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Fitz has gone to fetch our family’s on-call doctor. Oliver is busy, so we decide not to tell him yet so he doesn’t rush home and make the situation worse.
Guilt gnaws at my insides. I can’t believe we let things get this far. I know that it’s our fault for pushing her around so much that she felt she had to leave, but to put herself in danger like that? It had to have come from a place of extreme desperation.
“If she gets sick, it’s on me,” Theo admits in a low voice. “I did this to her.”
“We both did,” I say, refusing to let him carry the burden of guilt like he usually does. “I liked pushing her around. I liked watching her break.”
“Me too,” Theo admits. “She always looked so pretty with tears in her eyes.”
“For someone we proclaim to despise, the three of us kind of became obsessed with her,” I suggest. “It’s like… the more we tormented her, the stronger the urges grew.”
“What is it about that girl that draws us in?” Theo asks, looking down at his hands.
“I don’t know, but since we did this, it’s our responsibility to make sure she recovers,” I tell him. “I’ll watch after her.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Theo protests.
“Hey, you’ve always wanted me to step up and be more responsible,” I tell him, giving him a weak grin. “So let me do this.”
Theo exhales, then nods. “Fine. Keep an eye on her. Make sure she recovers. Don’t let anyone on the staff mistreat her, either.”
I nod in return. “I won’t,” I vow, flexing and clenching my hands.
The doctor comes within the hour and enters Theo’s bedroom to examine Eva. Theo eventually has to leave, guilt still hanging over him like a cloud, but I stay, waiting to hear from the doctor.
Dr. Monroe steps out of the room a little while later, a grim look on his face. “She was very weak,” he says. “She’s been working herself to the bone. I don’t think she’s had proper rest or nutrition in days.”
A fresh wave of guilt washes over me, and I realize with horror that it’s our fault once again.
“How’s she doing?” I ask, tapping each finger to my thumb in an unconscious habit.
“She’s sick,” Dr. Monroe says plainly, not mincing his words. “She’s picked up some kind of bug and she needs rest and relaxation. Plenty of fluids. I’m prescribing her some antibiotics that are safe for the baby. But she’ll recover.”
“I’ll look after her,” I tell him. Dr. Monroe searches my eyes for a moment, trying to find something.
“I know that you and your brothers are quite strict with your staff,” he says. “If she relapses, she could get sick enough to lose the baby. So you'd better make sure she has no stress so she can make a full recovery. No work for her for at least the next ten days.”
“Got it,” I agree. “I’ll make sure she has plenty of time to recover.”
Dr. Monroe nods and takes his leave. I slip into the bedroom as soon as he’s gone, and Evangeline is lying in Theo’s bed, covers drawn up to her chest. She’s breathing a little deeper than before, and her cheeks have more color in them and she looks like she’s actually resting now, not passed out.
Pulling up a chair, I sit by her bedside, bitterness in the back of my throat. I could have fucked up here. This is what Theo was always on me about—how I never seem to give a shit about the consequences of my actions.
Now, here I am, face to face with one of them, and it’s something I can’t simply charm my way out of or pay someone off to make it go away.
Evangeline looks so pretty like this, sleeping peacefully. Her long lashes touch the tops of her cheeks as she breathes slowly in and out. Pale blonde hair is fanned out on the pillow behind her, and she scrunches her nose, something unsettling her in her sleep.
“Shh,” I whisper, reaching out to smooth a hand over her forehead. “Relax, okay? I’m going to stay here and take care of you. You don’t have to worry about anything right now.”
My protective side has shown up with a vengeance, and I’m not about to let anything else happen to her. I’m not sure why she’s drawn it out of me, but I don’t feel like questioning it right now.
I stay by her side in the chair all afternoon and evening, only leaving long enough to pick up her prescription from the pharmacy before I return.
Fitz comes in at one point to relieve me of my duty, but I shoo him away. “I can handle it,” I tell him.
He stares at me for a long, uncomfortable moment before bowing and leaving the room. Evangeline finally wakes up a few hours later as the fever takes hold. She’s shivering and shaking, and I pile a few more blankets on her, unsure whether I’m even helping her in the right way. I don’t know much about how to take care of a sick person.
“Where… where am I?” she asks, voice thick and hoarse from sickness.
