Summer Paradise

Chapter Four | Spoon Feeding and Five Year Olds

Chapter Four | Spoon Feeding and Five Year Olds

       I'm sweating like a pig under my covers. Not only am I sweating, but I'm shivering too. How could I be sweating and shivering at the same time? It's because I got a stupid fever. Turns out that cough a couple days ago wasn't nothing. 

       So here I am, in my room, under the covers, sweating and shivering at the same time. I could barely stand up and when I do, I get nauseous. But I need to stand up and take a shower to cool down my body. 

       I glance at the clock beside my bed, 4:38 pm. "Mom!" I croak. My voice is hoarse and my throat is burning because of all the coughing. I wait for a couple minutes, but my mom doesn't come up. "Mom!" I call, louder this time.

       Minutes pass and no answer. If she left me here alone, I'm going to come after her. Knowing she's not here, I crawl out of bed and go towards the bathroom. Yes, crawl. I'm not in the mood to throw up and crawling is just like lying down, but moving. 

       When I reach the bathroom, I close the door and strip my clothes off. I go inside the shower and turn on the cold water. The whole time I shower, I sit on the floor and clean myself there. After showering, I grab a towel and wrap it around me. Having the need to brush my teeth, I slowly stand up and lean towards the sink. I take deep breaths and try to ignore my spinning head. 

       The moment I grab my toothbrush, I throw up my lunch. That's disgusting. I spit out the yucky taste of vomit and turn the faucet on. 

       I'm just leaning towards the sink for support as I try to control my headache. So taking a shower was a bad idea, but I sort of feel better. 

       I finally brush my teeth properly with much effort. I turn the faucet off and I fully stand up without relying on the sink. I'm instantly hit with a headache and collapse on the floor. Crap.

       I lean against the wall and stay there until my mom comes back from wherever she is. I will kill her for leaving me. 

       Closing my eyes, I hear a faint knock coming from my room. "Come in!"I try to shout, but my voice breaks. I hear the door open and another knock sounds from the bathroom door. 

       "Claire? Can I come in?" I hear Dean ask. Why is Dean here? His shift isn't over yet. 

       I don't feel like answering. In fact, I couldn't. 

       After a while, Dean says, "Claire, I'm going in."

       I nod even though he couldn't see me. He opens the door and when he sees me on the floor, he says, "Shit, Claire. What happened?"

       I open my eyes and see him kneeling beside me. "I took a shower and I threw up," I answer weakly.

       His face is lined with worry and panic. I mean, I would panic if I found my best friend on the floor with nothing but a towel on, looking like he might pass out any moment. "Let's get you dressed up, okay?"

       I nod my head and Dean stands up to go to my room. When he comes back, he has my clothes in his hands. He hands them over to me and says softly, "Get changed, I'll wait outside, alright?"

       "Alright," I answer. I look at what he gave me and it's my pajamas. He even got me underwear. My cheeks flare up with heat. He saw my underwear? Oh no. Shaking my head, I try to forget about that and put on the clothes he gave me. 

       After a couple minutes, Dean asks through the door, "You done?"

       "Yeah," I answer.