Tallulah The tenderness when I first opened my eyes and swallowed made me pause. That was not good. Today I could not get sick. I threw my covers off and went downstairs, trying to ignore the slow-building headache. My stomach turned as I opened the fridge, and I had to stop and lean against the counter a moment. I was suddenly weak. Closing my eyes, I inhaled de eply. Tried to will all these symptoms away. Then opened my eyes and stood straighter with a fight that died the moment the kitchen began to spin. I had to grab the counter again. I definitely felt off. “Good morning. Are you going to start in the kitchen today... honey?” Mom was instantly beside me, although I couldn’t see her because I was having to ke ep my eyes closed from the spinning. My stomach wasn’t handling it well, and my head was now hurting so bad I winced with each pound. “You’re burning up. Come to the sofa.” Mom’s arm was around me, and I let her lead me to the living room, which was closer than my bedroom. I sank down onto the sofa and curled my knees up under my chin. I heard a whimper. I thought it was me. The pain in my head was battling with the now raw throat I had, not to mention every time I tried to open my eyes, the spinning was there. I had to be still, pray that it ended soon.
“Sit up.” Mom was beside me, pulling me into her arms. “You have to take this to get your fever down. You also need to drink some liquids. When did this start?” Too many words. I managed to open my mouth and swallow the pill, although it was painful. The cold water felt good to my throat, but it still hurt when I swallowed. “Have you been like this all night?” I shook my head and lay back down. A cold cloth was placed on my forehead. And my body began to tremble from chills. My mom had a blanket over me before the first shiver ended. “Can you tell me what hurts?” she asked. I loved her, but I needed her to stop asking me things. Talking was too much. “All of it,” I whispered, and shivered again. “Okay, I’ll wait, but if this doesn’t bring your fever down and help enough in a few hours, we are going to the doctor.” I wasn’t sure how we would do that when I couldn’t get off the sofa. The world slowly faded, along with my mother’s talking. The next time I heard anything, it was the vacuum cleaner coming from the hallway. I opened my eyes and waited for the pounding headache. It was duller now. My throat still hurt terribly. I reached for the cup of water beside me, and the ice had melted. I took a drink, hoping it would help. It didn’t. I started to move, and my entire body felt too weak. I sank back down and closed my eyes. The pounding was returning, and my body was aching now.
Closing my eyes, I gave in to the darkness and faded out again. My mother’s voice telling someone I had woken up very ill and hadn’t been able to do more than sle ep all day was what I heard when I woke again. I almost closed my eyes and ignored it when I remembered Nash. We had a date today. I had forgotten. I tried to move and sit up when I heard Mom say something else. Then the door closed. I couldn’t get all the way up. I gave up and sighed in frustration. Mom walked into the room, and I stared up at her. I wanted to ask, but it hurt to talk. “That was Nash. He was here to pick you up. I told him you were sick. He said to tell you he hoped you felt better soon. How do you feel?” she asked as she knelt in front of me and put her hand on my forehead. “Your fever was down, but you’re hot again. I’m getting you another aspirin—then we’re going to the after-hours clinic. This could be the flu.” “I can’t get up,” I moaned, closing my eyes. The idea of going to the bathroom was difficult, much less walking out to the car and going to the doctor. “We could end up in the emergency room tonight if I don’t take you now.” She wasn’t kidding. If I didn’t get better, she’d haul me to the ER in the middle of the night. The idea of sitting around all night feeling like this in a waiting room gave me the strength to sit up. “Can you bring me a bra? I am wearing this,” I said in a hoarse whisper. Anything more was too painful. “Sure. Stay right there. Try and drink more. I got you some fresh water.”
I nodded and took a sip as she hurried out of the room. The Gryffindor tank top and cut-off sweatpants I had sl ept in would have to do for this outing. I didn’t normally go places with shorts this short, but right now I just didn’t care. Mom came back with my bra and helped me get it on. “Do you want me to brush your hair?” she asked. “I don’t care,” I r eplied. I wanted to lie here in my misery. She ran her hand over it. “It’s fine. Let’s go.” I let her help me up because I couldn’t do anything myself. The walk to the car felt like the longest distance in my life. I had to stop several times and lean on her. She patted my head and reassured me it wasn’t much farther. Once we finally made it to the car, I collapsed in the passenger seat and moaned. Mom laid my seat back, and I curled back up into the fetal position and prayed I didn’t die before we got there. I wasn’t positive this was the best idea. All my symptoms were in full-on attack now that I had moved. Mom cranked the car, and the AC was cold. It cooled my forehead and made me shiver at the same time. “They can give you a shot, hopefully, that will help fast,” Mom said, trying to make me feel better about this. “Staying home isn’t going to get you better. You’ve got to be checked out, honey.” I couldn’t even nod my head to let her know I understood. All my energy was gone from the walk out here. “Last night must have gone good since you had a date again today with Nash. When you’re better, I look forward to hearing all about it. I’m sure he had a tough night not getting to play. I’m glad
you went.” I fell asle ep while Mom chatted on about Nash, football, and dates. I think at one point she was talking about brownies, but I wasn’t sure. I couldn’t stay awake, and her talking was exhausting. Just before I was completely gone, I heard her say something about a unicorn wall. I had no idea what she was talking about. I had missed part of that conversation. When the car stopped, I opened my eyes and knew there was no way I was going to be able to stand up. I closed my eyes again and hoped she would just leave me in here.