Chapter 19
nineteen
GREER
Greer stepped into the house with Alaric right next to her. She hadn’t spent much time at Nathalie’s since the argument in the kitchen. She’d needed space, and it was easier to be at Lachlan’s or Ivy’s that week than to be in Nathalie’s house, especially when Alaric had school.
But Lachlan had sent her home with Alaric, told her Nathalie wasn’t feeling well, and then sent her on her way with a quirk to her lips that Greer wasn’t entirely sure what to make of. Greer headed straight for the kitchen to see if Nathalie was in there making dinner, but it was empty. Frowning, she picked up her phone to see if she had a text from Nathalie, but she didn’t.
Perhaps she was lying down in her room since she wasn’t feeling well again. Greer took Alaric by the hand, and they headed up the stairs. Alaric had homework to do anyway, and he was insisting on doing it with Nathalie instead of Greer that night. He wanted to show off his new reading skills—even though they weren’t really new.
Greer took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Nathalie called from inside the room.
It was good to hear her voice, and Alaric seemed to light up at that, but her voice didn’t exactly sound strong either. Hesitating for only a second, Greer opened the door. She was greeted with a dark room, all of the lights off except the side lamp on Nathalie’s nightstand, and Nathalie, curled up in the bed on her side.
“Hey, kiddo.” She frowned at him as she lifted an arm.
Alaric immediately went to her and crawled up in the bed with her, under the covers. “Are you sick?”
Nathalie hummed. “Yeah, guess I am.”
Greer stayed by the door, not quite sure what to do. Nathalie looked like absolute shit. That gray coloring from the other day had nothing on her color now. She was white as a ghost, her hair was stringy and limp, and she had no energy to even move, which was so unlike her.
“You going to take care of me?” Nathalie asked Alaric, not Greer.
“Yeah! What do you need?” Alaric twisted around to face her.
“Can you go get me the thermometer?”
Alaric immediately hopped up and headed straight for Nathalie’s attached bathroom. Greer followed him, wanting to make sure that he found exactly what he was looking for and nothing else in the process. When she got back, Nathalie took the thermometer from Alaric and immediately stuck it in her mouth. She sighed and stared at Greer, saying nothing.
And Greer continued to stare back. Because what the hell was she going to say now? She’d stayed a bit too long in Nathalie’s bedroom to not see this out, and she was worried. Honestly. She’d never seen someone sick this long before either, and Nathalie didn’t seem to be getting any better.
Nathalie pulled the thermometer out and squinted at it, but she shook her head and held it out to Greer. “Can you read it? I took my contacts out.”
Greer complied, stepping forward and taking the thermometer. Immediately, she cringed. “One-oh-four.”
“Fuck,” Nathalie mumbled, pushing her head back into the pillow. “Alaric, I need you to go get?—”
“I’ll get it,” Greer interrupted. “Tylenol or Ibuprofen?”
“Tylenol.” Nathalie stayed in the bed, Alaric snuggling up next to her as Greer went back to the bathroom and the medicine cabinet. “It’s on the top shelf.”
“Got it.” Greer came back and handed the container over. “I’ll be back with some more water and an ice pack.”
“Thanks.”
Greer didn’t hesitate as she left the bedroom and went back to the kitchen. She hated seeing Nathalie like that. Even though she was still upset with her and the situation in general, she didn’t think that Nathalie deserved to be stuck in bed sick with what Greer would guess was the flu, since it was going around the schools so bad. Alaric had just told her when she picked him up that almost half of his class had been sick that day.
With a cold glass of water and an ice pack wrapped in a tea towel, Greer headed back up the stairs. She helped Nathalie sit up slightly so she could swallow the pills without spilling the water. Nathalie leaned against the headboard and snagged Greer’s hand as she was about to stand up and clean up a bit.
“I need to talk to you,” Nathalie said.
“We can talk later. You’re sick.”
Nathalie hummed. “I’m always sick lately.” She flicked her gaze to Alaric. “Why don’t you go find a book to read to me, okay? I need to talk to Greer for a minute.”
Greer really didn’t like this. Nathalie needed to stop trying to control everything so she could rest up already. Because she wasn’t ever going to get better if she didn’t take care of herself. “I really think you should just rest.”
“Rest isn’t going to help me.” Nathalie drew in a deep breath and adjusted the ice pack at the back of her neck. “I need to apologize, and I don’t do this very often, so don’t interrupt me.”
“Nathalie…” Greer trailed off, her stomach flipping. “You’re sick.”
“Yes, I am, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do this.” Nathalie closed her eyes. Was she feeling that bad? Because she really needed to just focus on herself right now and they could hash out their drama later. “Lachlan pointed something out to me this morning, and she’s right.”
“You’re admitting someone else is right? Wow, you must be really sick. Should I call an ambulance?” Greer laughed lightly, and she was pleased to see Nathalie give her a small smile in response before looking directly at her.
“Funny.”
“But true.” Greer pointed at her and then sat on the edge of the mattress. “But go on, since I’m clearly not going to be able to stop you.”
“Last weekend… I was a bully.”
“Oh shit.” Greer felt like she’d been gut punched. She hadn’t ever thought that she’d get this kind of apology from Nathalie or even admittance. “Lachlan told you that?”
“Not in words, no.” Nathalie cleared her throat and rubbed circles into her temple. “But I was a bully to you. You’re an adult, and I don’t control you. You can sleep with whoever you want.”
Greer narrowed her gaze. “Why does that statement make you look like you want to puke?”
“Oh, because I do.” Nathalie groaned. “I’ve barely been able to keep anything down since Friday night.”
“Nathalie…” Greer cringed. “You really need to go to the doctor. I know Lachlan?—”
“Lachlan gave me a shot to help, which it does, but it’s not getting rid of the desire to vomit.”
“Then maybe you should go to the emergency room.”
Nathalie frowned. “I’m a doctor, Greer. I know what I’m doing.”
“Do you, though? Not to rain on your parade, but you’re a fertility specialist. You don’t deal with colds and flu all that often.”
“Thank you for the compliment.” Nathalie pressed her lips together hard. “It’ll pass in a minute. It always does.”
Greer wasn’t so sure about that, but she was going to let Nathalie have this time. Next time? Greer was going to force her to listen and do something different from what she had been doing.
“I’m apologizing for my reaction. But I still stand that she’s my best friend, and if you fuck with her, you fuck with me.” Nathalie’s eyes were clear as day as she looked directly at Greer. “I just could have said it nicer.”
“Yeah, you could have. And you could stay out of your best friend’s business. And mine for that matter…” Greer mumbled the last part.
Nathalie shook her head. “Normally I would, but not in this case.”
“Why not?” Greer frowned, a line forming in the center of her forehead as the same old confusion that she felt most days when she was in Nathalie’s vicinity reared back up. Was Nathalie jealous? Just overprotective? Or what? Because seriously, Greer hadn’t been able to figure it out yet, and she really wanted to. She was tired of being left in the dark about how this family unit functioned.
“Because you work for us. And while I need to protect Lachlan from a relationship that will fail and not suit her, I also need to protect you from being employed by someone who would take advantage of you.” Nathalie sucked in a sharp breath and then held it. “Can you help me to the bathroom? I’m not sure I can make it on my own.”
“Uh, yeah, sure.” Greer immediately stood up and started to help Nathalie. She held a hand around her waist and back as she guided her toward the bathroom. The retching was immediate, so they probably had really good timing.
Unfortunately, Alaric chose that exact moment to come back into the bedroom. His eyes widened and then filled with tears.
“Oh, bud, it’s okay.” Greer held out her arms for him, and he ran right into her grasp. “She’s just got the flu or something.”
He shook his head into Greer’s belly and continued to hold onto her. “No, she’s going to die.”
“Oh God, no, she’s not.” Greer sank to the floor and immediately pulled Alaric into her lap. “She’s not going to die from the flu.”
“What will happen to me if she does?” Alaric moved his face slightly, just enough for Greer to get her thumbs in there and wipe away his tears that wouldn’t stop falling.
“I don’t know, baby, but I assume that you’ll stay with either Lachlan or Ivy. I’m sure your mom has everything arranged.” Greer carded her fingers through his hair as she held onto him. “It’ll be okay though. Your mom’s just sick for right now. She’ll be better before you know it.”
Alaric sucked in a breath, trying to make himself stop from crying. Greer had seen him do that several times in the last few months that she’d known him, so she let him work through it himself. She’d mention it to Nathalie when she wasn’t puking her guts out in the toilet.
“Come on, you can lie in bed with your mom for a bit and I’ll make some dinner. Okay?”
Alaric nodded.
“What book did you pick?”
Alaric held up two books, ones that Greer recognized as his favorites. “She’ll love those.” She got him settled into the bed before going downstairs and making dinner for her and Alaric and just a broth for Nathalie. She wasn’t sure if Nathalie would even be able to keep it down, but she’d need to try to eat something to keep her strength up.
Greer helped out and stayed out of Nathalie’s bedroom until it was time for Alaric to go to sleep for the night. It took her at least three times as long as normal to get him to fall asleep because he started up again in his panic about what would happen if Nathalie died.
Trudging back up the stairs to Nathalie’s room, Greer went in with the intention of checking on her one more time before she left Nathalie for the evening. Nathalie had at least kept a little bit of the broth down, which made her feel better. Sitting on the bed where Alaric had been only an hour before, Greer sighed heavily.
“We should probably take your temperature again, see if it’s gone down any.”
“It hasn’t,” Nathalie murmured, “but it hasn’t gone up.”
“How can you tell?”
Nathalie shot her a look that was supposed to say of course I know but Greer just laughed at her. “Take it.”
Scowling, Nathalie put the thermometer between her lips and leaned back to wait for it to beep. She closed her eyes and they sat in silence for a while, Greer cleaning up a bit from the mess they’d made in the intervening hours. When Greer finally saw that Nathalie was indeed correct about her temperature, she had to admit it. But she was glad to see the small roll of Nathalie’s eyes when she told her it was still the same.
“Did Alaric talk to you?” Greer asked.
“About what?” Nathalie scooted down in the bed and covered herself even more with the blankets.
“He’s scared you’re going to die. And he’s really worried what will happen to him when that happens because unlike the others, he only has one parent.” Greer flicked her gaze to Nathalie, wanting to see what her reaction was and how she should navigate some of this.
Nathalie winced. “I’ll talk to him tomorrow. It’s because of what happened last year.”
“Last year?” No one had mentioned anything so far. Then again, it wasn’t exactly like them to be forthcoming with information either. And since they’d all been around each other, it was often like Greer should just know what they were talking about when they were talking about it. But without context, she had nothing to grasp onto to steer the direction.
“I had emergency surgery and an overnight stay.” Nathalie stopped talking, and it was clear she didn’t want to elaborate.
“Ah. Okay. Well, he’s concerned.”
“I’ll talk with him.” Nathalie shifted lower in the bed. “I can’t get warm.”
“Because you have a fever.” Greer stood up and went to Nathalie’s closet, searching for another blanket—anything that she could pile on top of Nathalie to try and get her warm again. “Do you think it’s the flu?”
“Probably,” Nathalie groaned. “Which is exactly what I need right now.”
“When does anyone ever need it?” Greer chuckled lightly and then headed back to the bed with another blanket.
“Yes, but…” Nathalie stopped talking, looking into Greer’s eyes. “Never mind. It’s just going to be rough for about a week.”
“Didn’t you get your flu shot?” Greer asked, sitting next to Nathalie and leaning against the headboard.
Nathalie hummed, but she didn’t really answer either. Greer stayed right where she was, not wanting to leave until she knew that Nathalie’s fever was at least going down instead of up. Steady was something, though, and she’d take that for now. But she also wanted to make sure that Nathalie could make it to the bathroom if she had to get up in the middle of the night. Besides, Nathalie would need more medicine in two hours, and Greer was going to make sure that she took it.
She grabbed the remote for the television and put on a sitcom. Nathalie didn’t complain, but she did curl up tighter into a ball under the blankets. Greer glanced at her every once in a while until Nathalie fell asleep. With the situation under control, Greer relaxed into the pillows and the bed. She just had two hours to stay awake for, then she’d leave.
Right?