Saving Ant and Sarha

Sick Day

The next day Sarha stayed locked up in her room. Ant was still quiet and distant. He spent majority of the day in his room also. Anne and Alph had both tried to talk to them but they had no such luck. Dec alternated between staying with Ant and staying with Sarha. He would leave Ant so he could eat lunch then go back and stay with him until dinner. After dinner he would go up to Sarha's room and stay  with her until she fell asleep.

When it came time for bed, Dec wordlessly led Sarha to his room but before he could reach the door Sarha pulled from his grasp. He looked at her in confusion.

"I can sleep by myself tonight."

"Are you sure? I don't mind giving up my bed for another night."

"I'm sure. I'll be fine." she stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight." 

"Goodnight."

********

In the middle of the night, Sarha woke up feeling as though she had been hit by a bus. Her head was pounding, her eyes felt droopy, and her limbs felt wobbly and weak. She looked at the clock on her night table. In neon red lights it flashed 1:56 AM.

After a few minutes of arguing with herself, she slipped out of bed. She steadied herself with the bedpost, a wave of vertigo coming over her. She took a few breaths and walked into Anne and Alph's bedroom.

Sarha breathed a sigh of relief, Alph wasn't there. He must have been called in to work in the middle of the night. She stood in the doorway, debating whether or not she should wake them up.

"Sarha?" Anne sat up in bed, glancing quickly at the clock. "Sweetie, are you okay?" Sarha shook her head 'no.'

"I don't feel well." she rasped in what little voice she could muster. She had lost all use of her vocal cords after screaming and crying last night. Anne pulled back the sheets on Alph's side of the bed.

"Hop in." she said. Sarha looked at the bed and then Anne before padding across the room and climbing into the bed. Anne pulled Sarha close to her in an embrace and the child allowed it. She closed her eyes and sighed in content, relishing in the warmth Anne gave off.

"What doesn't feel good?" the woman whispered, stroking Sarha's hair.

"My head." she replied. "And my body, too."

"You must have made yourself sick with all that crying. I wonder how your brother's doing." Sarha didn't say anything for a while, but finally asked a question.

"Do you think it's okay to be sad, even if my mom did hurt me?" she asked, looking up into Anne's bluish-gray eyes. Although Anne didn't like Christine, she tried not to let it show.

"Yes, honey. Even after all the bad, she is your mother."

"I'm glad you're my mother." whispered Sarha. Anne felt tears come to her eyes.

"And I'm glad you're my daughter." Anne whispered. She smiled, feeling Sarha's tiny arms wrap around her waist.

********

Later on that morning, Anne fluttered her eyes open. She yawned and looked to her left, but Sarah was nowhere in sight. She got out of bed and walked to the bathroom door.

"Sarha?" She saw a light coming from her bathroom. She opened the door and saw Sarha, on the floor, asleep. She knelt to the ground. "Sarha, wake up." The child's eyes opened slighly.

"Hmm?"

"Honey, why are you sleeping in here?"

"Cold..." she said in a rasped voice. Anne put her hand on Olivia's head, and sure enough she was burning up.

"Sweetie," she said, "We have to go downstairs." Sarha shook her head.

"Tired..." Anne put one arm underneath Sarha's legs and one around her back. She hoisted her up and carried her down into the living room.

She set her down on the couch before going into the kitchen to grab the thermometer. She put it under Sarha's tongue gently and waited until it beeped. 101.3.

"So far you and Ant have both been sick. I'm surprised Dec hasn't caught it yet." As if by coincidence Dec walked down the stairs looking just as bad as Sarha. He was met with the sight of his mother taking a thermometer out of Sarha's ear. He furrowed his eyes.

"Are you sick too?"

"Uh-huh." Anne disappeared back into the kitchen to rinse off the thermometer. When she got back she instructed Dec to open his mouth. She then stuck the thermometer under his tongue and waited for it to beep. 

When it did she pulled it back out. 100.2. 

"Okay I'll be right back." About a couple minutes later she walked into the living room with a bottle of Children's Motrin and a spoon.

"I just got off the phone with Ms. Perry. She's going to watch you while I am at work." Dec rolled his eyes but nodded. "But for right now," she said while simultaneously opening the medicine, "You need to take this so you can feel better." Sarha crinkled her nose.

"Eww..." she reluctantly forced herself to choke down the thick liquid. Dec just pinched his nose before swallowing. Anything to block out the taste.

"Think you can walk upstairs?" asked Anne, rubbing Sarha's back.

"In a few minutes." she nodded.

"I'm going to take a shower and while I'm up there I'm going to check on your brother." announced Anne. "Yell if you need anything." she was about to walk up the stairs before a thought crossed her mind. "By the way, try to stay away from your brother. I don't need him getting sick again. Okay?" She got two nods in response.

Dec looked down at Sarha who was lying on her side.

"How do you plan on getting up those stairs if you're sick?"

"I'll walk."

"Yeah, but if you're sick-"

"I'll fly! What's with the third degree?!" Dec shrugged. Sarha sat up slowly, her eys closed. She stood up and quickly sat back down.

"Ugh..." she groaned, putting her arm over her eyes.

"If you need help..."

"I can do it myself." she insisted. She once again attempted to stand only to have her knees buckle out from under her. She hit the floor on er side.

"Ow!" Dec knelt down and flashed her a smug grin.

"Can I help you now, or do you plan on crawling upstairs?" She glared at him for a while, but finally sighed in defeat.

"Fine." Dec smiled and helped her back on the couch. Once she was seated, he turned around so that his back was to her and crouched down a little.

"Okay." he said. "Hop on." Sarha scoffed.

"You're kidding right? Not to imply I'm fat or anything, but there's no way you can carry me. You're sick too."

"Yes I can, I'm not that sick. I just have a fever." he insisted. "Get on."

"Okay..." Sarha climbed onto his back, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and her legs around his waist.

"Ready?"

"Yep." Dec stood up, picking up Sarha.

"Oh my god!" he yelled sarcastically. "What did you eat for dinner, a whale?" Sarha rolled her eyes and let out a chuckle.

"Shut up!" she giggled. Dec effortlessly carried her up the stairs, all the while cracking jokes to make her laugh.