“I’m going to have to take your temperature, Crash, is that okay?” I continued and still there was no response from him.
I knelt down by his bed and reached for the first-aid box. I pulled out a thermometer and proceeded to try and gently pull the blanket off him. He whipped around with eyes wide open like a wild animal’s. He even hissed like one and lunged at me.
“Calm the fuck down!” Ghost growled, jumping on him, and pushing him back onto the bed. I’d already sprung up and moved away. My heart thudded in my chest. I had no experience with addicts. I had no idea how I was supposed to behave around one.
Crash seemed to whimper and then turned away from us to face the wall again. Ghost straightened up and looked at me.
“Do what you have to do. I’ll be right here so he can’t hurt you.”
The muscles in my stomach tightened into a ball and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Why did he have to say it like that?
7
Ghost
Watching Mercy work was calming.
After Crash’s initial outburst, he seemed to have calmed down too. He let Mercy take his temperature without reaction. She tried to cool down his forehead and said that it was important that he drank water.
Crash was either asleep or pretended not to listen when she tried to give him the water. Mercy looked at me. I was standing right there behind her.
“He needs to drink water, he’s losing a lot of fluids and he’s going to end up dehydrated,” she said.
I reached for him, pulling him up forcibly till he was sitting up in bed. His head kept falling over on his chest and his eyelids fluttered. It looked like he was having another seizure-like episode.
“Get the water ready, we’ll have to pour it down his throat.”
Maybe a part of me was expecting her to be squeamish and precious about getting her hands dirty in this kind of work. That part of me had underestimated what she was capable of. Mercy acted like a professional and didn’t flinch once when I suggested forcing the water into him.
She wasn’t physically strong enough to hold Crash up herself, but it seemed she was ready to do it herself if she had to.
I held him up while he dozed. Mercy pinched his mouth open and poured the water from the bottle. That woke him up but I was expecting it so I tightened my grip on him. He thrashed about like a fish out of water while she took short breaks between every pour.
Then she put the bottle away, and I let Crash slip back down in bed. She took a few steps away, tipping her head over like she wanted to talk to me in private.
“How is it looking?” I asked.
“I was worried that he would have to go to ER, but I’m hoping I’m wrong. He’ll have to be monitored around the clock. Forced to drink water. He should also eat something, but I don’t know how we could force feed him. Besides, he’ll probably just end up throwing up everything anyway.”
“We can’t take him to the ER,” I growled. That was out of the question. We were already risking too much by keeping him here. Technically, it shouldn’t even have been our responsibility to get him clean.
“I’ll check in on him again in the morning and if he isn’t doing any better, he will have to go to the ER,” she hissed.
“No he won’t,” I retorted and Mercy clenched her jaws tightly.
“You wanted me to come here and help you help him. Well that is what I’m trying to do.”
“I’m not going to let you put the rest of my MC at risk. He’ll stay here and you will help him recover.”
“Ghost, I can’t guarantee anything. I can’t take responsibility for a case like this. I don’t have the requisite training.”
She looked worried as she spoke. My gaze drifted down to that red dress. She was still in it! Maybe she needed to get more comfortable. Maybe she needed a good night’s sleep. In the morning, after she was well-rested, she would be able to look after Crash better.
“We’re going now. You can come back in the morning and look at him again,” I snapped and walked toward the door. I heard her sigh behind me but eventually, she had no choice but to follow me out.
* * *
Outside the door, we saw Mary-Beth approaching.
“What were you doing in there with him?” she asked when she saw us come out of the cellar. She looked accusingly at Mercy and once again I felt defensive of her.
“She’s a nurse,” I said before she could explain. Mary-Beth looked confused for a moment, just as I had when she’d first told me; then acceptance dawned on her and she actually looked a little relieved.
“How is he doing?” she asked.
Mercy swung a glance at me and then she tried to smile.
“You don’t have to worry about him, Mary-Beth, he’ll pull through. It’s going to be a tough night but if he makes it through tonight, which he will, tomorrow will be a whole lot easier.”
There was something reassuring in Mercy’s voice. She calmed Mary-Beth down immediately and she threw her arms around Mercy and gave her a tight hug.
“I don’t know how to even begin to thank you for everything you’re doing, Mercy. I’m sorry I never tried to get to know you before.”
Mercy blushed, the tops of her cheeks turning that bright pink color again.
“I just want to help,” she said in a weak voice. I knew she was thinking about her grandmother. If it wasn’t for that, she would have had no reason to help us.
“Can I do anything for him? Drax is resting and I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight.”
“You can try and keep him hydrated, see if he’ll eat something, but other than that, there’s nothing you can
