Ava heaved a sigh. “Yeah, and it sounds like nothing he’s doing is working at all.”
“Nope,” Alex answered with a shake of his head. “Let’s hope that changes soon.”
She nodded as she polished off her protein bar and dusted her hands. “Yeah, I hope he finds some solution here. Things just seem to be getting worse.”
Alex shifted in the bed, uncomfortable all over and with the conversation. “Avs, I just want you to know that if something happens?—"
“Don’t,” she said with a shake of her head, tears shining in her eyes. “Please, don’t say that, Alex. Don’t give up.”
“I’m not, Ava, I just…I have the flu. And not many people are going to survive this.”
“Yeah, but Doc is going to do everything he can to make sure you’re one of the ones who does. That’s why he’s wants you up and walking, taking the variety of fever reducers, all of that. He’s giving you the best shot you can have.”
“I know that babe, I do, but—” His voice cracked, and he squeezed her hand, his thumb brushing lightly over her knuckles as if trying to memorize the feel of her touch. “I need you to know that I love you… and that’s why I’m scared.” His eyes, glassy with fever, met hers. “Because I can’t stand the thought of leaving you, Avs. Not like this. Not now.”
Ava’s features pinched as he said the words. “Alex, please, don’t. This sounds like you’re already saying goodbye.”
“I’m not. I’m definitely not. I just…thanks for taking care of me.”
She reached for his hand, lacing her fingers between his. “I will be here no matter what, Alex.”
He smiled, the simple motion wearing on him. “Okay, I’m going to go on my walkabout here so I can climb back in bed and try to rest. I’m going to fight this with everything I have.”
She nodded, brushing away a tear that had fallen to her cheek as she rose with him. He leaned on her as he ambled around the room, ignoring the dizziness that threatened to send him sprawling onto the gross, stained carpet.
He did a few passes around the room before he tumbled back into bed. He seemed to be feeling worse by the minute.
The faces of the sick from the hospital flashed before his eyes—their hollow stares, their gaunt skin stretched tight over bones, the rasping breath of those whose lungs were failing. He didn’t want to end up like them, but a dark voice in the back of his mind whispered that it was only a matter of time. He was already slipping—fading—soon, he’d be just another body in a hospital bed, fighting for air, waiting for the end.
CHAPTER 14
AVA
Ava slid her eyes sideways, her pulse quickening as she tried to assess Alex’s condition. She couldn’t stop, her gaze constantly searching for any small change in his color, breathing—anything that might signal he needed more urgent care.
She’d already called Kyle twice to get updates on the situation at the hospital, and to touch base, desperate to reassure herself that Alex could somehow escape what was happening to the others in that tiny town hospital.
She glanced down at her phone again, frowning. She wanted to reach out to someone else for the zillionth time, to get some sort of reassurance that things would work out, but she couldn’t keep interrupting Kyle’s work.
She blew out a shaky breath, twisting to count the rise and fall of Alex’s chest, each and every breath a comfort anda worry. While it gave her a tangible sign of life, would the next inhale be his last?
She pressed a hand against his warm skin, trying to assess his fever as he slept. Ava’s breath caught in her throat as she watched Alex’s chest go still. For a terrifying moment, the room closed in around her, the world narrowing to the space between his breaths. Seconds stretched like hours.Breathe, Alex, she willed him silently, her own lungs burning with a held breath. And then, finally, his chest rose again, a gasp of air that felt like a lifeline pulling her back from the brink of hysteria.
She let out the breath she’d been holding when his chest rose again, this time taking in a bigger breath.
“Alex,” she whispered, her voice holding back a sob. The fever reducers she’d given him did little to lower his temperature, suggesting that when they wore off, it would soar higher than it already had this morning.
Kyle had suggested giving him another round of ibuprofen in four hours followed by the acetaminophen in six to stagger the doses and always keep something in his system to fight the fever.
Unfortunately, it was a meager balm as he couldn’t offer any clear signs of hope other than symptom reduction. More people were pouring into the tiny hospital, but beds were becoming available as previous patients–those infected earlier–died.
Tears stung her eyes as she recalled the sight of the stacked body bags Sebastian had sent a photo of earlier. She was determined to make certain that Alex did not end up in one of those.
With a lick of her lips, she rubbed his chest, shimmying him gently. “Babe? Time to wake up.”
She hated to pull him from what seemed to be a restful sleep, but Kyle had told her to keep him moving every fewhours to avoid liquid pooling in his lungs. He had already been asleep most of the morning, and it was time for another round of meds.
“Alex, wake up, babe,” she said, fear coursing through her veins as he failed to respond immediately.
