Filed To Story: Secret Shifters Next Door Series PDF Free
Then a thought occurred to me. Emily. She was the closest thing I had to a friend here. As little as I wanted to impose on someone I’d just met, I wanted my girls to find me like this even less. Chills were creeping back into my joints, and I tried to find my pajamas and panties again as I grabbed my phone from the nightstand.
I texted Emily, telling her I was sick and asking if she could come over and help me. To my surprise, she responded within a minute, asking for my address. She didn’t even ask what was wrong; she was eager to come help. Gratefulness washed over me, so strong that my eyes welled with tears. I sent her my address and told her not to worry about getting here in a hurry and to take her time.
Thirty minutes later, Emily knocked on my front door. Too tired and weak to make it back downstairs, I called out to her. “Come in.”
Thankfully, the house and neighborhood were quiet, and she heard me. Emily appeared in my room a few seconds later, carrying a bag of groceries.
Her eyes went wide when she saw me. “Harley, no offense, but you look like absolute shit.”
I gave her a tired smile. “Thanks. You’re pretty hot yourself.”
“Sorry. I brought some stuff. I wasn’t sure what you’d need.” She dug in the bag and listed everything. “Cold and flu medicine, Pepto, chicken noodle soup, saltines, Gatorade, and bananas.”
“Sounds great, everything a lady needs for a full tune up,” I attempted to joke, but my voice was monotone and listless.
Emily put the bag down and pulled out the medicine. “I’ll be right back.”
She returned a few minutes later with the bright green liquid in a small plastic cup. Looking at the viscous drink made me want to hurl again. I didn’t think I could stomach it, but Emily was insistent. Thankfully, it had a minty flavor and wasn’t as thick as other medicines. It went down easily, and I lay back on the bed. Emily dug into her purse and pulled out several small bottles.
She held them up. “Essential oils. I’m not a hippy or anything, but I am a little crunchy, I guess.”
She dabbed some on my forehead and temples, then raised my shirt to drip another oil on my stomach. The smell was… weird, but it did ease my nausea. Emily had been here less than ten minutes, and I already felt better. Mentally, I congratulated myself on making at least one good decision in the last three months.
Emily pulled the chair close to the bed and smiled at me in concern. “Harley, are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital? You really don’t look good.”
I shook my head. “It’s just the flu or something. Maybe the flu and food poisoning? It’s not that serious.”
“Yeah, but it can’t be good for the baby if you can’t keep anything down. You have to think about that, right?”
She had a point. I hadn’t thought about what the tiny person growing inside me was going through, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d peed. Maybe I was dehydrated. That had to be dangerous for a fetus.
I waved at the brown shopping bag. “Can I have a Gatorade?”
“Sure.” She handed me the bottle.
I sipped at it at first, worried I would spew it back up immediately. Instead, when the lemony drink hit my tongue, a devastating wave of thirst washed over me. I was ravenous for liquid. I gulped half the bottle before Emily snatched it away.
“Hang on. Go slow,” she said with a chuckle.
I nodded. “Okay. I’m going to try to sleep. I promise, if my fever hasn’t gone down, or I get worse, I’ll go to the doctor.”
“Okay,” Emily said. “I’ll stay here as long as you need. I brought a book.”
If I’d been less exhausted, I would have thanked her, but instead, I slipped into a deep sleep. I dreamed about flapping wings and a
thwap-thwap sound all around me as I was lifted into the air. They weren’t my wings, though. At first, I couldn’t see anything or what was lifting me, then a set of gold reptilian
eyes stared at me out of the darkness. It should have been a terrifying dream, but for some reason, both things were almost comforting. It was a strange dream, to say the least.
Sometime later, I woke and found Emily still beside me. She was leaning back in the chair, her left leg draped over her right, holding the book in one hand. I felt human again, and I could tell my fever was gone, as were the body aches and nausea. There was no way I would rate myself as one-hundred percent, but based on before the nap, I was a solid eighty percent better.
When Emily noticed I was awake, she put the book on her lap and leaned forward. “How do you feel?”
Slowly sitting up to rest against the headboard, I said, “Actually? A lot better.”
Emily looked relieved but still worried. Setting the book aside, she dug into the bag and pulled out a can of soup and a pack of crackers.
“Hungry?” she asked.
My stomach rumbled, and not in a bad way. I nodded vigorously. “Yes, please.”
She handed me the crackers, then went to the kitchen to heat the soup. I had eaten half the pack and washed it down with Gatorade by the time she got back and handed me the warm bowl and spoon. I ate, groaning in pleasure between bites.
Emily placed a hand on my thigh. “Harley, I think you should think about telling Tate about the baby.”
I snapped my eyes up to her, nearly dropping the spoon into the bowl. “Absolutely not. The guy already hates me. This would just give him another reason to despise me.”
Emily sighed and shrugged. “I think he’ll be more receptive than you think. He might surprise you.”