Her eyes opened, and he handed her the medication, then placed the straw in her mouth so she could take the pills.
“Drink a little more,” he instructed, not wanting her to get dehydrated.
Once she had drunk down enough that he felt she would be okay, he placed the glass on the nightstand. He went into the bathroom and wet a cloth, then went and placed it on her forehead. He just wanted to get her temperature down a few degrees.
After that was done, he pulled out his phone and messaged Frankie, letting her know that Tiana was running a high fever, and asked if Liam could stop by to check on her when he got a chance. He also told his sister he was going to cover her classes that morning, but if Liam had time to stop by, he could grab the keys from him, or AJ and Poppy also had a set.
Niko got ready in less than five minutes. Before he left, he freshened the cloth with cool water and put it on her forehead again. He sat with her till the very last minute and then was out the door. When he got to the studio, a few students were waiting in their cars and followed behind him as he opened the door.
Thankfully, Niko had paid attention the morning he’d come in with Tiana, and most of the tasks were fairly intuitive. She’d messaged him the security code and password for the computer. As he was preparing his introduction for the class, he heard his sister’s voice. “The cavalry has arrived.”
He lifted his head and saw Frankie, Zion, Karina, and actress Shayne Fox.
“What are you guys doing here?”
“We were already booked to take the class,” Frankie explained.
“We’re both certified, and we can cover the classes if you want to go home.” Zion motioned between himself and Shayne.
“You are?”
“I got certified after I started practicing for my sciatica,” Zion explained.
Shayne raised her hand. “I’m playing a yoga teacher for my next role, and I’dloveto have some real world experience. I was going to ask Tiana today if she would let me co-teach like you’ve been doing, so this is perfect timing.”
“Are you sure? There are four classes this morning, and?—”
“Three tonight, four tomorrow, two tomorrow evening, three morning classes on Friday, two Friday evening, and four Saturday morning classes,” Shayne rattled off.
“And you know the formats?”
Both Zion and Shayne looked at one another and then back to Niko. “Yes.”
Frankie lifted her hand. “I can handle the admin, and Liam’s gonna stop by to check on Tiana in about an hour on his way to the office. Go home. Go, go, go and be with her.”
“You’re starting to sound like her,” Niko pointed out.
“What? Who?”
“Yaya,” Niko said at the same time as Zion, Frankie’s best friend.
“What? How?”
“Go, go, go,” Niko and Zion chorused.
Frankie shrugged with a smile. While Zion and Shayne looked over the music system and split up the classes between themselves, Niko quickly showed Frankie the computer and security system, then gave her the keys.
Niko always loved his sister, but he could honestly say he’d never loved her quite as much as he had in that moment. Before he left, he kissed her on the head. “Best sister ever.”
She smiled up at him. “I’ve been saying it foryears.”
As he headed out and got into the SUV, he saw both Zion and Shayne in the front of the room, he assumed they were making the announcement that Tiana was ill and they would be covering her classes, and he felt a warmth swell up inside of him. This was another one of those connection moments that he’d been missing for so long. Community. Family.
He got home less than fifteen minutes after he left and rushed back to the room. Tiana was still sound asleep, but her phone alarm was going off again right beside her face on the nightstand. He grabbed it and turned it off.
He decided to keep the phone with him since he had no clue what other alarms she had set. The cloth she’d left on her forehead was now warm to the touch. He went back into the bathroom to wet it down again.
As he did, he looked down at Tiana, her cheeks pink, skin flushed with fever, and he couldn’t help but think about that little girl who hadn’t had anyone. Or the teenager who had to deal with so much on her own. No one to guide her. Or the adult trying to navigate this world alone, or worse, the ten years she’d been married to that jackass Brock.
