Page 60 of The Complication
“But how did she…” I shook my head, words failing me. This didn’t make any sense. Franks always did such an amazing job of making sure the house remained spotless. The maid service that came twice a week cleaned and sterilized everything and Franks did some light touch-up the rest of the time. Could I have brought it into the house from the office that made her sick?
“It’s probably from daycare.”
Shit. I’d forgotten that Parker was putting her in daycare three or four days a week, so he had time to work and she had a chance to socialize.
“Of course, she could have picked it up on our weekend excursions,” he continued. “It’s how things go. I’m sorry I missed your calls and that you were worried.”
“No, I’m sorry that I lost my temper. I?—”
My words cut off when I saw Parker’s eyes go impossiblywide. He straightened from his slouch and slapped his hand over his mouth. Before I could even ask him what was wrong, Parker bolted into the bathroom attached to the master bedroom and slammed the door shut behind him.
What the…
I walked toward the bathroom and raised my hand to knock on the door. Violent retching echoed through the tiled room and seeped under the door, stopping my hand. Parker was sick.
“Parker?”
A low moan echoed through the room and just as I was reaching for the doorknob, he said, “Don’t come in!” Which was followed by more retching.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No.”
My heart squeezed. He sounded so miserable.
“Are you sure? I can get you a damp cloth. Rub your back,” I offered.
“No, don’t come in. I’m disgusting.”
“That’s doesn’t matter. I’m worried.”
There was a long silence where I could only hear his heavy breathing and maybe some dry heaving.
“Can you…can you get me a change of clean clothes? I need to borrow your shower. And can you watch Joy until I’m out?”
“Got it! Don’t worry!” I ran as quietly as I could to Parker’s room and dug through his drawers, locating a clean pair of briefs, a T-shirt, and the softest pair of sleep pants he owned. Since he was sick, he was going to need to be as comfortable as possible. And if he needed to go to the doctor, they would have to deal with him being in pajamas.
Clothes in hand, I jogged to the bathroom and put my ear to the door, but heard nothing. “Parker, I’ve got your clothes. Are you okay?”
“I wanna die,” he moaned. His voice had a weird echo toit, like his face was in the toilet. “My poor baby. My poor baby has this, and she must be so miserable.”
“Honey, it’s okay. Franks and I will take care of Joy. She’s still sleeping. Do you need help getting into the shower or washing?”
“No. But try to keep Franks and Donovan away from Joy. I don’t want them catching this too. I’m sorry to expose you. It’s not fair. If you wanna leave…”
My heart was breaking. Apparently, when Parker was sick, he turned weepy and sad. All I wanted to do was charge into the bathroom and hold him, but I had a feeling if I went in there while he was a mess, I’d only make him feel more miserable.
“I’m not leaving you. Don’t worry about me. I’m putting your clothes outside the bathroom door. You get cleaned up. I’ll go check on Joy.”
“Mmkay…” Parker mumbled.
Before heading to Joy’s room, I darted into my closet long enough to change out of my suit and into a T-shirt and shorts I saved for my workouts. They were comfortable, and I didn’t mind ruining them. As I passed the bathroom door, it sounded like Parker was at least moving around. The toilet flushed and the water for the shower turned on.
In Joy’s room, everything was still peaceful. She was asleep in her bed, but her round cheeks seemed extra flushed. Laying my hand on her forehead, I found she was warm, but not horribly so. Maybe the medicine was already helping.
Except I didn’t know what medicine she needed, how much, or how often.
And did I need to get medicine for Parker?
