Chapter 13 Nash #2
By the time I loaded up and started my truck, Theo had sent her address. I stopped at the market to buy some more necessities like Gatorade, tissues and cough drops. It started as a simple trip, but I left the market with ten bags and eight of them were just for Iris.
The drive to Iris’ apartment was quick, she didn’t live too far from the ranch.
The apartments were cuter and more cottage-like than the apartments I was used to in the city.
Parking next to her truck, I grabbed everything.
She had decorated the front door with lights, plants and a mat that said “Dogs welcome—People tolerated unless you brought tacos or margaritas.”
I laughed as I knocked on the door. I was about to knock again when Iris opened the door wrapped in a blanket, looking awful.
“Shit, Petal, are you ok?” I asked, stepping inside as she turned around.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice raspy.
“Colt wasn’t back and Theo didn’t want to leave Nova and Sol, so he sent me,” I said, following her to her living room where it looked like she’d been laying.
I placed the bags I had brought on the floor in front of her coffee table.
“Jesus, what did he send?” she coughed.
“Just soup and medicine, but I stopped for more stuff,” I said, looking for her medicine.
“Nash, you didn’t have to,” she said softly.
“I know,” I said, putting the soup and medicine on the table. “Are you hungry?”
“Not really. My appetite has been nonexistent,” she said, leaning back on the sofa, shivering.
“Well, your medicine says you should eat something with it,” I said, as I read the directions. “Think you can handle something small, like yogurt or maybe crackers?”
She shook her head, closing her eyes, wrapping herself tighter in the blanket.
“Maybe some broth?”
Iris sat up coughing violently. “Fuck,” she cried out.
“Shit, are you ok?” I sat down next to her unsure of what the hell to do.
Iris continued to cough, turning red from the force of her cough.
“Fuck, I brought cough medicine,” I said, grabbing one bag searching frantically for the cough syrup.
“Nash, you shouldn’t even be in here,” she said in between catching her breath and coughing.
“You shouldn’t be alone,” I said, grabbing the other bags looking for the cough syrup.
“I’m a big girl,” she said softly.
“That doesn’t mean you have to do this alone,” I said, getting frustrated.
I couldn't find the damn cough medicine I know I had just bought.
“I think I’m just gonna take a nap,” Iris said, already closing her eyes and leaning back.
“Iris, wait let me give you some medicine,” I said, finally finding the cough medicine and opening the box.
After I read the directions, ready to give her the right dosage, she passed out. I sighed, wanting to wake her up, but thinking she probably needed the sleep. Her cheeks were red, her breathing was a little labored and worry ate at me as I laid a hand on her forehead. She was hot.
I got up from the sofa in search of a thermometer, worried her temperature was way too high. Ten minutes of searching, I came up with nothing. A faint buzzing led me to her room, and I found her phone with Beau’s name flashing on it. The call ended and it rang again immediately.
“Hello,” I answered.
The line was quiet. “Where is Iris?”
“Hey, Beau, it's Nash. I’m at her apartment,” I said, sitting on her bed.
“What the hell are you doing there?” he snapped. “She’s sick, leave her the hell alone. She doesn’t need you bothering her when she feels bad.”
“I’m not—”
“Leave her alone or so help me god, I will find a way to make you disappear,” he growled.
I smiled at his threat loving his feistiness.
“Theo asked me to drop off some meds,” I said quickly. “She’s not doing well. I’m trying to find a thermometer, but I can’t find one. She feels really hot, and she doesn’t want to take meds.”
“Nash—”
“I’m not that much of an asshole, Beau,” I said, trying to keep the anger out of my tone. “I brought things for her to feel better, but I didn’t bring a thermometer.”
He sighed loudly. “I can go pick one up, does she need anything else? Maybe Tylenol? Ibuprofen?”
“I don’t know. Let me see if she has some, she fell asleep on me, and I don’t know if I should wake her up to take her other meds or—”
“Let her sleep,” he interrupted me. “Do I need to bring food?”
“Theo sent food for her and her flu medication. I brought some easy food options, Gatorade and electrolytes,” I said, looking in her bathroom cabinets finding some Tylenol. “Oh, and I bought some cough medicine and tissues. She has some Tylenol.”
“Is the bottle full?” he asked, as it sounded like a door was shutting.
“It’s half full,” I said, checking.
“Ok, I’ll get the thermometer and I’ll be right over,” he said.
Relief hit me. “Thank you.”
“I’m sorry I thought badly—”
“I haven’t given you a reason not to,” I said.
“Ok, we'll see you soon,” he sighed.
“Ok,” I said, before he hung up.
I walked into the living room, feeling a little better than I had when I had first arrived.
At thirty years old, I had never really taken care of anyone else except myself.
It was a weird feeling to want to help, but not know how to.
I propped Iris up on the sofa, but kept her covered.
She looked even more flushed, and I grabbed a small hand towel, wetting it with cool water and laying it on her forehead, remembering Brooks doing something similar to me when I was sick.
My stomach soured when I realized I didn’t have any memories of my father or mother doing anything like this for me.