Chapter 22 Nico
TWENTY-TWO
NICO
Two hours later, there’s nothing left for Scarlett to throw up.
Four hours later, she’s shivering with the dry heaves, tears running down her face.
And I’m starting to get really fucking worried.
It didn’t escape my attention that there was nothing for her to throw up when she started vomiting. I guessed during previous dates that she might have a bad relationship with food, but I never would’ve expected that she eats nothing the day of a date.
I try once more to get her to eat some watermelon, but she only presses her lips together and shakes her head. She’s white as a sheet and trembling. And she stopped accepting Pedialyte twenty minutes ago.
The only blessing is that she falls asleep between bouts of vomiting. For those twenty-minute periods, I cool her forehead with a damp washcloth, change the sheets she sweats through, and pace up and down the hall. I don’t like that she hasn’t been able to keep anything down in the past hour.
But it isn’t until she spikes a fever that I truly panic.
Without any hesitation, I pull out my phone and make a call.
By the time Alexander walks through my front door, Scarlett has sweat through another t-shirt. I can’t bring myself to leave her to meet him at the door.
“Nico?”
“In here,” I call out, pressing a fresh washcloth to Scarlett’s forehead.
I hear his heavy footsteps before I see him. When he stops in my bedroom doorway, I can feel the confusion radiating from him.
“Did you bring it?” I ask without looking up.
A pause, and then the thump of a bag beside the bed. “Yeah.”
“Can you—” I clear a suddenly tight throat. “Can you take a look at her? I’m pretty sure it’s just the stomach bug, but she spiked a fever, and she can’t keep any fluids down. At the very least, she needs an IV.”
Alexander appears in my peripheral, but when I look up, I’m surprised to see him studying me instead of Scarlett.
My nerves are too frazzled to deal with the questions right now. So I just stand silently and give him space to do what he needs to.
As a Marine, Alexander went through enough medical training to be the one I turn to for basic medical needs; God knows fighting has created enough situations where I’ve needed it.
And calling my brother was always infinitely easier than making a trip to the hospital.
So when I called him tonight and asked him for an IV and to bring his usual kit, he didn’t hesitate.
And to his credit, he’s not hesitating now, either. Even though I neglected to tell him that it’s not for me.
I watch as he goes through some basic checks—temperature, blood pressure, mouth and eyes—before starting to set up the IV drip.
I’ve done enough of them here that I have a somewhat-setup for it, so it doesn’t take Alexander long to have it ready.
Barely a minute later, he has the needle in Scarlett’s arm to start her rehydration.
“You’re going to need to watch her,” he says in a gruff tone. “If she tosses and turns a lot, or if she tries to jump out of bed to throw up, she might rip the IV out.”
I nod, already worried about that. I’m not going to sleep a wink tonight.
“You’re probably right that it’s the stomach bug,” he continues. “She’ll be fine, but you did the right thing calling me. She was completely dehydrated.” He sends a curious look my way. “Why didn’t you just take her to the hospital?”
I’ve been thinking about that, too. I should’ve taken her to the hospital. But she looked so small, and in so much pain, and—for fuck’s sake, she wanted me to ship her off. I couldn’t bring myself to put any amount of distance between us, even if it was an ER and a waiting room.
“I didn’t think it was worth it for just an IV,” I lie instead. But then I feel bad about how that sounds and turn toward him with a guilty wince. “Sorry, I didn’t mean I’d rather eat up your time than theirs. I just—”
“Nico. I get it.”
I swallow thickly and turn back toward her. “Yeah. I… Thanks.”
“Who is she?” he asks simply. With no judgment, no expectation.
“She’s…” Fuck, how do I describe Scarlett? “We’re dating.” Not completely accurate, but good enough. Worked with Lucas. “She lives in New York, but she came down for the night. That’s when she started throwing up.”
Alexander nods once in understanding. He doesn’t press for more details.
I turn toward him. “Thank you. For coming over so quickly.”
He gives me a shrug that I’ve learned to interpret as you’re my brother, it wasn’t a question.
“Did I pull you away from work?” I ask him. Nowadays, Alexander works for a private security firm. Some weeks his hours are odder than others.
He shakes his head. “Not tonight. I’m not back on nights until next month.”
“Shit, so I woke you up?” I didn’t even think about how late it was. “I’m sorry. I can handle it from here, you don’t have to—”
“Nico, it’s fine. Are you okay?”
I nod as I sag against my dresser. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired. Sorry.” I straighten with a groan. “Do you want a beer?”
He glances at Scarlett, taking in every detail of her current state before he turns back to me. “Sure. You should bring it in here, though. I want to make sure she’s okay before I leave.”
I clap him on the shoulder in a silent message of gratitude.
It’s nice to spend time with my brother. We don’t do it often enough. With my training schedule and his work schedule, I spend more time with Lucas than I do with Alexander.
We shoot the shit for the next hour, quietly chatting in the sitting area of my bedroom. Halfway through, Alexander gives her a second IV bag, and right before Scarlett rouses for the first time, he removes the IV entirely.
She’s not throwing up anymore, thank God, and the color is starting to return to her skin, but she’s still sweating. The second she whimpers in pain, I shoot up from my couch.
“Nico?” she whispers, blinking her eyes open. Unfortunately, her gaze lands on Alexander before it does me, and her eyes widen. She tries to scoot away, but she’s still so weak that she doesn’t make it far.
“Hey, hey, no, it’s okay,” I soothe her, kneeling beside the bed. “It’s okay, I’m here.”
As soon as her eyes focus on me, as soon as my hand touches her face, she relaxes.
“I’m so thirsty,” she croaks out.
I reach for the Pedialyte and hold the straw to her lips. “Here. Drink this.”
I stroke her hair as she takes a few weak pulls. Then she melts into the bed with a sigh and falls asleep instantly.
“Christ,” I mutter, dragging a hand down my face. I can’t contain the sound of my worry as I ask Alexander, “She’s getting better, right? I can’t tell anymore.”
“Much better,” he answers. “You’re just exhausted and worried. You should be getting some sleep, too.”
I snort at that. “Fat chance of that happening.”
When I sigh and turn back to sit on the couch again, he’s watching me with that all-seeing stare of his.
“What?” I ask defensively.
“Don’t you have conditioning at eight a.m.?”
I glance at Scarlett. “I’ll probably push it to the afternoon. I don’t want to leave her.”
What I don’t say is that I forgot I even had conditioning. It seems the more I think about her, the less I think about fighting.
Alexander’s gaze tracks to Scarlett. He hesitates, then says, “You like her.”
My chest twinges. I know what he means by that. “Yeah, I do.”
Another pause. “I can watch her if you want to get some sleep.”
I send him a grateful smile. “I appreciate that, but I’m okay. One night won’t kill me.”
He doesn’t push me the way Lucas would. He just nods, drains the rest of his beer, and stands.
“Call me if anything changes,” he says, clapping me on the back. And then he’s gone.
Checking my watch, I realize it’s almost five a.m. Fuck. I really do need to get some sleep.
Taking one last look at Scarlett, I decide Alexander was right about her looking better. She hasn’t thrown up in hours, and since the IV isn’t in anymore, there’s no need to watch her like a hawk.
I cool her forehead one more time, refill the water on her nightstand, and then I crawl into bed beside her. I don’t even care if I catch it from her, I’m staying right here with her.
Pulling Scarlett closer with an arm around her waist, I bury my face in her neck and fall into a dreamless sleep.