Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 137144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
“We’ll keep a close eye on her,” he said.
Michaela sighed. “I don’t recommend it, but all right. If you can get some electrolyte drinks into her, it would help. I would love to give her an infusion with iron in it, too.”
“Did you get the results from testing those sedatives she’s been taking?”
“Not yet. Hopefully soon. Until then, we just have to wait.”
“No! Get away from me! Don’t touch me!” she screamed.
He jumped up from where he’d been napping on the chair.
Lily was thrashing around in the bed, looking agitated and upset.
“Lily! Lily, it’s a bad dream! Wake up, baby.” He brushed her hair off her face. At least she no longer had a fever. He’d been close to letting Michaela put the IV in when her fever had broken.
He’d also managed to get some electrolytes into her, which she’d kept down during one of her more lucid moments.
But they didn’t know what was wrong with her. It didn’t seem that it was influenza. It could be some sort of virus. Michaela wanted to take more blood, but he wouldn’t let her.
However, he couldn’t hold off much longer.
“No! Get them off! Get them off!” She scratched at her arms and legs. “Off! Off!”
“Baby, stop! Lily, stop! There’s nothing on you! You’re going to hurt yourself.” He attempted to pin her down only for her to let out an ear-piercing scream that shook him to the core.
What had happened to her?
Michaela ran into the room. “I need to give her something to calm her down.”
“No!” he snapped. “I won’t break her trust.”
“She’s going to hurt herself.”
“I won’t let that happen. We just need to find out what’s wrong with her.” This was the second night of this. He’d barely slept or eaten. All he could do was try his best to help her.
“This isn’t a virus,” Michaela said as Lily started to calm. “It seems more like she’s detoxing to me.”
“Detoxing?” he said as Lily fell asleep with a frown on her face. “From what?”
“Exactly,” she said. “From what?”
“You think the pills she was taking could have been something else,” he said.
Michaela gave him a worried look. He was grateful she’d stayed. There had been a number of times when he’d been out of his mind with worry over the last thirty hours and she’d kept him calm.
“I don’t know. I’ll put some more pressure on my friend.”
“Tell him I’ll pay him a healthy bonus if he gets that information to us in the next eight hours.” It was currently four in the morning so surely that wouldn’t be too hard for him to do.
Michaela left and he settled back in to watch over Lily.
She woke up with a dry mouth and a pounding headache. She was exhausted yet felt agitated.
“Hey there, how are you feeling?” Harvey asked as he appeared in front of her.
“Horrible. I don’t like this. I don’t like it at all.” A whimper escaped her.
That was embarrassing.
Sympathy filled his face. “I know. I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Michaela wants to give you an IV to help. Is that okay?”
“Michaela? The Doctor?”
“Yeah, she’s been here, monitoring you. Is it all right if she comes in to check on you?”
She nodded, then winced. “My head hurts.”
“Probably because you’re so dehydrated. I’ll get her in here, okay? And she can check you over. She might want to take a blood sample as well.”
She bit her lip. Shit. “You’ll stay with me?” She didn’t know why he made her feel safe. He shouldn’t.
“Of course.”
“Okay. Do you have any idea what’s wrong with me?”
“Not at the moment, baby. Hopefully, we’ll get some answers soon.”
He disappeared out the door, and immediately, she started to feel upset. It was ridiculous. She shouldn’t be so worried about him leaving her, or was it because she was on her own?
Maybe it was a bit of both, if she was really honest.
God, she felt so awful, as though she just wanted to itch her way out of her own skin.
When Harvey returned, an older woman was with him. She had dark brown hair threaded with gray pulled back into a bun. She was dressed in dark clothing and looked like she meant business. But as she came over to take Lily’s vitals, her hands were warm and soft.
“How are you feeling?” Michaela asked her.
“Okay,” she replied. She didn’t want to make a fuss.
Both Michaela and Harvey gave her incredulous looks, as though they couldn’t believe she just said that.
“That isn’t what you told me,” Harvey said. “Tell Michaela the truth or she can’t help you.”
Shoot, he was right. What was she doing? It was just that her mother had taught her not to make a fuss, not to speak up. She was used to making herself small, to taking care of herself when she was injured or ill.