Game Over: Life's Over

Temperature

I felt miserable as we waited in the waiting room to see Dr. Simmons. My stomach was still cramping and my body was only getting hotter and hotter as time passed. The lights were too bright for my eyes. I didn't want to be so mean and irritable but my entire body was just so uncomfortable. The only thing I could really do was whine or cry.

Eric was built better than Theo so he was left to carry me around everywhere. He got me from my room to the car and then from the car to the waiting room. I felt bad to make him do it when I knew I wasn't that light but there was no way I could walk. My legs felt like jelly.

Sweat drenched my forehead and made my hair stick to my skin. I felt bad to cling to Eric when I was all sweaty but being held by someone was helping me feel just a little better.

"Jacob Williams." I heard my name called and normally I would have perked up but I was in no shape to move.

Theo patted my knee as he stood.

Eric stood up slowly and made his way over to where Nick was waiting for us. Even though I hated going to the doctor's, I was always happy to see Nick. That wasn't the case considering the mood I was in.

Nick frowned as we got closer and he saw how I looked. "Poor guy. We'll be in room 6 today. Down the hall on the left."

Eric nodded and followed after Nick and Theo.

We entered the exam room and Eric took a seat in one of the two chairs. Theo sat down beside him and put the diaper bag at his feet.

Nick stood in the doorway with his clipboard tucked in the crook of his arm. "Normally, we'd have Jake put on a gown but since he's not feeling well, we can skip that."

"Thank you," Theo said.

I lifted my binky from where it dangled against my chest and stuck it in my mouth. It felt like I was already waiting so long to figure out what was wrong with me. I just wanted to get better so I didn't feel so bad.

"I'll let Dr. Simmons know you're here," Nick said before he walked out of the room.

Theo looked over at me and sighed. "We're gonna figure out what's wrong. Just hang in there for a little while."

After a few minutes, Dr. Simmons walked into the room. She shut the door behind her and then grabbed the stool that sat under the counter. She wheeled it over to where we were sitting and then sat so we were all at the same level.

"I understand you're not feeling very well, Jacob. Hopefully, we can get to the bottom of it and have you feeling better in no time."

"We thought maybe it was a simple flu but we wanted to be sure. It's the first time he's ever been sick with us so we wanted to do everything necessary," Theo said.

Dr. Simmons nodded. "Of course. The best thing you can do is get him seen by a medical professional. Or, at the very least, just call and ask questions. We can always assist with that, too."

Theo nodded.

"Alright. I'm going to check his temperature first." She got to her feet and walked over to the counter. She grabbed a thermometer and carried it back over to me. I wasn't used to seeing that type so I suspected it wasn't going in my mouth.

Dr. Simmons pressed a button on the thermometer before she brushed my hair away from my ear and pushed the tip into my ear. I whimpered but tried my best to stay still. I knew the more I moved around, the more they would try to do it and the worse it would be.

After a few seconds, she pulled it out. "We're at 105.2. I'm going to go get some Tylenol for Jake to take. Hopefully, this can lower his temperature a bit."

105.2 seemed really high. I knew I wasn't feeling well but I couldn't believe my temperature had spiked to be so high so fast. I thought it might have taken longer.

We waited for Dr. Simmons to get the medicine. Thankfully, she either wasn't busy or was focused on us because she only took a minute to get the medicine. She came back in with a small clear cup in her hand. The liquid in the cup was red.

She grabbed a plastic cup from the counter and ran the cold water at the sink. She filled the cup with water and then carried both cups over to me. "Jake, here's your medicine. I need you to take it so we can get you feeling better again."

Eric pulled my binky from my mouth so Dr. Simmons could help me take the medicine. She tilted the cup back until all the medicine was gone.

It tasted like cherry cough syrup and I didn't like it at all. I never liked taking cough syrup when I was younger.

I started to cry almost immediately after swallowing the medicine. Dr. Simmons tried to get me to drink the water so it would wash down the bad taste in my mouth but I didn't want anything she was giving me.

I turned my head away and hid my face in Eric's chest.

"Jake, it's just water," She said.

"It's okay, Jake," Eric said.

I slowly pulled back so I could see the cup Dr. Simmons was holding. I needed to be sure it wasn't more medicine.

She gave me a smile and handed me the cup.

I took a small sip of the water before handing it back to her. I put my binky back in my mouth and got comfortable against Eric's chest once more.

"It'll take about fifteen to twenty minutes before the medicine kicks in. I'll be back to check and see where the temperature is at then."