8
“Idon’t feel so good, Mama.”
Erin woke with a start to see Parker standing beside her bed. The hair around his face was wet with sweat, and he looked unsteady on his feet. She pushed the covers off as she sat up and pushed the wet hair back from his face.
His skin was hot beneath her fingertips.
In an instant, the remaining bits of sleep fell away.
“Come here.” She scooped Parker up and placed him sideways over her lap, placing the back of her hand against his forehead. She didn’t have a thermometer upstairs, but she’d guess he was well over a hundred degrees. She tried to keep her voice even and free from alarm when she asked, “What doesn’t feel good, sweetie?”
“My head and my throat and my tummy and—” He broke off in a fit of coughing. It didn’t sound like it wasin Parker’s chest, thank goodness, but by the way he winced, Erin knew it hurt him.
She rubbed his back, hoping to soothe him while she tried to puzzle out the situation. It didn’t make sense how sick Parker was. He seemed totally fine earlier that day. They’d gone to the park, he’d played outside, eaten dinner, and gone to bed without a fight. She looked at the clock on her nightstand.
Just after midnight.
It had been several hours since she’d put him in bed. It was possible that he’d gone downhill in that time, but it still felt like it came out of nowhere.
Erin stood, still holding Parker in her arms. “Okay. Let’s go downstairs to get a drink and some medicine.” Carefully, she walked down the stairs toward the kitchen. She opened the cabinets until she found a thermometer and children’s fever reducer. After confirming that Parker did, in fact, have a dangerously high fever, she gave him some medicine and a glass of water.
She sat down at the dining room table and rocked him back and forth, humming one of his favorite songs as she did. Her shirt was wet from the sweat pouring off Parker, and it scared her. Erin’s children were young, and they’d gotten their share of colds and stomach bugs over the years. Dealing with sickness was part of raising children, she knew that.
But what if this wasn’t just a run-of-the-mill cold? Hadn’t they thought Jake just had a weird bug, until itwouldn’t go away? After it lingered for longer than something normal, he’d finally gone in and gotten some testing done. He was already stage three.
What if there was something more to Parker’s symptoms? Could he have gotten some kind of rare bacteria in the water at the park? Could it be a brain amoeba? She’d heard the horror stories of kids swimming in warm lakes and something awful happening after.
Erin closed her eyes tightly, forcing a deep breath into her lungs. She needed to get her racing thoughts under control. Parker was sick. With what, she didn’t know, but she could not panic. She would not spiral. Right now, Erin needed to keep a level head.
After some time had passed, she asked, “How are you feeling, sweetie?”
He coughed again. “I hurt.”
Erin stopped her rocking. “What hurts?”
Parker groaned. His voice was weak when he said, “Everything.”
The fever reducer should have helped with the pain as well. If he was still hurting, Erin didn’t know what else to do.
It was the middle of the night, and the pediatrician’s office wouldn’t open until eight in the morning. Erin started rocking again as she tried to decide whether this was worth calling the after-hours number.
It was moments like this that she wished Jake werestill here. When she wasn’t sure what to do, he’d always had an answer. He helped her calm down when she was freaking out. Without him, she had no anchor to keep her from going off in the wrong direction.
God, please help me know what to do.She pressed her lips against Parker’s forehead.
“I want Mr. West.”
Erin pulled back. She was sure he’d misheard Parker. It was the middle of the night, she was tired, and was freaking out about Parker being sick. That was the only explanation for what she thought she’d heard.
She smiled down at him. “What did you say?”
Logan looked up at Erin with pitiful eyes. “I want Mr. West to sit with me.”
Erin’s breath caught in her chest. She couldn’t understand why Parker would be asking for Logan. Her children weren’t even allowed to call him by his first name. Why did he want Logan when his mom was right here?
“I’m sure Mr. West is sleeping. But you can come cuddle with me in my bed.” That would make it easier for Erin to keep an eye on him while she decided whether this was worth calling Dr. Peterson.
He shook his head. The movement was slower than usual, but no less stubborn. Parker came by it honestly. Neither she nor Jake were easily dissuaded. It wasn’t a terrible quality to have, but it made dealing with a sick four-year-old more difficult than Erin would have liked.
