Page 71 of The Man I Hate

His voice sounded like he had eaten sand for breakfast and washed it down with salty crackers. He looked like recycled death.

“Do I need to call an ambulance?” I asked.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” he muttered.

“You look like death.”

“I feel worse.”

He struggled to catch his breath between responses. His raspy breathing was impossible to hide. He was sicker than he wanted to admit. I needed to convince him to let me call an ambulance.

“Do you have a fever?”

He nodded. “103 last time I checked.”

“Chest pain?”

“Pressure,” he said. “Not pain.”

“You need to go to the hospital.” I raised my phone in the air. “I’ll call an—”

“No.” He drew a labored breath. “I’ll be fine. The hospitals need the room for people like my father. I don’t need their help. Not yet.”

It was difficult to admit, but Braxton was right. The hospitals were overflowing with critically ill patients who were much sicker than he was. Considering his notoriety, they’d probably admit him, nevertheless. Then, they may turn away a patient who needed the bed much worse than he did. I’d seen several cases on the news where institutions had turned away patients due to overcrowding only to have them die at home a day or two later.

He swayed back and forth, nearly too weak to stand. I fought against my selfish desires.

“If you’ll do this my way, I won’t call an ambulance.” I took a step in his direction. “If you won’t, I’ll call one right now and tell them who you are and demand that they take you in.”

He raised his right hand. “Don’t come any closer.”

“Will you do it my way?”

“Depends.”

“You’re going to go to bed, drink plenty of liquids, and take as much Vitamin C as you can swallow. Then, you’re going make sure your phone is plugged in. You’re going to call me and leave the phone on speaker—from now until you’re better. No exceptions. I want to be able to hear you. At all times.”

“What if—” He coughed until he was breathless. “—what if the hospital calls?”

“Disconnect the call to me and answer it.”

“Okay.”

“Are we in agreement?”

He nodded.

“Do you have Vitamin C?”

“Yes.”

“Plenty of it?”

He nodded.

“Bottled water?”

He nodded.