Fiction.

Chapter 34: Wheezy.

Chapter 34: Wheezy.

The pail of her face made her ash cheeks look sunken in. The hint of lavender on her eye lids fluttered as she dreamed sickened. Her pail blue lips were thin and chapped. With every gasp for hair she took my heart would pump coldly. There was something poetic about the way she looked, like a lustful mysterious woman from a romance novel or someone right from an Edgar Allan Poe book. It’s all by the way she looked; dead. Her long dark hair was curly and basked in sweat as it hung over the grey pillow. She skin was ashy white with hints of lavender and pail blue. If she hadn’t been wheezing and gasping in her sleep I would’ve been driven up the walls with worry.

I hovered over her bedside like a mother hen; I just stuck the aspirator mask over her heavily breathing mouth and fetched the thermometer from her pail lips. When I pulled the devise from her mouth her bottom lip hit her gums with a ‘plop’.

I examined the devise carefully and cocked an eye brow cheekily as I gazed down at the heavily breathing girl; with every breath she took a mist would come out of the mask like a light fog. Her breathing was wheezing and light coughing.  

“-’I’m fine, dad’.”

“-‘No need to call the Doctor dad, it’s just the cold.’” I copied her words mockingly as I went over to the window to open it. Those were the last words she said before she got really sick. I felt foolish for believing her.

I pulled the curtains open; the grey light fell into the room brightly. I opened the window widely, it was chilly outside. I sighed heavily as I looked back at her and frowned She had a fever of 102 and she needed the aspirator on full blast. Last night she was using her inhalers 24/7, she was in a cold sweat and by the sound of it she had a tickle-cough. She went down hill very fast.

I shivered as the cool November air swept off the coast, crawling up my spine. It was a cold day, last night it had rained heavily and today it was windy and cold. She needed to have that fever come down so I shed off some of the quilts and opened a window. My gaze drifted from the wheezing teenager to the doorway where Matt and Brian stood. Their expressions were worrisome. They’d only seen Peasnie two nights ago when I believed it was just a cold, how naive of me.

“I was going to ask how she was doing, but clearly not well.” Brian uttered softly, his dark gaze met with mine. I nodded and showed them to the living room. I was apprehensive about leaving her alone but I put a baby monitor on her nightstand and I had one attached to my pants, the monitor tugged my jeans down slightly and it was noticeable from under my shirt.

I paced around the living room nervously, my steps quick and short. Brian and Matt stared at me from the couch as I contemplated quietly, listening to the heavy breathing. It freaked me out a bit, less than 24 hours ago she was running around with a slight cough. She had tons of energy, like a puppy that got into the sugary cereal. Now she doesn’t even have enough energy to drink half a glass of water. 

“You should take her to the Doctor’s.” Matt stated the obvious. I scowled silently and nodded. I walked over to the lounge chair and threw my body into its softness. I reached over to the table and picked up the phone that I had to replace after what happened. I slowly pressed the numbers. It rang twice before a nasally female voice answered happily.

“Huntington Beach Medical Clinic, how can I help you?” She asked curiously. I swallowed hard and stared at the floor.

“Hello, I’d like someone to come make a house call.” I replied slowly and anxiously. She asked me who was sick, what the symptoms were and what my details were. The doctor’s going to be here within the hour. I was anxious to what he’ll say about Peasnie’s sickness. I pray to God it’s nothing serious.

Matt and Brian looked at me anxiously. I sighed heavily and placed the phone on the table carelessly. I didn’t want to have to go out and buy a new phone, again.

“He’ll be here in an hour.” I said coldly. They exchanged glances before looking at me with wide horrified eyes. The deep wheezing turned into short and loud hacking sounds. The coughing was lung deep and dry. It scared me to the core. Listening to the gasps for air in between the gasps made my heart stop and the blood in my veins run cold. I felt like curling up in a ball and crying, she was sick and I didn’t know what to do. I’m a horrible parent. I’m unfit and they’ll take her away from me. I can’t have that again, I can’t lose her all over again. I just can’t handle it.

“How can you handle this without being driven insane?” Brian asked curiously. I shook my head slowly and sank into the chair.

“It’s killing me to not know what’s wrong with her.”

“Don’t worry, she’ll be fine.”Matt reassured. I bit at the tip of my thumb and nodded carefully. How can she be this ill in such short time? She was healthy on Monday then she came home from school she wasn’t feeling very well, just a little dizzy. How did this happen so soon? Today is Wednesday. This is insanity.

“I’m worried she’ll damage herself coughing like this.” I muttered ungratefully. They nodded in agreement and remained silent. So much for going into the studio today, if we keep having set backs like these we’re not going to make the dead-line in the summer. And it’ll be my fault, I’ll be letting my fans down and that aint cool, family may come first but I think they’ll be a bit pissed off. I know our fans, they can only so understand.

Within the hour the Doctor was here, he told me he needed to see Peasnie, alone. I didn’t question him so I waited in the living room with Brian and Matt anxiously waiting for the verdict. It seemed to take ages for him to examine her. I was so scared to find out what’s wrong with her. She seemed so weak and defenceless. I can barely sit here and wait while he gets to know what’s wrong with her.

“I really wish he’d hurry up.” I grunted into the back of my hand. Matt nodded and Brian shifted in his place. The old Doctor came down the stairs looking all wrinkled and professional. His snowy white hair was combed back and his deep brown eyes were framed by thick glasses. He came down the stairs in a white jacket and kakis. A black leather bag was gripped in his hands. He frowned at me as I jumped to my feet nervously. My heart was beating inside my chest rapidly.

“So what’s wrong with her?” I asked quickly. Matt and Brian rolled their eyes at me and groaned.  I shot them a narrowed gaze before returning my contact to the Doctor. He wheezed slightly and cleared his throat.

“She has a minor chest infection caused by the common cold.” He said gruffly. I sighed and fell back slightly. My hands rubbed my cheeks slightly and a smile played my lips. He pulled out a note pad and wrote something on it. He ripped the white lined paper off the pad and handed it to me with an eased smile.

“Here is a prescription for some antibiotics. She’ll need to take two pills, three times a day.” He added before leaving. I smiled and flopped down into the chair with a lively laugh. Matt raised his eye brow at me with a questionable expression while Brian laughed along with me.

“Thank God.” I mumbled.