The Family: Ties That Bind (VOL. 2)

Chapter 24

Sleep didn't come for anyone that night. Thomas made sure of that by squalling nonstop for hours on end. I sat up with him through the night, battling the fever burning him up from the inside out with cold compresses on his stomach and forehead. His voice grew hoarse from screaming until finally, he fell silent and slipped into a restless sleep occasionally interrupted by fits of coughing and body chills.

Morning came and his fever still hadn't broken. Even worse than that, I couldn't get him to stay lucid long enough to eat. Thomas was a hungry boy. His stomach was a bottomless pit that demanded to be fed every hour on the hour. That was why he was such a fat roly-poly. Refusing to eat was not like him, but I soon found out it wasn't by choice. When I did manage to get him to suckle on a bottle in his sleep, anything that hit his stomach immediently came back up. The pain of vomiting till he dry heaved only brought on another session of wailing that broke my heart.

Loretta offered Bubba and I her room for the night so we wouldn't have to bring Thomas down to the dark, damp, basement we slept in. Bubba sat in a rocking chair by the window, cradling the baby in his arms. He didn't leave Thomas' side all night nor did he bat an eye though exhaustion must've been wrapping itself around his bones after the day we had. I know I was ready to drop, but the worry in my gut wouldn't let me rest until I knew Thomas was alright.

I embarked back up the stairs after mixing a fresh bottle in the kitchen. The house was still, everyone either asleep or away. Drayton left early that morning for work like he said he would last night and the twins were more than likely passed out somewhere with a hangover. Last night left me with a poundng headache, but thankfully that was all I had to endure.

I pushed the door to Loretta's room open with my hip. Bubba was in the same place he'd been all night, rocking Thomas and caressing the soft hair on his head. I smiled at the sight of the two before crossing the floor and handing Bubs the bottle I made. "Here, try to see if you can get anything down him. It's been way too long since he last ate and he'll get dehdrated if he doesn't eat." I didn't need to warn him about Thomas' projectile puking. The both of us were already covered in it.

He gave a nod and prodded Thomas' mouth with the bottle's nipple, trying to entice him to wake up and eat. 

While he attemped to feed the baby, I stole away to the window. From where we were on the second floor, I had perfect view of the barn in the distance. The structure remained calm and still. No stir arose last night. No police cars sped up the drive way with sirens wailing. Help didn't come. I watched and waited, paced the floor back and forth, but nothing. That didn't mean my plan failed though. I still had hope. The hostages could've made their escape and just not found their way back to safety yet. Or maybe they had and police were on their way. The farm was a pretty secluded and hidden place. If you weren't one of the few that knew it was there, you never would find it. Wouldn't have surprised me if the cops had to drag out their search dogs to sniff the place out. 

"So this the lil banshee that kept me up all night." Chop-Top leaned over Thomas and reached down, pinching the baby's scarlet cheek flushed with fever. I hadn't heard him come in. "Coochie coochie coo," he babbled in baby talk, smiling down at the little one and toying with his tiny hands.

The last thing I needed at the moment were the twins stirring up trouble. Nubbins wasn't with his brother, but he would be before long. Those two were attached at the hip. "Oh, Chop, please bother him. He's not feeling well."

"Aw, ya should let uncle Choppy hold 'im a spell. He's real good with the babes, ya know." He winked at me and I quirked a brow. Chop put his thumb on Thomas' chin and tugged his bottom lip down, puppeting his mouth. "Uncle Chop's the best uncle I gots," he spoke in a cartoonish baby voice. "He's gonna show me 'is record collection, an' teach me how to make some rad buttons an'-an' when I start totterin', he might even take me to- to- NAM LAAAND! OH, IT'S THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!"