Page 63 of Longing for Liberty
“Don’t try to do anything,” he begged. “Just rest.”
“Okay.”
We stared at each other, our eyes saying all the things our mouths couldn’t. His head fell as he walked slowly from the room, leaving me. I forced down the rest of the water and burrowed again. Normally when I took meds, the fever would break in thirty to forty-five minutes and be gone for hours at a time, but without meds the fever kept going and going.
I faded into a fitful sleep and was woken by the front door opening and closing. Was Jeremy allowed to leave work early?
A short, balding man stood in the bedroom doorway, frowning at me. I quickly sat up, making the room spin.
“Well, you’re certainly flushed,” he said in a grumpy tone.
I pulled the covers up since I wore no bra under my thin nightgown.
“I’m Doctor Bradly, sent by Amos Fitzhugh.” He made no move to come into the room. “Do you have a cough?”
“No, sir.” Amos sent a doctor?
“Hm. No coughing up blood at all or mucus? Sore throat? Earache?”
“No,” I assured him. “Just a fever. And it burns when I…urinate.”
“Ah.” He stepped in now and sat on the edge of the bed, putting a thermometer under my tongue and taking my pulse. “Almost one hundred and three.” He shook out the thermometer and stuck it back into its pouch without any kind of sanitation. Ew, had anyone else used that today? Before I could contemplate how long other types of germs might be able to stay alive in that pouch, he was handing me a cup.
“I’d like to take a sample of your urine. Just to see the coloration.”
If he wanted to see the coloration, he could look in the toilet after I went, but sure. I did as I was told, though he stood in the doorway of the bathroom and gave me no privacy. I winced when it burned, and I hardly peed, despite the two glasses of water.
“I’ll be in touch,” the doctor told me as he took the sample and left.
I walked my shivering self to the kitchen where I drank another glass of water and poured one to take back to the bedroom for more fitful sleeping.
When would this fever ever break? I was so cold and wished I had three more blankets, though in my brain I knew I was actually very hot. Way too hot. I began to dream scary things, short scenes like snippets of horror movies, jolting myself awake with gasps and shouts.
I barely registered the doctor there again, and the shot he administered to my arm.
“Sleep as much as you can,” he told me. “I’ve dosed you with a vitamin concoction, and I’m leaving an herbal supplement for you to take twice a day. You must be quite themaidto have one of the Three concerned for you.” I didn’t miss the snideness in his tone or the implication that he believed he knew exactly what I was up to.
I looked away from him as he gruffly continued. “The State does not have the resources to give supplements to everyone, so do not be boastful. This will stay between me, you, and your employer, or you will risk punishment. You have been blessed today, and don’t forget it. Sit up and take this.”
“Thank you,” I whispered as I struggled upright. I saw the look in his eyes as he handed me the large white pill and glass of water.Jezebel. He left me there, and I was too out of it to be offended. I almost immediately curled up and fell asleep again.
When I woke feeling the side of a gentle finger stroking my cheek, I was confused about where I was and how much time had passed, and why I was completely soaked. I reached up and touched my hair, which felt as if I’d just showered. And I was so freaking hot. I kicked weakly to shove off the blankets.
“Hey, hey,” Jeremy whispered, helping me where my legs were slightly tangled with the sheet. “You okay? Your fever broke.”
Oh, thank God. I blinked up at him and felt a gooey sensation at the sight of his smile.
“Hi,” I whispered.
He held out a mason jar of red juice. “I got you something. Can you sit up?” He reached under me and helped me up. “It’s cranberry juice.”
I made a small gasp because juice was a luxury. “Wait, how…?” I looked at his bashful face. “You used the savings?”
“Don’t worry,” he told me. “This is what the savings is for. Emergencies. I also got us some bean soup.”
My eyes burned as he handed me the jar and spotted the small white bottle beside me.
“What’s this?”
