38. Cope

38

COPE

Luca giggled as I stepped through the open door. “What are you wearing?”

He was still a little flushed and sleeping more than usual, but he’d certainly turned a corner. He’d spent most of the day playing video games and asking when Gretzky could come back from Arden’s.

I made a show of snapping my long rubber glove and adjusting the doctor’s mask and ski goggles on my face. “There’s only one person who hasn’t fallen, and I’m doing whatever it takes to stay barf-free.”

Luca sent a baleful look at the bowl next to him on the bed. “You’re smart. Getting the pukes is the worst .”

He was right there. And I was throwing that bowl in the trash as soon as Luca was out of the woods. Hell, I was having this whole house decontaminated. “Did you finish your soup?”

Luca nodded. “And the bread and ginger ale. Think I can have real food next?”

I chuckled but didn’t miss the feeling of relief running through me. Luca was so small. Seeing him that sick had scared the hell out of me. But more than that, it made me realize just how much he meant to me. “My mom says mashed potatoes are the next step after soup and dry toast.”

Mom and Lolli had shown up that morning with a massive container of chicken noodle soup. Lolli had tried to make a case for the fact that cannabis was used to treat pediatric cancer patients’ nausea so she could make a little something for Luca. Mom had just gaped at her. I told Lolli that I really didn’t feel like getting murdered when Sutton came out of her flu state and realized I’d given her kid drugs.

“Mashed potatoes are fire. I’m ready,” Luca said with a grin.

“Well, let’s hope they aren’t on fire. I’ll bring you some in an hour or two after I check on your mom.”

Luca’s nose wrinkled. “Does she still have the pukes?”

“It’s mostly a fever now,” I told him. Sutton had barfed in spectacular form for hours last night, but once we got some sassafras tea in her, that had calmed. But despite a few rounds of Tylenol, she was still struggling.

“She’ll be okay, right?”

I hated the tiny bit of fear I heard in Luca’s voice. “Of course. She’s just sleeping for a while. Like a bear in hibernation. I hope she doesn’t snack on either of us when she wakes up.”

Luca giggled. “Make sure you’ve got snacks waiting.”

“I will.” I glanced at the TV. “You’ve got Mighty Ducks ?”

Luca bobbed his head in a nod. “I’m going to watch all three in a row.”

I didn’t know how he didn’t have them memorized by now, but if they made him happy, he could watch them a dozen times in a row. “Nothing like a good brain rot to cure what ails you.”

Luca grinned, a new tooth just starting to peek out from his gums in that incisor spot. “Best medicine ever!”

I chuckled and pointed at his nightstand. “Use the walkie-talkie if you need anything.” I’d asked my mom to bring over the ones my siblings and I used to play with, and it had come in handy with how big the house was.

“Code name Speedy reporting for duty,” Luca shot back.

I gave him a salute and headed toward the hall. I made it to the next room and slowly opened the door. Sutton was sprawled like a starfish in the middle of the bed, her hair in messy disarray. I slowly crossed to the side of the bed to take in her face. Her cheeks were a little less red, and I hoped that meant we were past the worst of the fever.

As I leaned over her, Sutton’s eyelids fluttered. When they finally opened, she let out a startled shriek. “What in the—?” she croaked. “What are you wearing?”

Her voice was a little raspy, but she sounded way more like herself than the two other times I’d woken her for a dose of meds. I took a step back, gesturing at myself. “You don’t go into battle unarmed.”

Sutton’s lips twitched as she pushed up against the pillows. “Are those ski goggles?”

“Shocker, but I didn’t have any science ones left over from high school chemistry.”

As she blinked sleep away from her eyes, she stiffened. “Luca?—”

“Is fine. No fever. Kept down soup and bread. We’re moving on to mashed potatoes soon.”

Sutton’s hand moved to her belly. “Don’t talk about food. It’s too soon.”

Another wave of worry sliced through me. “How do you feel?”

“Gross,” she muttered. “I think my fever broke because I’m all sweaty.”

I picked up the thermometer on the bedside table and pointed it at her forehead. A second later, it beeped. “Ninety-eight point five.”

“Thank goodness,” Sutton said, collapsing back onto the pillows. “I feel like I just ran a marathon.”

“Why don’t I run you a bath and then heat up some broth for you? We can see how that goes down. My mom brought over her homemade chicken noodle soup, and it cures everything.”

Sutton blinked up at me, her eyes filling with tears.

I quickly ripped off my goggles and mask, moving closer to the bed. “Hey, what’s this about?”

“You could get sick. You should stay back.”

I tugged off the rubber gloves, tossed them to the floor, and slid onto the bed next to her. “Not even those nasty germs will keep me away if you’re upset.” Sutton burrowed her face into my chest. “Tell me what this is all about.”

“You took care of us,” she croaked.

“Okay…”

“No one’s taken care of me since my grandma. Not really. My parents weren’t in the picture. Roman was never any help. And when Luca’s sick, I have to do it alone.”

Pain lit in my chest, and I held Sutton tighter to me. “I’ll always take care of you. Always.”

Sutton just cried harder. “Don’t promise me that.”

“Why not?” I asked, my voice dropping low.

“Because if I lose that promise, I’ll break.”

“Fuck,” I muttered. I cradled her against my chest. “I’m afraid it’s too late.”

“Too late?” she croaked.

My fingers sifted through Sutton’s hair, tangling in the strands. “I’m already in love with you.”