ADaaD(A Dollar and a Dream)

Chapter 18: Sad Panda

The whole time I was at work I felt kind of off, I couldn't really concentrate, mainly because I knew Lauren was sick. I also knew that I should have pushed her to stay home a little harder. It's not like Lauren needs to go to work for the money anyways. So, when she texted me and asked could I come get her, without a second thought, I took my apron off and told Puck I needed to leave. I stopped home and got her a sweatshirt, to try to warm her up a little and sped to her diner.

When I walked in the diner and went back to the break room Lo was curled in a little ball fast asleep on the couch. She looks so cute and pathetic all at the same time. I gently pat her head with a cold towel to wake her up, because she has a fever like out of this world right now. Once I get her to the car, I drive slowly home, because it's once again snowing, and of course there aren't any damn plow trucks out.

I glance over at her and frown. "Lo?" She looks up at me with the reddest, saddest, glossiest eyes ever. "Yeah Camzi?" "I'm going to take good care of you baby, ok?" I tell her with a smile. She slowly nods. "I know." She whispers out as I grab her hand and lift it to my mouth and pepper soft kisses to it before setting it in my lap. We get home and I have her go lay in bed right away, after changing to some fluffy pajama pants, a thermal t-shirt, and a sweatshirt. She falls asleep within minutes, so I go to the bathroom and make her another cold compress and lay it carefully across her forehead. I then ransack my medicine cabinet and realize I really don't have any medicine. I pull out my phone and make a list of everything I want to buy. I then decide to make Lo some homemade chicken noodle soup, which works perfectly because I'm in the mood for soup as well.

The entire time I'm walking through the apartment like a crazy person, Chef is right on my heels squeaking a toy. I know he wants to play but I just can't right now. I look down at him and smile when he starts to chew on my pants leg to get my attention. "I promise we'll play later." I tell him as I lean down and rub his head. I then take his ball and roll it out of the kitchen and laugh as he quickly chases it. I look through the fridge and notice I have everything I need except for some saltine crackers, pepper, and noodles. Thankfully I don't need to go to the grocery store, since the small convenience store on the corner will have the few things, I need to get. I pull the chicken out of the fridge and wash and season it and set it a pot of water to start cooking; Luckily, I took it out of the freezer last night because I was going to roast it for dinner, so I don't have to wait for it to thaw. I pull out the chicken stock I have in my freezer and decide I'll buy one more carton just in case, Lo seems really sick, so I want to make sure I have enough soup for her.

I go back to the bedroom and sit on the bed. "Lo, baby, I'm going to run up the street to the store and grab you some medicine and Gatorade." I tell her when she opens her eyes slightly. "I feel like a sad panda." She whispers out before sneezing 3 times. "Awwwww, bless you." I say with a frown as I rub her arm. "Well, I'm going to make sure you feel better in no time." I reassure her. I kiss her on the cheek before I stand up. "If you think of anything you need from the store just text or call me." I tell her.

I put my coat back on and head out the door. I'm halfway down the hall when I hear Chef barking and screaming. I quickly run back and open the door and see him sitting there; he cocks his head to the side and stares at me. "I guess you want to come huh?" I ask him while laughing. I grab his leash and his little coat and slip it on him quickly. I glance over at Lord Tubs, who honestly looks relieved that Chef is leaving and wink at him. "Keep an eye on Lo for me." It takes up forever to walk up the block since Chef decided to sniff and piss on every damn tree. While it was cute the first 3 trees, I was cold and kind of in a rush, so I ended up picking him up and carrying him the rest of the way, which I don't think he minded anyways. When we got to the store I walked up to Antonio, the owner, who was behind the register.