Forever Young

Chapter 35

I slept for a long time. The sun was coming up when Carlisle first woke me, gently pulling me upright so I could eat. The soup tasted slightly better this time around because some blood had been slipped into it. It slightly eased the burning in my throat.

My Father also gave me a spoonful of some awful medicine and made me drink a big bottle of water before he allowed me to go back to sleep. Takoda had been receiving the same treatment as me, but Mato seemed to be just fine. He was sitting in corner, happily chewing on his own food and chatting with Seth.

The second time I woke up, I was less sore than I had been before. I moved to rise on my own this time, but Esme still helped to gently push me up off her lap when she noticed my movement. It was dark again now, and I realized I had not only slept through most of the previous night, but also the full day.

Carlisle was again beside me as I sat up, putting a hand on my neck and then my forehead to feel my temperature. He had Esme feed me more soup, and made me eat crackers with it this time. Crackers were one of my least favorite foods in the world- so dry and bland and crumbly. Esme insisted I eat all of them, though, and would dip them in my soup before holding them out for me to eat.

Maybe if I hadn't turned away from every bite, I would have been allowed to feed myself. But Esme did it for me again, holding the spoon to my lips over and over, and breaking off little pieces of cracker to feed me.

The bottle of medicine was pulled from Carlisle's big medical bag, and I moved to fully turn away. I didn't even know what the medicine was for, but it was the most horrible thing I had ever tasted. Esme took me by my shoulders and turned me to face Carlisle again, just as he was pushing the spoonful of thick, sickly sweet medicine towards me.

"Come on now, Love," Carlisle prompted, using his free hand to cup my cheek and hold my head still. "It's for your own good."

With Carlisle firmly holding my face in place and the spoon pressed against my lips, I had no choice. I opened my lips just a tiny bit, trying to ready myself, but Carlisle took the opportunity to push the entire spoon into my mouth. Though he had tried to delude the taste a little by adding blood, it was still sickly sweet and thick and awful.

I tried to turn away so Carlisle wouldn't see the tears sliding down my face, but he held my face still as he made sure I swallowed. Tears dripped from my eyes and landed on his hand. He brushed them away, smiling as I finally got the medicine down. "Good girl, Camellia. Well done. That will be all for a while now."

Carlisle pulled me from Esme's arms and into his own, cradling me as he put the medicine away. "Are you warm enough?" He asked, and I nodded. It was not just warm in this tent, but hot. It felt like a summer day, despite the snow outside. The stove and heater were working wonders.

But then Carlisle reached for the blanket that I was wrapped in, and I suddenly wished I said no. I was naked underneath as he pulled it away, inspecting my body closely. At least now there were less people around- only Esme, Koda, Mato and Seth were still in here. Esme didn't bother me, even though she kept her eyes on me as well. Koda was asleep now, and Mato and Seth were still focused on their game of checkers.

There was a strange pattern of bumps on my chest that Carlisle's eyes focused on immediately. His fingers reached out and gently ran across them. I wondered what he was checking for.

"Is she okay?" Seth asked. My face flamed when I realized both him and Mato were looking at me now, concerned by Carlisle's silence.

Carlisle nodded. "Seth, go into that red tote bag and bring me the white bottle with a blue lid, please. It should have leaves on the label."

Turning to hide my face in Carlisle, I waited until Seth's footsteps had both approached and retreated. I wished that we were in Carlisle's office instead of in a tent where anybody could walk in. What an embarrassing place for a check-up.