Surviving the Harrison Boys (Re-write)

thirty-five // the war begins

The ride home mainly consisted of Hanna and Liam asking Joel about Minnesota and his family and whatnot. Jake, Jack, and I simply listened.

"Mom?" Jack had cut her off mid-sentence.

"Yes, sweetheart?" She looked at him in the rear view mirror.

"Can you pull over?" Jack leaned forward and clutched his stomach. "I think I'm gonna throw up."

Hanna pulled over almost instantly, and Jack basically leapt from the car and emptied the contents of his stomach on the side of the road. I cringed and looked away.

Jake climbed out of the car and went over to his twin, patting him on the back. Hanna went out there, too. Liam turned to me. "What's going on with him?"

"Jake thinks it's the flu." I explained. "He said Jack threw up at the airport."

"Maybe him being sick is causing him to be agitated?" Liam suggested.

"Which is causing him to lash out." I sighed. "I don't know, maybe. Does Jack usually get that pale when he gets sick?"

"Not that I've seen before. The kid looks like a ghost." Liam cringed as Jack threw up again.

"How much longer to the house?" Joel asked.

"About half an hour." Liam replied.

Joel tsked. "There's no way he's gonna make it home without us having to pullover again."

It was quiet after that. Jack went into another fit of vomiting, and the three of us actually had to turn our heads away.

An idea popped into my head. "Hey, remember that football game you played where you got a really bad concussion and wouldn't stop throwing up?"

Joel winced. "Don't remind me."

I smacked his arm lightly. "What was that thing your mom did to your wrist or something to like, basically pause the puking until we got you to a hospital?"

He thought for a moment. "Acupressure?"

"Yes!" I unbuckled my seatbelt and got out of the car. Jack was standing upright, one hand on his stomach and the other scratching his neck furiously.

"Give me your hand, Jack." I said. He gave me the one on his stomach first. "If this works, I'm pretty sure we'll be able to get you home without having to stop."

"What is it?" Hanna asked as she watched me find the spot. I found the two tendons and placed my thumb on the spot, then started to rub in circular motions.

"Acupressure," I said, "if I'm doing this right, then the stimulation should send signals to his spinal chord and brain, and they'll release chemicals into his bloodstream to help his body fight off the nausea and vomiting."

Hanna and Jake both looked at me in shock. I shrugged with a weary smile. "I'm a bit of a science freak."

After what felt like two and a half minutes, I did the same to his other wrist for the same amount of time. When finished, I gently placed both his hands at his sides. "How do you feel?"

Jack was quiet for a moment. Finally, he opened his mouth and spoke. "I think I'm okay."

"Think you can make it home?" Hanna asked him. He shrugged.

"That's good enough for me. Let's go." Jake helped him into the car. We climbed in after him, and as soon as Jake shut his door, Hanna put the car in drive and sped home. Luckily Jack didn't throw up again, which meant I had done something right.