Sedona

Sick Day

(Y/N)'s POV

"Thank you, Dr. Cullen." I helped Thomas down from the examination table. Both of them had been giving each other the same sickness over and over to each other for the past week.

"It's not a problem." He held the door for us to pass through; his smile stayed friendly.

I helped the two leave the room. They slowly walked out into the hallway. Their hands had gotten a little clammy.

"Just keep them hydrated, and they should be fine." He nodded along before going on to his next patient.

"Alright, let's get you two home. I'm sorry you guys don't feel good. Maybe we can go to the park when you two feel better." I gave them a hopeful promise.

Hours were spent in the living room. An upbeat, colorful movie played for the fourth time in the past few hours. Thomas and Annie lay soundly asleep on the living couch. Blankets lay loosely on top of them, with pillows from their rooms under their heads.

I gently stirred soup in a pot for them when they woke up. It would take a couple of hours still, but it would be worth it to make them feel better.

Someone knocked on the door with a gentle rhythm. "In a minute!" I called out to the person on the other side of the door.

The heat shifted down to low, and the spoon got set to the side. I kept my steps like I was trying to sneak out. This time, I didn't want to wake my kids.

"Esme?" I looked at her, standing on my porch with a bag in her hands.

"Hi," She smiled nicely. "I've made soup for you and your kids." She offered the soup in her hands.

"Oh, thank you," I slowly accepted the food from her hands. She's done this often for me. It's like she's everywhere that I looked to offer a hand for me.

"Listen, I need to ask you something." I set the food out on a table next to me. The door creaked shut behind me.

"What did you need to ask me?" Esme brushed her hair off her shoulder.

"Why do you help me so often?" I leaned against the front door. "It's a question that lingered in my mind for a while."

She looked at me in a stunned silence for a moment. It's like she didn't know what to say and had to process my words for a second time. "It takes a village to raise a child. I wanted to help you. You do so much for your kids, and I can see that."

"Oh, thanks," I gave her a curt nod to that. It didn't cross my mind that she would pick me out in particular to help. I guess I put myself out there as someone that needs help.

"It's a lot to handle, but I'm getting the ropes of it. The house is almost done, and the kids are well acquainted with the town. They start school in the fall." I reassured her.

"That's good to hear. I hope you know that you can lean on others if you need help." She, in turn, tried to reassure me.

"Well, I should head back into the house. I have sick kids inside." I nervously chuckled.

"Oh, how are they? They haven't been at the daycare for a week. I have started to get worried." She took a step closer but stayed a respectable distance from me. Her brows furrowing, her face coveying her worry.

"They're doing okay. I hope it'll wrap up soon. I hate seeing them so sick." I truly did feel bad for the two; they kept giving it to each other like carebears. One would only feel better for a day before getting it again from the other.

It showed me for the billionth time that sickness can spread quickly in a close-knit house. I'll probably have to sanitize everything to be sure that it stays out this round.

For now, it's like watching paint dry on a wall for them to get better. I hated watching them be miserable and hardly keeping meals down.

"Thanks for the soup and everything that you have been doing for me and the kids. It means a lot. I hate to say it, but I need to go back into the house to care for them. Maybe I'll see you another time." I slowly stepped back into the house.

"Alright, I hope the kids start feeling better." With one last friendly smile, she left for her car. And I went back into the house.

"Oh? How are you two doing?" I paused when I saw the two sitting up. They still looked like they were zapped of their energy, but they watched the movie's climax together.

"Fine," Annie mumbled, sitting crisscrossed on the cushiony couch.

"I'm still sleepy." Thomas rubbed his eyes, yawning into the open air like a bear cub.

"Do you wanna try sleeping in bed, Thomas? We also got soup from Esme. Do wanna see if you can handle that?" I slowly sat down by his side, whispering to him softly.

"Soup's good." He sleepily mumbled.

"I want soup too!" Annie's voice sounded a little whiny as she said it.

"Well, I didn't plan to leave you out, Annie. I'll make you two some soup, okay?" So sit tight for a minute." I rose to my feet and got them some bowls of Esme's soup.

The pot that I had is long abandoned now for a later project after I turned the stove eye off. "Here you two go." I gently set the bowls in front of them.

"Thank you," They both mumbled to me. Drowsiness was still evident in their voices, but they were starting to wake up some.

"You're welcome. Be careful, it's hot." I watched the two slowly get closer to the soup to eat. "How about a new movie? We probably played this one six times now."
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1005 Words