Chapter 13
When Alex woke, her throat felt like she was trying to swallow razor blades.
“Ooooh”, she groaned and sat up. Even that slight noise hurt like a mother. She was freezing even in her typical sleep attire of sweats, thermal socks, and thick sweatshirt. The four blankets piled on top didn’t help either.
Ffffffuck! It was official. She was sick. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she saw that it was just past eleven. She was usually up by nine on her days off. Groaning, she jerked the covers over her head and huddled deeper not wanting to get up but knowing she needed to hit the CVS for something to make her feel better. Honestly, she doubted she’d be able to muster up the energy to get her ass out of bed at this point.
Two hours later, Alex was standing in line at the CVS hugging the biggest bottle of generic Nyquil she could find to her chest. When it was her turn to be checked out, Alex glanced down at the clerk’s hands. They were covered in tattoos that looked like sad stories, all faded and tired looking, much like the woman herself.
Without looking up, the clerk checked her out and muttered, “Here’s your change, hon.” She held out Alex’s change, and when Alex snagged it, she felt compelled to warn the woman.
“Sanitize.”
When the clerk looked at her, Alex jerked her chin toward the bottle of hand sanitizer beside the register. “Better safe than sorry.” Just muttering those few words sent fire ripping down her raw throat. Still, Alex managed to wince out a grin.
When the woman smiled appreciatively at Alex, it changed her appearance entirely. Gone were the dour lines around her mouth and a warm glint actually filled her eyes.
“Thanks, hon.” The clerk pumped three squirts of the sanitizer into her hands. “Can’t afford to be getting sick.”
Too afraid to speak, Alex nodded. The last thing she wanted was to get anyone else sick.
The woman stared at Alex, and for a moment it felt like they were just two downtrodden, hard-working, kindred spirits. The clerk chucked her chin at Alex by way of salutation and Alex threw her a little wave before taking her drugs and hustling home.
***
Three hours later, Alex was ripped from her Nyquil coma by a loud pounding on her door.
“Alex!”
She recognized Recker’s voice but felt too groggy to get up and stumble to the door. Hell, her throat hurt so badly now that she winced when she swallowed knowing she couldn’t even call out if she wanted to.
Letting her head slump back on the bed, Alex closed her eyes and heaved a wheezy sigh as she snuggled deeper into her covers. Oh well. He’ll go away.
But he didn’t. Recker kept right on pounding on her door until she was forced to crack one eye open to scowl at where the offending noise was emanating from. For two whole seconds, she considered getting up and answering the door. She shot that idea down quickly though because A, she felt too shitty to move and B, she knew she looked like hell warmed over.
“I can hear you breathing in there,” Recker growled on the other side of the door.
She rolled her eyes and turned to face the wall.
“I’m coming in in two seconds if you don’t answer me.”
She shook her head slightly, satisfied that he wouldn’t dare break her doorknob a second time.
Recker quieted only a moment before there was the sound of grinding metal.
Ghaaa! Alex jerked the covers up over her head hoping he’d think she was asleep and just go.
“Alex?”
When she stayed huddled in her cocoon, Recker demanded, “Alex! Are you alright?”
Fffffuck! Yanking the covers down, she shoved her hair out of her face and frowned over her shoulder at him. She wanted to yell at him, to tell him to go away, but her throat hurt too badly, so she just kept right on scowling at him.
“Alex! What’s wrong?”
She pointed at her throat, and when Recker shook his head, she pointed at the bottle of Nyquil on the floor beside her cot.
“Sick? You’re sick?”
Asshole almost sounded relieved. Without acknowledgment, Alex slumped back onto her bed.
“What can I do?” He asked from behind her. “I don’t know what to do for this. We don’t get sick,” he mumbled the latter as if he were talking to himself.
Swallowing hard, Alex had to grip her throat at the pain the action caused.
“Shit!” Recker knelt beside the cot. “You’re really sick!”
“Go,” Alex croaked.
“What?” Recker’s brows shot up. “I’m not going. I’m not leaving you like this!”
She wanted to rage that she was just sick and it’d pass, but she didn’t have the energy or the will.
“I’m contacting Jenny.”
Alex only knew who Jenny was because Stoney worked as Jenny’s nurse. It was fine with her if he wanted to get professional advice, but she doubted Jenny would give him any direction beyond fluids and rest.
The room was quiet though. Alex rolled over to see if Recker had left to make a phone call, but he was standing quietly in the middle of her apartment staring unseeingly at the wall. She knew what this was. Stoney had told her about the Walkers’ ability to speak to each other telepathically.
Recker blinked and then looked at her. “Do you have a fever?”
She shrugged because who the hell knew. She didn’t own a thermometer, and with the arctic temperature in the room and the furnace beneath all her blankets, there was no way to know. All she knew was that she was freezing. She was always freezing, but that didn’t explain the sheen of sweat that clung to her skin.
Frowning hard, Recker stomped to her and lifted a palm to her forehead. “Any vomiting or diarrhea?”
Alex jerked away from his hand and glared up at him.
“What? We’re all adults! Jenny needs to know!”
Alex let her expression soften a little before she shook her head.
“Coughing, runny nose?”
Alex pointed at her nose.
“Runny nose?”
She nodded.
He zoned out staring at the wall again before blinking then turning to look at her. “Have you taken anything?”
Alex pointed down at the bottle of Nyquil on the floor.
“Anything else?”
She shook her head, not wanting to wrench her poor throat with the bloated details of how she’d been taking Zicam swabs for the previous four days.
“Have you eaten?”
And of course, even ill, her body could still rally up enough blood for a hard blush.
“Alex?”
She shook her head and knew she was in trouble when Recker’s lips thinned into a grim line.
“Is that because you haven’t been hungry or because you don’t have any food in this damn place.”
She just shrugged.
“Goddamn it, Alex!” He stomped to her fridge and jerked it open. “There’s nothing in here!” He jerked a cupboard open. “Or in here!” He slammed the cupboard and opened another before slamming it too. “And it’s fucking freezing in here.”
Alex, who’d been watching him nose around her apartment, let her body fall back onto the bed before lifting a hand and resting the back of her hand on her forehead. She felt like grit, and she didn’t need Recker pointing out how poor she was on top of it. With a sigh, she lowered her hand and pointed at the door.
“No! Hell no, I ain’t leaving. What I am gonna do is go downstairs and have a talk with your landlord. A talk I should have had with that prick the first day I stepped into this godforsaken icebox!”
That had Alex jerking up in bed. The movement was too quick though and had her groaning as her head swam and stars exploded in her sight.
“Shhhit!” Recker hissed. “Okay, okay,” he placated holding out his hands. “I won’t. I won’t! Just…lay back down.”
She didn’t need the invitation though. Her body flopped bonelessly onto the bed. She ached to tell Recker to get the hell out so she could sleep. But he was pacing now and nodding. It almost looked like he was listening to someone on the phone, but there was no phone.
Alex tracked him with her eyes until they began to droop. When he finally stopped and turned to face her, she was well on her way back to her Nyquil coma.
“Alex? I’m taking you out of here.”
She shook her head as best she could and wondered if she managed even the slightest of movement at all.
“Tough shit, little one, it’s happening.”
He disappeared out the front door though and alone in her apartment, Alex wondered if she’d hallucinated the whole thing.
Recker was back a few minutes later. Wrapping her in blankets, he lifted her off her cot and carried her from her apartment.