Page 47 of Judge Me Not

She swallows hard. "The full amount?"

"Yes."

She quickly types, swipes my card in the machine, and surprise appears on her face when the approval pops up on the screen. A stack of papers print, and she grabs them. She pulls the bottom page out. "I assume you don't want to go over each charge?"

I shake my head. "No, ma'am."

She puts an X on a line. "Sign here, please."

I sign then give her my business card. "Please change the billing for Abby to me. Here's my information."

"Yes, sir."

"Thank you." I turn and go back to the eighth floor. I find the room Abby and Jasmine are in. The door is closed, but the curtain is open. It's dark, aside from a small, dim light. Jasmine lies on the bed. Abby is curled up asleep. Jasmine stares at the wall in front of her, wiping her face.

My heart beats harder as I watch them. Abby has to lose her fever for forty-eight hours to start the treatment. There isn't any way for me to make it happen. I'm not sure what to do to help Jasmine.

My mom appears at some point and puts her arm around me. "I heard you pissed some board members off."

I grunt. "That's why you're the one who deals with them and not me."

"You did good. And I'm still the nice one," she teases.

"Thank God for that," I mutter.

We stay silent for a while, watching through the glass.

"Have you talked to her?" my mom asks.

"No. She didn't tell me about Abby."

"Why do you think she didn't trust you with this information?"

I cringe as I focus on the ceiling. I finally admit, "I didn't show her the best side of me when we met."

"Ahh. I see."

"I've made a lot of stupid decisions in my life, but this one..." I shake my head, watching Jasmine kiss Abby's head. "I'm not sure how to make up for it."

My mom squeezes her arm around my waist. "Life is short. If anyone knows that, it's us. But Jasmine does, too. You have a good heart, but sometimes, your ego gets in the way. I suggest you grovel. It typically worked well when your father would do it."

More dread washes over me. "I don't think any amount of groveling will make what I did right."

My mom releases me. "Try it. I saw how she looked at you. You might be surprised." She kisses me on the cheek and leaves.

I don't move. At some point, Jasmine glances over at the glass and sees me. When she looks away, my heart rips again. But I don't leave. I stay there all night until Cee Cee comes and tells me she needs to talk to me with Dr. Plax.

10

Jasmine

Exhaustion sets in,and I fall asleep. When I wake up, the sun is shining into the room. Cee Cee sits next to the bed with coffee.

"What time is it?" I whisper, not wanting to wake Abby up.

"Seven. Abby's been fever-free for the last three hours."

I exhale in relief. She's not out of the woods. We've been down this road before where it dips then comes back with a vengeance. But all I can do is hope it doesn't spike again.

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