Chapter Twelve
Eden had no idea how long she’d been asleep. When she looked out through the crack in the drapes, it was dark, so it had to have been several hours.
She pushed the comforter off herself and sat up. She waited until the dizziness faded before she got up. She walked into the bathroom, filled a cup with water, and drank it down. She filled it again and set it off to the side. Her temperature had risen, so now she had the chills and sweated so much that her clothing was wet.
She stripped, turned on the warm water, and stepped in. She didn’t wash her hair and just kept it in a bun. Even though the water was warm, when she stepped under the spray, it felt like little ice crystals were beating on her body.
She gritted her teeth against the pain and toughed it out. Not only was it washing away the sweat, but it was also hopefully bringing down her temperature. Her dizziness started again, so she turned off the water, dried herself quickly, and pulled on the robe they had on the door.
After grabbing the cup of water, she went to bed to set it on the nightstand before walking to the basket they had given her.
Her eyes widened. They had everything she might need. Every medicine she could think of, easy-to-eat food, bottles of water, thermometer, special cloths for cold compresses. It went on.
Eden cried. She was so glad she’d had her angels to take care of her. She pulled out a shirt and saw it was an extra-large t-shirt, perfect for a nightgown. She slipped the t-shirt on, and only then did she realize tears were streaming down her face. She grabbed the Kleenex, wastepaper basket, and a few things from the basket before pulling back the covers and sliding in.
The first thing she did was take a few Tylenols and make herself drink most of the bottle. The tears never stopped. She would dry her face, blow her nose, and her face stayed wet.
Eden turned, pushed her face into the pillow, and wept. She cried until she was exhausted and then fell asleep. When she woke, the sun was shining.
She remembered to text her daughters to tell them she’d be delayed, and then she called down to the front desk with the hotel phone. She didn’t want to forget and then have firemen or police officers break through the chain.
“Hello, this is Eden in Room 213.”
“Yes. Hi, it’s Robin. You don’t sound like you’re doing any better.”
Eden tried to smile. “Not yet. But I’m not getting worse. You have no idea how much you helped me. I was at the end of my rope, physically and emotionally.”
“I’m so glad I was here. Do you need anything?”
Eden thought about it. She was planning on calling down for some soft food. Her throat felt like it was on fire from the virus and the crying. “No. I can’t think of anything.”
“Well, call if you do. I’ll wait to hear from you tomorrow then. Rest as much as you can.
“I couldn’t do anything else but sleep.”
They hung up, and she set her personal phone aside. She drank more water before turning on the TV. She didn’t really want to watch anything, but she thought the sound would make her feel less lonely.
She was asleep within a minute. For the next twenty-four hours, she slept, showered, and took all the medicine she could. She did have the energy to call down to the kitchen for some broth and Jello or something soft. She stayed awake long enough to open the door and then eat a bit.
This went on for another day, and she wondered if she’d ever feel better. One morning she was woken by the hotel phone.
“Hello.”
“Eden, it’s Robin. People have been calling around trying to find you. When they called here, I told them the system was down. I wanted to talk to you first.”
Eden was confused. “I’ve already texted my daughters.”
“It’s not them. The man I talked to sounded frantic.”
Eden’s mind was still fuzzy, so she couldn’t think of who it might be. Her emotions for Cain seemed to spread, but he never entered her mind as the one looking.
“If they call again, tell them I’m here and I’m okay.”
“I’ll do that. Do you need anything?”
“No, thank you.”
“Don’t forget to eat something,” Robin said.
“I’m trying.”
“Call if you need me.”
“I will.”
Eden set the phone back into the cradle. She sat on the mattress, looking around, trying to gather her thoughts. Why hadn’t anyone called if they were looking for her? She reached for her cellphone and sighed. The battery was dead, and she hadn’t thought to charge it.
She made herself get out of bed and find it before plugging it in by the bed. She used the toilet and drank more water before letting herself lie down again. If she didn’t watch it, sleeping so much would weaken her.
She decided to call one of her daughters.
“Mom, where are you?” her oldest daughter, Madison, asked frantically.
“Sweetheart. Settle down. I’m in a hotel. I got a little bug, so they wouldn’t let me fly. Didn’t you get my message?”
“Yes, but that was three days ago.”
Oh, God. She hadn’t realized it had been that long. “I’m sorry. I hadn’t realized you guys were worried.”
“We’re not the only ones. Everyone at the ranch is looking for you,” Madison said.
“How did they even know? They knew they wouldn’t hear from me for a while.”
“Are you talking about Cain? Because he’s called several times.”
That surprised her. “What? No. Why would he do that?”
“He’s freaking out because he can’t find you. The airport just told him you hadn’t gotten on your plane. They wouldn’t allow you to fly because you’re sick. How sick are you?”
“Honey, it’s a cold. I swear you don’t need to worry.”
Madson sighed. “Mom, you always say that. You’d probably say that if you were having a heart attack.”
Eden smiled. “You’re being silly. Now, where’s your sister?”
“She had class, but she’s calling me every ten minutes.”
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t think it was a big deal. I hate that you guys wasted so much time.”
There was a pause. “Honey?” Eden thought they got disconnected.
“I’m here,” Madison said.
Eden knew that tone of voice. Her daughter was upset. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m just sad that you don’t realize how much or how many people care about you.”
Eden’s eyes filled with tears. “I … I know, Honey.”
“I have to remind myself that you’ve always been the caretaker and have never had someone take care of you when you needed it.”
Eden didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry.”
“No, Mom. I’m sorry.”
“Good heavens, why?”
“Because you thought you couldn’t call us to come and take care of you.”
“That thought never entered my mind. I knew you were there. You’ve always been there, and I know you girls would drop everything to come to me. But I seriously am doing fine, and I know I wasn’t in danger, so I didn’t want you to leave school to come here.”
She waited for a moment. “Do you understand, Honey?”
“I do. You just scared us. Scared everyone. Cain was going to go to the police to fill out a missing person’s report.”
Oh, for God’s sake.
“Mom, you need to call him,” Madison said. “It sounds like he cares for you a lot.”
“I’ll get in touch with him. How about I call you guys when they let me fly?”
“Okay. We’ll come and get you. Don’t be surprised if Chloe calls you crying.”
Jesus. She was ashamed of herself for scaring so many people. “I’ll have the phone charged and by my side.”
“Do you think it will be tomorrow?”
“No, my head is really congested, and I know it would be painful to fly like that. It will be soon. I promise.”
“You better, young lady,” Madison said in a deep voice.
Eden chuckled. “When did you become the parent?”
Madison giggled. “I think I’ll make a great parent, but I’ll practice on you first.”
Eden rolled her eyes. “We’ll see about that. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Mom. See you soon.”
“Absolutely.”
Eden set her phone aside. She debated calling Cain right then, but she was getting tired and couldn’t keep her eyes open.