Serenity | Fragile Hearts

chapter 8- sassy and stubborn

Grey

When she was finally done, I helped her sit back on the toilet lid and grabbed a wet rag to help wipe her mouth.

She then brushed her teeth and when she was done, she started up again.

"I didn't need your help." She said, continuing to be stubborn.

I scoffed. "Can you just shut up for once and say thank you?" I rolled my eyes.

She looked to me with a pout but didn't say anything. "Let's go on the couch" I told her as I helped her stand and kept a steady arm on her as she walked over to the couch.

To the side, Rosie and Sofie were both looking in awe- not saying anything.

She sat on the couch and wrapped a blanket around her. I handed her some water and she sipped it slowly.

I sat opposite from her on the coffee table and grabbed my thermometer that flung out of my hand when she punched me.

I motioned for her to place it under her tongue, and with a roll of her eyes she did.

It beeped and I took it out. 101.6. She was definitely running a fever. I made a mental note to give her a fever reducer later.

"How do I know you're not gonna poison me and rob me?" she asked curiously.

"Trust me, you couldn't have anything I wanted." I countered back.

She said nothing but continued to look at me curiously.

I grabbed my stethoscope and placed it in my ears. "Can I listen to your heart and lungs or are you gonna try to choke me with it?" I asked her with a sarcastic look.

"Depends on how I feel. But go ahead."

I nodded and did as I said. Her heart sounded fine but I can tell her lungs were cloudy.

I grabbed a flashlight and motioned for her to open her mouth. She did so reluctantly and I was able to see the complete redness and irritation that surrounded her throat. There was no way she was able to swallow normally.

I then gently felt her throat for swollen glands. As my hand touched her skin, she flinched as if it burned her. Weird.

I waited for her to draw back and then continued to make sure nothing was wrong.

"You have a respiratory infection. Take these pills for a week, twice a day, and you should be good." I told her as I handed her the pills.

She looked to them intently and nodded. "Make sure you eat with them because you'll feel nauseous."

I pulled out a reducer and gave it to her. Thankfully, she didn't put up a fight. She was definitely feeling worse.

"Thank you" she said in a soft tone, her facade disappearing completely.

What the fuck just happened?

Regardless, I nodded. "Call me if anything changes." I told her as I packed up my things.

"I will."

As I packed my stuff up, two tiny arms wrapped around my leg. "Fank you mister for fixing my mommy." a small muffled voice said into my leg.

I looked down and saw who I learned to be Sofie, wrapped around my leg with her face buried into my pants.

I have her a small pat on the head. "You're welcome." She giggled. "You're big" she said with a small smile.

I smiled a little. "Eat your vegetables, and you'll be big too." I told her. She nodded. " I will."

Sniffling caught my attention. I looked up and saw the girl on the couch looking at us with tears in her eyes, sparking my attention.

"Is everything okay?" I asked curiously. She looked at me shocked. "No- yeah, everything is fine."

"What is it?"

"Sofie, sh-she's never talked to anyone openly before. She has bad social anxiety. But with you, it's like it was never there." she said as more tears escaped.

I furrowed my eyebrows. To me, it didn't look like she had any type of anxiety. She was brave if anything.

"Thank you, really." She said again.

I nodded.

She held out her hand, nervousness apparent in her posture. "Aila"

I shook it. "Grey"

Sofie held out her tiny hand too. "Sofie" she said as she reached up to shake mine. I smiled and gently shook it.

"Thanks for using your magic powers." she said happily.

"Anytime"

"Cmon let's show him out, Sof." she grabbed Sofie's hand and they led me to the front door.

"Call me if anything changes" I told her.

She nodded. "I will, thanks"