“I’m coming over, Melanie.”
“I’m sending you my address now.”
“I’m on my way.”
“Jack?” I stopped at the front door, having only slipped on a pair of flip flops with my gym shorts and shirt.
“Yeah?”
“Please hurry.”
I speed the whole way to her house, which was luckily only fifteen minutes away. I pulled into the driveway and Melanie met me at the front door. We didn’t need to exchange pleasantries as she led me through the two-story house to Amelia’s room.
Amelia laid in bed, her face was red, and her cheeks looked flushed.
“She just passed out from crying.”
“When’s the last time you checked her temperature?”
“Right before she passed out, it went up to 103.”
I pulled out my phone and dialed my mom’s number. It only rang once before her voice was coming through the phone in a panic.
“What’s wrong?”
“Melanie’s daughter, Amelia, has a 103 fever and has been throwing up since noon.”
“Has she given her a bath? Food? Drinks of any kind?”
“All of the above.”
I left Amelia’s room and Melanie followed hot on my tail. She grabbed for my arm and when I turned around, there were tears in her eyes. I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead and mouthed that it was my mom.
“Take her to the hospital. It sounds like either dehydration or the stomach flu but with that high of a fever, I wouldn’t risk it, no matter how old she is.”
“Thank you, Ma.”
“You better take care of both of those girls, Jack.”
I looked down at Melanie and pulled her in with my free arm, kissing the top of her head again.
“I promise I’ll take care of them, Ma.” I hung up and headed back to Amelia’s room, scooping her into my arms. “We need to take her to the hospital.”
“I’ll grab my keys.”
“We’re taking mine. Keys are in my front pocket.”
She grabbed for them without any argument. It wasn’t that I didn't think her car was good enough for us to get there but I wanted us to take the truck as an extra safety precaution. We made our way out of the house, only stopping for Melanie to lock up, and then we were off to the hospital.
Amelia laid in my arms, her tiny arms were wrapped around my neck, holding on for dear life it felt like. Melanie had one hand on the steering wheel as she drove and the other on Amelia’s leg. When she pulled into the parking lot of the hospital, I waved her over to the Emergency Room drop off. I wasn’t worried about the truck at this current moment, just getting Amelia into the arms of someone who could help her.
A nurse came out from behind the counter when she saw both of us enter through the emergency entrance.
“She has a 103-degree fever and has been throwing up since noon,” Melanie said as she rushed to get everything out.
She looked back to another nurse who was behind the counter and a ping went off overhead. Seconds later a gurney was wheeled out, prepped, and ready for Amelia.
“We’re going to take her back immediately. Are you both family?”
