Living with the Swaylers

Shorts: Sick Day

Don't take breathing for granted because one day when you have a stuffy nose, you'll miss being able to breath so easily. Another thing not to take for granted, not having a sore throat. You know that one random morning you wake up with a sore throat then realize this week is about to suck because now you'll slowly start getting more and more sick until you feel miserable and feel guilty for missing so much school? So... yeah that's this week for me. 

I tried my best to contain my germs and everything to not make the boys sick, but it was already kind of too late since Jordan had a cough last week, so I guess actually he got me sick first. At the beginning of the week, I had a sore throat and tried to not complain or mention it to the boys because I didn't want anyone to worry or feel like I was a crybaby. Throughout the day Monday my throat was annoying me, but it wasn't until Tuesday that it got worse, and then throughout the day at school I gradually felt worse and worse. 

I sat in English thinking about how much my head was now hurting and how much I'd rather be lying in bed than here when Blake tapped his pencil on my desk to get my attention. I looked up at him. 

"You okay?" he whispered. 

I nodded my head with a small, synthetic smile. He looked at me suspicious unsure whether to believe me or not. I was too busy trying to go through the day pretending I was fine to realize I still had to go to P.E. Could I fake passing out or something to get out of it? Or suffer through it? I had never faked something to get out of P.E. at least as long as I remember. 

Today we were playing basketball which was something I loved and was pretty decent at too, so I just took some pain-killer and tried my best. I made a few points and made my team happy the first few minutes of the game, but it did not feel great physically. After the team scored our eighth point, I ran back down the court as my teammates did, but once I reached the other team's basket, my head started throbbing and I felt like the room was spinning. 

"Hey 'Bellie, you sure you're okay?" Blake asked me. Today thankfully we were put on the same team, so he was already standing near me. I stood there a moment before lightly shaking my head out of breath. He immediately came closer to me. "What's wrong?" 

I realized in that moment I couldn't keep faking being okay, and I felt awful. "My head hurts a lot and I just don't feel good at all," I admitted. The other team started dribbling the ball towards us where we were supposed to guard them, so time was running out. Blake quickly motioned for one of the players on the bench for our team to come over and take my place. It was thankfully pretty discrete so the coach never saw. 

"Go sit down and drink water," Blake told me. I could tell he really cared and believed me. I nodded and jogged over to the bench to do as I was told. 

After school I think Jordan and Noelle could also tell something was off as I was much quieter than normal, but no one said anything. On the drive home when I quietly stared out the window the whole time, I felt a few glances from Josh, Jordan, and Tyler. I think everyone could tell now something was wrong. 

Once we got home, I went straight to my room, changed into my pajamas, and flopped onto my bed. Finally, the one place I craved to be all day long. It would have felt better though if I weren't so miserable-feeling. 

I heard a light knock on the door. "Come in," I mumbled with my congested, tired voice. 

Max came in the room and saw me there. "Are you okay?" he asked. I looked at him and sat up a little more. 

"I feel terrible. I felt terrible all day but it's gotten so much worse throughout the day and now I think I'm dying," I said honestly. 

"Oh no," Max chuckled sympathetically. "Do you want cold medicine? We still have some from when Jordan was sick last week."

"Sure," I said. "It must have been him who got me sick," I rolled my eyes. 

"Most likely. Ugh that kid. Poor you," Max said. "Alright well I'll get the medicine and when dinner's ready, I'll just bring yours up to you."

"Thank you."

"Of course,  hope you feel better soon," he said before leaving the room. 

About ten minutes later another knock at the door was heard, although there wasn't much time between the knock and when Jordan entered my room. "Heyyyy," he said gently. "Max said I got you sick and to apologize so... sorry."

I smiled. "It's not fair, you only had a cough right? This is miserable!" I groaned. 

"Aww, I'm sorry," he said. This time his apology was genuine. "On the bright side, since I was already sick, I'm most likely immune to whatever sickness you have, and you know what that means?" he asked as he slid onto my bed and now laid next to me on top of the covers. "It means I can hang out with you as much as I want and not get sick! We can hang out all the time now!" he said excitedly like a little kid. I would have laughed, but I didn't feel well enough to, so instead I just turned my head to look at him and his puppy-dog eyes already looking back at me. 

"Oh goody," I said dryly. He now looked disappointed. Inside I was kinda worried I just hurt his feelings. "Just kidding, it's just that I don't really feel well enough to do all kinds of fun things," I explained. 

"That's okay. Just laying here is fun enough for me. Plus being sick can be lonely, and now it doesn't have to be," he explained. He kind of sounded like Tyler in a way. I looked at him though and realized how cute he's being. 

A small smile formed on my face. "Thanks." 

He returned the smile. "Don't thank me, it's actually helping me!"

I looked confused. "Helping you?"

"Yeah. You're helping me prove to you and the others that I'm the best Swayler," he shrugged with a grin on his face now looking up at the ceiling. 

I rolled my eyes. "You're lucky I'm not feeling well, otherwise I'd hit you with my pillow."

He laughed. There was a pause of silence looking up at the ceiling just thinking. "Hey you know what helps me always feel better when I'm sick?" I looked at him. "Hot baths. The steam really helps clear up your sinuses. I can go start the hot water if you'd like!"

I looked at him and my eyes widened thinking of how nice that actually sounds. "You'd do that for me?" 

"Of course! And after you're out... do you maybe want to watch a movie?"

I smiled. "Yes! Which one?" 

He shrugged again slowly getting up from laying on my bed. "Your choice, you're the sick one. However I reserve the right to refuse any stupid chick flicks."

I scoffed. "You love chick flicks."

"Oh I know," he replied with his back now to me on his way to my bathroom. I laughed, confused. I may deny that he's the best Swayler sometimes, but I'm glad he's immune to whatever this sickness is. He always makes me feel better. 

-

The following day, I still wasn't feeling well enough to go to school, but all the boys did the best they could by providing me enough vitamin water and soup to make me not want any more of that for a while. They were the sweetest. And I will say that it is not the worst to be sick in a mansion, but it's even better when the boys are home wanting to watch movies with me.