and Mason stands beside me, pacing up and down whilst trying to hold back tears

"Arthur" I hear Tommy's voice

"In here" I yell back to him. I hear Lydia whimper slightly. Not sure if she can hear me or not, I whisper

"Sshh. You're going to be fine baby. I promise" Tommy ran into the living room with a doctor close behind him. He took a second to stand in shock at the state of lyd before finally escaping his trance and hurrying the doctor up.

The doctor pushed me away and knelt down beside lyd. He felt her forehead and took her temperature whilst trying to get her to swallow some pill

"Is she gonna be alright?" Mason asked frantically. The doctor didn't respond at first

"Fucking answer" Mason said going to punch him. But Tommy held him back

"I think so. The pill she just swallowed should send her to sleep in the next 5 minutes. And although when she wakes up she may vomit, that means it's working. If she seizes over night or foams at the mouth, take her straight to the hospital" he told us.

"That's it? Aren't you gonna do something more?" I asked. It wasn't good enough. If he thinks she might have a fit in the night then bloody well take her the hospital

"There's nothing more I can do I'm afraid. Im very sorry Mr shelby. It is now a waiting game" he said not sounding so sincere. Mason punched the man, knocking him to the ground. Quickly, the doctor composed himself and scurried away whilst we glanced at the sleeping girl

"I'll take her up to bed" Mason said. He walked closer and put one arm under her legs, and the other under her back to carry her. Then, he walked up the stairs carefully whilst I broke down on the sofa

"She's alright Arthur" Tommy told me sitting next to me and handing me a drink

"I thought I was gonna lose her Tom" I cried

"But you havnt. In a few days, she will be back to her old self again. I'm sure of it" he reassured me clapping me on the back

Mason pov

I carries lyd upstairs and lay her on her bed. I thought about going in my own room but I just couldn't leave her. If she did seize in the night, I had to be there for her.

I've never been so terrified as I was today. Seeing her like that, it broke my heart. I honestly thought I would lose my baby sister and i knew I would never be able to live with that. It was impossible. Lydia needed me. But I needed her more. She was my rock. The only thing keeping me on this god forsaken pit of land.

I heard her soft snores and turned to see her sleeping peacefully. I climbed in next to her and lay my head down on the soft pillows. No matter how much a tried, I couldn't sleep. Not until I know Lydia is well again. Eventually, I did fall asleep and was awoken early in the morning

Lydia was hunched over the toilet, vomiting.

"Oh darling" I said feeling pity for her. I ran over and held her hair back as she continued to puke. I had to look away so I didn't end up being sick myself. Wouldn't look great if I can't even help my baby sister when she's ill.

"What happened last night?" She asked after wiping her mouth and sitting against the bath. I took a seat next to her and she leant her head on my shoulder

"Well....those gypsy's actually poisoned you. And you were very ill. But we called a doctor and he gave you a pill which sent you to sleep. He said if you vomit in the morning then it means it's working so this is good" I explained

"I don't remem-" before she could finish, she hunched over the toilet again and emptied her guts. Sweat beads lay on her smoking forehead and her hands were klammy. Her once rosy red cheeks were now grey with no colour left in them. It was clear she was ill but if this pill worked, then she should be better soon. Hopefully!

Lydia pov

I felt awful when i woke up. But it all made sense once Mason had explained it to me. Although I now disliked those gypsy men. After emptying my guts, Mason helped me stand up despite how dizzy I felt and we slowly walked to the bed. I surely had a temperature and the room felt like it was spinning. But the most terrible part was my legs. They felt like jelly as if they may collapse any second and it scared me to be honest.

Once back in bed, Mason covered me up with blankets and went to go get Arthur. The pair walked back in after 5 minutes, Arthur in a vest and underwear since he had just been woken up

"Hey baby doll" he said sitting next to me and stroking my hair back

"How are you feeling?" He asked me

"Not great" I mumbled out closing my eyes from exhaustion

"It's alright. Sleep luv" Arthur said kissing my forehead. It was only half 5 in the morning so everyone went back to sleep. Only this time, Mason was in his own bed and Arthur was in mine

"I'm scared daddy" I admitted quietly

"What for?" He asked looking me in the eyes. I thought about it for a moment

"Everything. I have so much to lose now. And I worry that if I get too much of a hassle, then we'll be sent back to the orphanage. And as lovely as it was, it's not our home" i said sobbing. Arthur pulled me into his chest and rubbed my back

"I'd never send you back my luv. You are my daughter and i love you. Mason is my son and I love him also. You two are my children and I would never fucking leave ya" he said kissing my head

Mason pov

I listened from behind the door. His son? He thinks of me....as a son? Am I happy? Or angry? I honestly don't know how I feel. On one hand, I no longer have a dad and I like Arthur. Care about him more than I'm willing to admit. But on the other hand, he's not my dad. And so he could never love me as such