Page 58 of Break

Flopping back onto her pillow, she lets her eyes fall shut once more, croaking out, “Thank you.”

“What hurts, Mina? What are your symptoms?” Max asks, and she jolts, clearly surprised to hear his voice.

Opening her eyes again, she looks between Max and me before answering weakly, her voice a bit hoarse. “I’ve got a headache, body aches… and I’m just so,sotired…” Her voice drifts off like she’s falling back to sleep and my concern grows.

“Do you have a doctor you normally see?” Max prods gently, not wanting to keep her awake, but needing the answer. I didn’t think to ask about that, so I’m glad he’s here.

“I think so…” she mumbles out, then slurs, “Don’t remember…”

Max and I exchange a troubled glance. As I reach out and stroke my fingers over her hair, he nods in her direction. “Try to find out who it is from her and give them a call. I’ll warm up some soup and grab an extra blanket for her.”

“Crackers too,” I add as he leaves the room quickly, on a mission to do what he can to make her feel better.

“Mina, can you try to focus for me? When you’ve had appointments before, who did you see?”

“Umm…” She crinkles her forehead as she tries to remember. “It’s the same one Danny went to. A guy. Maybe Pallen, or Paulin?” That’s enough for me to work it out. Our area isn’t huge so I’m sure there aren’t a ton of doctors in the area. Searching local doctors, I scroll through until I find a Doctor Gregory A. Pauplin.

“Pauplin? Does that sound right?” I ask her.

“Yeah,” she mumbles out.

Taking a screen shot of the information, I send it to Max and then tuck my phone away.

I don’t move from my spot, choosing to stay where I’m at and continue to run my fingers through her hair. My heart softens a bit when she leans into my touch, so I slow down the movement and feel confident in touching her a bit more firmly.

“I don’t want to be a burden,” she whispers. She had been silent for the few minutes after Max left, and I’m surprised to hear her voice, thinking she was asleep.

Leaning forward, I whisper back, “You’re not a burden. Just rest and let the meds work for you. One of us will always be around in case you need something.”

Nodding slowly, she drifts off fully this time. I keep up my movements for a while, then slowly slip off the bed to go find the guys. Low murmuring from the kitchen guides me there, where I find Max warming up the soup at the stove and Vincent leaning against the counter as they talk. Most likely about Mina.

When Vincent sees me, he stands up straighter. “How is she?” he asks immediately, his own concern for her etched all over his face.

Heading to the fridge, I pull out a couple bottles of water and the jug of orange juice. I want to keep the water on hand for her, so she stays hydrated, and maybe the orange juice will give her a little boost. “She’s asleep. Did you call the doctor?” I ask Max, busying myself by filling up the glass and then looking for a tray to carry everything back upstairs.

“Left a message. Just waiting for them to call back. Wonder where she picked up the bug.”

“What do you think she’s got?” I ask, hoping they don’t think it’s anything too serious.

“She probably picked it up at the hospital, maybe? But her body has been through a pretty big trauma, so her immune system may be bogged down, letting this take over. She’s got what? A headache, fever, body aches?” Vincent asks me, and when I nod yes, he considers it. “Sounds like the flu. There’s not much you can do but treat symptoms. Gotta take her in if her fever gets too high and keep fluids in her so she doesn’t get dehydrated.”

I raise my brow at him. “How do you know all this?”

Laughing, he leans back against the counter again, crossing his ankles. “Dude, when one person in my family got sick, theyallgot sick. My mom was a champ at nursing us all back to health.”

“Alright Doctor Mercer, you just got added into the rotation,” Max snarks back at him.

Chuckling, Vincent grins at him. “Wouldn’t have it any other way. One of us should get a nap in today so they can stay up tonight with her.”

“I will.” I’m quick with my response and both Max and Vincent eye me curiously.

Looking at me like he knows something, Vincent’s lip tilts up in a half smile. “Okay, big man. You can have the nighttime snuggles. I’m gonna get them this morning.” Grabbing the tray I’ve set out on the table, he runs off and goes up to Mina’s room for Mina-sitting duty.

“I’m going to run to the store and grab shit she might need. Text me if you think of anything,” I tell Max, then pick up my keys and head out the door.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It’s been thirty-six hours of watching Mina fight off the damnable flu, and I’ve hated every fucking second of it. She’s so goddamn miserable, it’s making me want to punch something that I can’t make it stop for her.

---