23. Chapter Twenty-Three
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
MAYLEE
E verything ached, and she didn’t feel good at all. She was sick—there is no doubt about that.
When Maylee arrived home the day before, she got into the shower, hoping to warm her body and not get sick. But as the afternoon went by and she curled up on the couch, she started to feel awful. She didn’t know if a person could get sick this fast. Probably not but she felt horrible.
There was no clock on any wall in her living room, so she didn’t know how much time had passed. Her phone had died the night before, and she didn’t have the strength to get off of the couch to fetch it.
Which meant she hadn’t been able to message Daddy. No doubt he was so worried about her right, and she felt bad, but she couldn’t make herself get up off the couch to go grab her charger. Her head was pounding and her body aching. Every little movement on the couch made her groan in pain.
There was no way she would be able to get up anytime soon. Her stomach had been grumbling for a few hours now but the mere thought of food made her nauseous. Yeah, she hadn’t eaten or drunk anything since she went out with Liv.
Daddy was going to be so disappointed, but she had a good reason. She couldn’t get up off the couch without being in excruciating pain. Okay, the excruciating part was an exaggeration, but it was more like a constant ache she couldn’t escape.
Those constant aches were worse than anything—never being able to get away from them. Yeah, she would rather take excruciating pain for a few minutes than aching pain for hours and hours.
Coughing, she snuggled up into her blanket and closed her eyes. She was so miserable. Coughing hurt her lungs, but at the same time, coughing brought her relief.
“Maylee?” someone called out.
She barely opened her eyes to look around. She was probably hallucinating, but it sounded just like Daddy, and she would do anything to have Daddy with her right now. As she continued to look around, she saw him.
“Daddy?” she croaked, not believing he was in her house.
Her mind must be playing tricks on her. There was no way he was in her house. She watched him look around the room before his gaze settled on her. It was as if time slowed down as he looked at her. He studied her body as she lay on the couch. It was not a pretty sight. She was wrapped up in a blanket and no doubt was an absolute mess.
She felt like an absolute mess, too—grimy and exhausted—but she couldn’t do anything about it. She couldn’t take care of herself, and it was showing.
“Oh, baby,” he said, gently .
Tears gathered in her eyes, and she shook her head. She didn’t want him near her while she was sick—especially when she was feeling this bad.
“I’m sick. Don’t come near me,” she forced out. Her throat hurt so much, and she needed him to know not to come near.
Maylee started to cough into her elbow. She definitely shouldn’t have talked, but she needed to warn him. There was no need for him to get sick when he could avoid it. In a few days she would be better, and then he could be around he.
“I don’t care that you’re sick. I don’t care if I get sick. You should have texted me, and I would have taken care of you.”
The tears ran down her face as he drew near. It was not as if she hadn’t wanted to text him. She couldn’t. She had wished so many times that her phone hadn’t died so she could text him. She would have sold her left kidney so she could get a hold of him.
Dramatic, but she meant every word. Have one less kidney but have Daddy here to take care of her. That was a no-brainer. She would take Daddy over having both her kidneys.
“Why didn’t you text me?” he asked.
She glanced at her phone which was sitting on the coffee table before looking back at him. Maybe she should invest in having another charger down by the coffee table so if this situation never happened again, she could call him. Daddy had chargers all around his house. Before this she had considered him over the top, but now she saw his point regarding the benefits of having them all over the house.
“I couldn’t. My phone is dead, and my body is aching so much I couldn’t go get my charger,” she whispered.
His eyes widened. “You haven’t gotten up once?”
She shook her head and winced as it started to throb. She really needed to stop hurting herself.
If his eyes could get any wider, they did. It was bad. She didn’t have anything in her system. Well, she’d had the coffee and cookie from her lunch with Liv, but that was it.
“I’m going to go call someone real quick,” he said. “I know some basic medical things from being in the Army, but I think we need someone who actually knows their stuff.”
Daddy came close enough to place his hand on her forehead. She sighed in contentment at his cold hand. It felt amazing to have something cold against her skin.
“Shit,” Daddy cursed. “You are burning up. We need to get some liquids and food into you. We also need to get medicine for you because no doubt you’re running a bad fever right now.”
Maylee relaxed on the couch as Daddy took over. It felt so good to have somebody else taking care of her.
“Does chicken noodle soup sound okay?” Daddy asked.
“I’m not really hungry,” she replied as her stomach growled.
Daddy raised an eyebrow at her. “Are you sure?”
She nodded slowly. “Nauseous thinking about food.”
“Well, we’re going to get some liquid in you and see how you feel then. Maybe once you have something in your system, you’ll feel better.”
Maylee wasn’t sure about that, but she wasn’t going to argue .
“While I’m getting you a drink, I’m going to call Perry.”
She lay there, watching him call Perry and getting her a drink. It was like her body knew she could relax now and was shutting down. All she wanted to do was fall asleep. Daddy was going to take care of her, so she could.
Maylee didn’t want Perry to come over. He had been a doctor or something medical when he was in the Army, but he was Daddy’s friend. She had her own doctor at the emergency room. Maybe she could convince him to take her there instead of having Perry come here.
“Thanks, see you soon,” Daddy said.
He sat down next to her on the edge of the couch. Maylee closed her eyes and started to relax. It would make everything better if Daddy started to run his hands through her hair. That would put her right to sleep—something she’d so desperately wanted.
“I need you to stay awake for a couple more minutes,” Daddy said. “I’ve got your water for you to drink. It’s not a baby bottle, but Daddy is going to hold you while you drink. Make sure you don’t spill anything.”
He sat her cup down before he picked up her top half and moved under her. Even when Daddy was always running hotter than her, right now it felt amazing. He felt colder than her, and that was all she wanted.
“Such a good girl,” he said as he helped her drink.
She moaned in delight as cold water slid down her throat. It was as if the liquid was cooling the inside of her body.
“Perry is coming to check you over. He’s also bringing some baby bottles and diapers,” Daddy said gently.
A whine escaped her lips at the mention of him bringing baby bottles and diapers. Why couldn’t Daddy just have gotten baby bottles and diapers? Why did Perry have to bring them? Now he was going to know she used those, and she didn’t want that. What was he going to think of her now? She wouldn’t be able to show her face at Daddy’s work.
“It’s okay. Perry is a Daddy. He helps out at the club sometimes when people get hurt, and that includes Littles. So don’t worry at all. He’s not going to judge you.”
That was easier said than done. Well, in her case it was easier said than to believe. It was one thing for him to tell her he wasn’t going to judge her but for her mind to believe it was hard.
Daddy started to run his hands through her hair, scratching her head every few seconds.
“If you want to do that for the rest of my life, you can,” she mumbled.
He laughed and shook his head. “Anytime you want this, you let me know. It’s just like hugs.”
“You might end up regretting that.”
“Never. I’ll never regret you asking for hugs or for me to run my hands through your hair. If you want them, you let me know.”
She gave a contented sigh and closed her eyes. She was going to get her fill of head scratches and hugs.
“Just let Daddy take care of you. I’m here now,” he said, gently.