Where Promises Must Glide

33 - Juliette

"Hello?" I answer my mom's phone call.

"I'm so sorry, Jules, but I know you told me to call in case of anything and Ophelia can't sleep and I think she is sick," my mother sounds panicked over the phone. 

Theo mouths 'What's wrong' and I reply and tell him what my mom just told me. He immediately gets up, grabbing his wallet. "What are you doing."

"Ophelia is sick, we need to be there," he explains, and now he sounds panicked. Ophelia is rarely ill, and when she is, it's always awful. Last year she got a really bad ear infection, and I stayed up every night with her, holding her while she cried in pain.

I grab my bag and begin to leave, getting into Theo's truck. I've never seen him so focused on the road while my mother explains the condition Ophelia is in.

"We are almost there, Mom," I tell her and can hear her in the background reassuring Ophelia who vomited twice already. Now I feel like I'm going to throw up. I roll down the window to get some fresh air to help the nausea creep up.

I can feel the car speed up underneath me, hearing the engine roar as Theo bolts hit home. I keep pulling up the GPS on my phone to see how long it would take us. Each minute feels longer than the last. 

"We are nearly there, princess," Theo reassures me, placing a warm hand on my thigh. I hate leaving Ophelia for these reasons. She is so attached to me that when she gets sick she won't tell anyone unless I am there. The one time I took her to daycare, she wouldn't tell anyone she was sick until she threw up the peanut butter sandwich I packed her. And now I feel guilty because she probably did the same with my mom. "She will be okay." He kisses my forehead while I intensely stare at the red light, praying it turns green. I keep reciting the song I used to sing with Ophelia when she was a baby. I'd try teaching her the colors by singing about each one we saw while driving. Red and green lights were our favorites. 

Turn green. . . green for grass. . . green for pretty trees. . . green for you and me

I feel the car speed up and know the light turned green. I'm imagining a map of the city in my head, knowing two more lefts and a right before we are in my neighborhood. My hand is already on my seat belt, ready to run inside once we make it into the driveway. 

The street feels longer than I remember, and even with Theo's reckless driving, it isn't helping. When I see the driveway in view, I don't wait for him to even turn off the car before I practically jump out. I'm racing towards the door as if there is a monster inside and I need to save someone. Instead, all I'm racing to is my sick daughter. As I'm fumbling for the keys, I feel a soft hand on my shoulder. 

"Breath, Jules," he whispers, before using his own key to open the door. Once the door opens, I feel like I'm running through hell before I make it into my daughter's bedroom to see her wailing in my mom's arms. She took one thing from me and that was my hatred of throwing up. Every time she did, she'd cry for hours in my arms until she'd end up falling asleep. 

"Mommy!" Ophelia screeches when she sees me, running into my arms. I can feel her tears soaking my dress, but could not care at all about this dress, just the fact that my heart suddenly started beating again after what felt like a gradual heart attack. I can feel my chest rise and fall as I brush pieces of her hair away from her sweaty skin. She looked pale, considering her skin was tanner than mine, I was concerned. 

I run my hand down her back. "It's okay, sweetheart. How are you feeling? What's wrong?" The room stopped spinning the second I got to hold her in my arms. When all that you have in your life is your daughter, you become extremely protective and worried over every little thing.