Homecoming

Chapter 13

In the middle of the night, the piercing sound of my doorbell on the door woke me up. I cursed the silence, trying to remember how many times I was about to replace it, and how many times, of course, I had forgotten. One thing was certain, however, that his sound could bring a dead person to life.

I didn't bother at all the way I looked, because it was shortly after one at night and I hurried to the door. I had no idea who might be charging me so late. An even bigger shock came when I saw a weeping Jared standing outside the door.

"Honey, where are you coming from," I immediately knelt beside him and wiped a stray tear from his cheeks with my fingertips.

With another attack of crying, he threw himself into my arms. I hugged him warmly and pressed his trembling body to me. "What happened," I asked him, pulling away from him slightly to see his face.

"Garrett has a fever," he stammered between the habits. "And he's vomited twice already."

Fear overwhelmed me immediately. "Where is the? At your house?"

"No," he shook his head. "He stayed down. I couldn't take him up the stairs, "he cried again.

"My God," I widened my eyes and straightened. "Let's go," I took his hand and ran down the stairs with him. My heart almost stopped from the fear of my guts.

"I brought him on the siding of the tractor he got for his birthday last year," he explained to me on the way down.

"You did well," I reassured him.

"Garrett," I gasped. I don't know what I imagined, but at the front door there really was a stuffed Garrett lying in a blanket, with only his head sticking out from under him. His small body was swept away by a high fever.

"Kirsten," he whispered shakily.

"I'm a sweetheart here," I stroked his hot forehead. "She's fine."

I carefully lifted him in my arms and carried him to my apartment. He was light as a feather. Sweat beaded on my forehead with fear. I had zero experience with childhood diseases and I didn't know what to do with Garrett.

Gently, like a porcelain doll, I put it in my heated bed and ran to the bathroom for a towel. I soaked him in cold water and placed it on Garrett's hot forehead. The whole thing burned.

"I'm cold," he whispered quietly.

"Winter?" Jared asked in surprise. "You're all hot."

"She's cold," I explained. "It's caused by the fever."

Come on, Kirsten, think! You must not panic now, I was admonishing myself. I was wondering if I should call an ambulance or at least call my mom or sister. They would definitely know what to do.

"My God, Nurofen," I exclaimed aloud as I remembered Caroline giving it to Alessia once when she was visiting me and accidentally forgot about it. I hurried out of the bedroom and ran to the kitchen to look for him. I had it here somewhere, I just couldn't remember where I put it in this stress. I had planned to return it to her, I just forgot.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I found him in the hallway on a handbag shelf. I quickly ran my eyes over the enclosed leaflet on accurate dosing and ran to the kitchen for iced tea to drink. With my hands shaking, I pulled the amount I needed into the syringe and raised Garrett's head so I could inject the medicine into his mouth. He was so weak he didn't even defend himself. When he swallowed the medicine honestly, I had him drink tea.

"Stay with him," I told Jared.

"Where are you going?" he asked, and I saw fear in his eyes.

"I'm going to look for a thermometer. Don't worry, I'll be right back, "I replied, but I couldn't smile.