Family sickness follows

Chapter 9

Liam and Harper had helped bring a poorly Katie inside and stayed for a bit to help Gemma with Katie before washing their hands and taking one mask each with them to wear when they arrived at Crystal Lace as the two were in contact with vomit from Katie and knowing they have people at home that can get ill quickly. Even if they didn't think what Katie has is contagious, they wanted to be precautious. On their way back they passed a park, "Fancy going in for a bit?" Harper said. "Sure, why not. It's still early," Liam said. They went inside and went for a walk around the park.

They were chatting and got on really well. It was around twenty minutes of being in the park that Harper felt funny. "Li, help me check my sugar," She said. Liam lowered the girl to the floor so they were sitting on the grass and got the girl's kit out and checked her blood sugar. "Harper drink this, your sugar is low" Liam said. Harper took her drink and began to drink it, leaning over Liam's side. Liam rubbed the girl's back and got the courage to kiss her temple to sooth her. Harper finished the drink and leaned her head on Liam's shoulder. Ten minutes later they rechecked it.

"How you feeling?" Liam asks. "Better, thank you," Harper says. Once she felt more recovered they continued with their walk. They saw a set of swings. "Feeling good to go on them?" Liam asked once they reached the swings. Harper nodded and they sat on swings next to each other. They continued to make conversation with each other as they swung. They were getting on really ok, Liam kept checking in on her. It was 4:30 PM when Liam asked "Do you want to eat something?", knowing the drink was only a short term cover for her low blood sugar.

Harper nodded not really wanting to but knowing she needed to. "What do you fancy?" Liam asked. "Maybe a sub or something. I don't really know, '' Harper says. Liam nods. They went to the park cafe and Liam checked Harper's blood sugar before they looked at the menu. Harper scanned the menu looking for something safe for her as she had some limitations around food because of her condition. She also reminded herself to check if the person in charge makes her food as she asks. She didn't want to repeat what happened to Katie with herself. "Do you make food from scratch here at the park?" Harper asks.

"It depends what you order, some we make here and some aren't made here and just heated up," they informed the pair. Harper nodded and looked at the menu. "I'm diabetic and have some limited food I can eat. That's the reason for my question" Harper said and looked at the menu again. "I'll go for a grilled chicken sub with mustard, whole-wheat bread, extra veggies, no mayonnaise and a bottle of water," Harper decided. "What do you fancy Li?" She asked the boy. Liam ordered a lasagne as he was quite hungry after only having a hotdog and juice earlier. They stood up waiting for their food to be ready. The food was brought over to them and they went to sit on a bench. They enjoyed it as they continued chatting.

They soon finished and Liam rechecked Harper's blood sugar. "If it's low beforehand, do you still give yourself insulin?" Liam asked. "If after eating or having my drink my levels are still low as they were before, let's say they were at 3 before eating and after eating they get to 4, I do give myself a shot of insulin because those levels are still low. Or my parents do it for me." Harper said. "Want help doing it now?" Liam says. Harper nodded as she got it out and showed Liam where they normally did it.

Liam paid careful attention. He didn't want to do it wrong. After Harper showed him, Liam gave her the shot, being careful on doing it right and also not hurting the girl. They sat in the cafe a bit longer. 'What do you want to do now?" Liam asked Harper. "Don't know, it's getting late. Maybe go back home. Amber and dad are sick with the bug. Don't know about mum, though. Don't want to risk myself getting it too if I go home at this moment." Harper said. "Of course, I'll ring my grandma just to see how my dad is doing, my dad has something called CVS which makes him throw up but it's not contagious. It makes him sometimes feel weak and get sick easily, though" Liam said as he dialled his grandma's number, not having received his dad's text yet. Harper nodded at the information and waited for Liam to finish with the call as it soon was picked up.