Kings of the World: Last Coors Banquet Series Part 3 | Lawrusso

Kings of the World Chapter 13 / 15

They left Johnny and Daniel for a while as they unpacked the car, bringing in the boxes of first aid supplies, medications and books. Eli and Demetri hauled the Oxygen machines up the stairs, then sat on the floor outside the bedroom door, reading the instructions. They picked the simplest machine, then began to set it up.

"I don't understand the difference between this and the tank," Miguel said, as they plugged the machine in.

"It's simple," Demetri said. "The tank will run out. This won't."

"I don't get it," Miguel said.

"The things you brought back, and good job on bringing back six of the same thing, by the way," Demetri said, "These are oxygen concentrators. They actually pull oxygen out of the air around us."

"So they don't need a tank?"

"Nope," Demetri replied. "And once this is set up we really should move the tanks you brought back to a different house since they're potentially explosive."

"They're what?" Miguel asked.

"Yeah, they could explode if they get exposed to flames, so probably not a great idea to keep them here," Demetri said.

"I wish you'd told me that before I carried them all up the stairs," Miguel groaned.

He went back into the master suite, and saw Robby stood over the bed in the dim light.

"Do you think he looks a little better?" Robby asked quietly.

"He looks a better colour," Miguel agreed. "More relaxed too."

"We should start him on the antibiotics," Robby said, as he walked over to the box, and took out the bottle of Amoxicillin.

Once the Oxygen tank was traded out for the Concentrator, they measured out the dose of antibiotics and tipped it into Johnny's slack mouth. Miguel massaged his throat, encouraging him to swallow.

"I'll set an alarm on my phone," Robby said. "He needs it every four hours."

"I think one of us should sleep in here, just in case anything happens," Miguel said.

"That's a good idea," Robby said. "The couch should be OK."

"I'll stay tonight," Miguel said. "Can you stay with them while I go get some blankets?"

"Sure," Robby said with a smile, as he sat down on the chair next to the bed.

The night was quiet, still punctuated by painful bouts of coughing, but it seemed to take Johnny less time to recover from them. The breathlessness that had plagued him for the last few days seemed to be lessening, and for the first time Miguel allowed himself to believe that he was going to make it through this.

It was two days later, and Mr. LaRusso had finally agreed to take a break from the stuffy room. He'd gone with Demetri and Eli to check on the vegetable garden next door. The fresh air and distraction would do him good Miguel thought.

The alarm went off. It was time for the next dose of antibiotics, and as Miguel turned he was surprised to see Johnny blink his eyes open.

"Hey, you're awake," Miguel said with a smile. He lifted the radio off the side table, and pressed the button. "Robby, he's awake."

He put the radio down, then turned to Johnny. "You wanna sit up a little?"

Johnny weakly nodded. He still looked like he didn't really know what was happening, but it was an improvement. He slipped his hands under Johnny's arms and gently moved him up the bed, settling him back against the pillows.