Mythical Link ▸ Link Neal {Book One}

Seventy Five

     Jessie's eyes widened and she swallowed painfully, scooting past him to sit on the edge of the tub next to Christy. Link looked like he was so out of it, and was able to be easily manipulated by the girls without a problem.

     The both of them took an arm each and grasped underneath his armpit, Link nestled between the two of them on the floor. His head hung and his eyes drooped, but Rhett figured once he started the process he was going to be wide awake and aware of what's going on. He decided first that he was going to take a warm wash cloth with some soap to clean it out, and that's when he lathered a wash cloth up with warm water and soap. He looked at his friend warily before beginning, and Link's leg twitched before he barely had the chance to touch it.

     "Don't make me sit on you, man. I really don't want to have to sit on you," he said, trying to keep it from sounding like he was about to crack up. It sounded funny threatening Link like he was a two year old. "This isn't even the worst part," he mumbled under his breath as he began ever so lightly dabbing at the scratches. 

     Link grit his teeth together, unable to keep his leg from involuntarily twitching every time Rhett made contact with his skin. Using a light hand, he patted the soap and water in and around the wound. Then he draped the washcloth over the sink and reached for the bottle of peroxide, eyeing Link warily as he opened the bottle. The pungent alcoholic smell wafted to his nose and he scrunched it, leaning just above the wound. Link lifted his head just slightly, and he ever so slightly shook his head. 

     Rhett nodded his head in response. "Yes, I need to do this. I'm just going to pour it right on. It's gonna clear the bacteria out, and then we can bandage it up and send you on your way to bed. I'll count, okay?" 

     Link weakly shook his head again and Rhett sighed inwardly. He didn't want to do this anymore than Link wanted him to do this, but it was absolutely necessary. It seemed that the infection was making him sick, and Rhett was certain that once they cleaned it out, brought his fever down and made him rest, he will be better. 

     Rhett took a deep breath. "1," he began counting, looking up at the girls. The color had drained completely from their faces as they watched with frigid anticipation in their eyes. The both of them were gripping him by each of his shoulders, getting ready to hold him down. Then Rhett had a thought. "You know what, how about I have you pour it on Christy." 

     Christy's eyes widened and she flinched backward. "What, no!" 

     Jessie turned her head to look at Christy with an eyebrow raised, then sudden realization swept over her face. "Wait Christy, yeah. Rhett should be holding him down. He's much stronger than us." 

     Christy sucked in a few deep breaths like a suffocating fish, her eyes bugging. "F-Fine," she stammered, shakily trading places with Rhett. Link was looking at Christy, and she felt her insides instantly melt to butter. She took the peroxide from Rhett and looking into those watery, puppy looking blue eyes, she collapsed on the inside. "I can't," she mouthed, and Rhett gave her a look. He took Link by both of the shoulders while Jessie held his arm consolingly.

     "Come on, Chris," Jessie urged. "It's going to get worse if we don't." 

     Christy made a face before eyeing the bottle in her hands. She then looked into Link's eyes apologetically before beginning to tip it. Link watched with horrified eyes as the liquid made it's way to the opening of the bottle, wincing as a drop met the lip. Rhett leaned forward and wrapped his fingers around the bottle, tipping it further even more. The liquid poured out of the bottle rapidly at this point, and it nestled right into the crevice of his wound.

     Link threw his head back and cried out, Jessie's eyes widening as he struggled against Rhett's grasp. Christy jumped backward, landing on her behind. She watched with her mouth hanging open as the liquid sizzled and seemed to pop in the scratches, the crevices frothing up. Link grit his teeth and gripped onto Rhett's arms, kicking his legs about wildly. 

     It felt like somebody was holding fire to his legs, and the kicking of his legs didn't help in the slightest bit as the open air made it a lot worse. He was gasping for breath and he finally stopped fighting it, the stinging diminishing to a dull ache. He remained holding on to Rhett's arms, whimpering.

     He'd fogged his glasses up by crying about, and Christy crawled toward him and gently removed them from his face to clean them off. She placed them back on to his face and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

     "The gauze and tape is right behind you Christy," Rhett said, resting his chin on top of Link's head. Link held on to Rhett's arms for dear life as Christy reached for the gauze and the scissors behind her, cutting a square the perfect size for the wound. She laid the square onto his leg and then grabbed the tape, fixing off a few pieces to tape it down. She was so incredibly gentle, as if he was made of glass and would break if she wasn't careful. Jessie kept eyeing the doorway and listening out for any of the children, hoping they wouldn't run into the bedroom and find Link like this.

     "That should be good," she spoke quietly, eyeing him sadly. A ghost of a smile danced on Link's lips and she made a face. "What?"

     "Thanks doctor Neal," he said, and he craned his neck to see Rhett's face. Rhett broke out into a huge grin, his eyes lighting up. 

     Christy smiled big. "I think we should probably get to bed now," she said, patting his leg. Link winced and she quickly withdrew her hand with wide eyes. "Sorry, I forgot already!" 

Everyone laughed, and Rhett moved, leaving Link to try and sit up by himself. He swayed just slightly, having to hold his head for he felt like it was going to roll off of his shoulders.

     "You're gonna be needing some of this and 12 hours of sleep, buddy," Rhett said, reaching for the Tylenol. He popped the top off and poured two into his hand. He handed the two to Link and Link popped them into his mouth, swallowing. He coughed afterward, and Christy pat him on the back gently. Just out of curiosity, Rhett took the thermometer and held it out toward Link. Link opened his mouth and let it sit under his tongue, and when it beeped, Rhett promptly removed it and looked at it. His eyes widened with alarm.

     104.2. Christy and Jessie looked up at him and he looked down at them with his eyebrows furrowed. "How high is too high for a fever for adults?" 

     Jessie made a face as she racked her brain. "Between 104 and 107. Why?" 

     Rhett swallowed, feeling his stomach do a flip. He simply showed the thermometer to the girls. 

     Christy looked like she wanted to be sick. "We have to take him to the hospital."

     Rhett shook his head. "We just gave him some medicine. Let's see if that brings it down, along with some sleep. If he's not better by say-."

     "No more than three days," Jessie cut him off. "If it doesn't go away in no more than three days and it stays that high or goes higher, he could risk hyperpyrexia and that's over 107. We need to keep a close eye on him." 

     Rhett nodded his head and moved to pick Link up into his arms bridal style, since he didn't seem to be making an effort to get up and move. Rhett believed that he just lacked the energy to. The ache ripped through his lower back again at how heavy Link was, mostly due to the fever. He worked through it, straightening his back with his friend in his arms. "Grab the trash can in case he needs to vomit again. I'm laying him in the bed." 

     Christy nodded and she reached for the trash can, following Rhett into the bedroom. Rhett laid Link onto the bed and Christy came up beside him and tucked Link in. She smoothed his hair away from his forehead, feeling his hot skin against the palm of her hand. She shook her head with a sad smile, planting a kiss on his forehead. Link went cross eyed before closing his eyes, and before he knew it he was passed out cold.

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