Page 62 of Spotlight
14
OLIVIA
The relief I feel at seeing Greer is palpable. She’s snuggled up in her bed, eyes closed. Her ever-present Bunny is next to her. So is the pink bouncy ball Flynn won for her.
Flynn. I think I thanked him for tonight and getting me here so quickly, but it’s a little bit of a blur. The second he pulled up, I was out of the truck and rushing to get to Greer. Flynn followed me up to the apartment and is talking with Sabrina and Archer in the kitchen as I look in on my daughter. The floor creaks as I step closer and her eyes open.
“Momma,” she says, voice scratchy, then she coughs.
“Oh, baby.” I move to her, sitting on the edge of the bed and placing the back of my hand on her forehead. She’s warm and sticky.
“My throat hurts.”
“I know. I’m so sorry.”
She coughs again. Big, body-wracking sounds that make my heart hurt.
“I’m going to get you some medicine, okay? I’ll be right back.”
I’m in autopilot as I leave her room. I head to my bathroom in search of medicine. I find a nearly empty bottle of children’s Tylenol and some cough drops. I take them with me to the kitchen, then search in the cabinets.
“How can I help?” Sabrina asks. “What do you need?”
I stop my rummaging only long enough to give her an appreciative smile. “Nothing. I’ve got it. Thank you for looking after her.”
“Of course. I’m so sad she’s not feeling well. Do you think it’s strep?”
“I hope not, but I’ll probably make an appointment with the doctor tomorrow just in case.” I close another cabinet.
“What are you looking for?” Flynn asks.
I feel a flicker of disappointment about the way our date ended. We were having such a nice time and now he’s getting a good, hard look at what it’s really like to date a single mom. I doubt he’s going to ask me out again.
“I thought I had cough syrup, but I guess not,” I say.
“We can go get some,” Sabrina offers, and Archer nods his agreement.
“No. Really. You’ve done enough. I have Tylenol and I can Instacart anything else I need.”
No one looks like they’re going to budge.
“Go home before you’re all contaminated.” I step forward and hug Sabrina, then Archer.
“Hope she feels better,” Archer says.
“Text me if you need anything,” Sabrina adds.
I start to move toward Flynn to say goodbye to him too, but Greer calls out for me.
“Thank you, guys,” I say to them and lift a hand in a wave. I let my gaze linger on Flynn a little longer than the others before I turn to head back to Greer’s room.
Once I give her some Tylenol and crawl into bed beside her, Greer falls right asleep. I lie there, listening to her breathe and letting her sticky forehead rest against my arm.
I should get up and order some more medicine, maybe some food with it. My stomach growls. Slowly, I inch away from my daughter, careful not to wake her, then tiptoe out of her room. I leave the door open, only a crack, and let out a breath.
It feels like it’s been hours since I got home but a glance at the clock on the coffee pot says it’s only eight o’clock.
I pull my hair back into a ponytail and pad to the refrigerator to look for something to eat. I’m starving. The food at the skating rink seems like days ago.
