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“I’ll be right over.”
He abruptly ended the call and for the next five minutes, I sat watching Axel, trying to understand what was happening to him.
Clearly concerned about his son, Errol arrived at the house only moments later and had a doctor come to check in on Axel.
After the doctor left, Errol looked at me then looked at his watch. “I have to be in San Francisco in two hours and...” He looked at Axel.
“I can stay here with him,” I offered. “I’ll stay with him until he wakes up and makes sure he gets whatever he needs.”
Errol King smiled at me. “I know he’s been giving you a hard time lately. He’s a tough competitor.”
“That he is,” I said.
“It’s all the more admirable that you would willingly sit here and take care of him.”
And that’s what I did over the course of the next few days. I spent the days and a good part of the nights watching over him, silently pleading for him to wake up.
As I looked at him, perspiration accumulating on his brow while he tossed and turned, I tried to understand what had happened. The doctor had been unable to explain why he was so feverish.
Had the stress of the competition pushed him over the edge? Had my affair with Chef Mac affected him so deeply?
Watching him as he once again was carried away on some awful nightmare, I couldn’t help but wonder what trauma he had suffered. What had set off the stream of bad dreams? Was it simply the fever that was the cause, or something else?
I prepared to leave the house one afternoon as Kobe came in to stay with Axel. I was tempted to ask him what he knew about the possible trauma his brother might have had. After all, he was his brother, his twin. If anyone knew what hardships Axel had gone through, it should be him.
But I said nothing, simply smiling and nodding as I left the room.
I was in a strange slow motion sort of fog all those days, going back to my dorm room and trying to make as if everything was normal, all while acutely aware of how strange things had become.
The following morning, as I arrived at the house, Kobe looked up at me with the first glimmer of hope I’d seen all week.
“He opened his eyes briefly this morning,” he said.
“Oh. That’s such great news.”
“He said he was thirsty, maybe a little hungry, but he fell back asleep before I could bring him anything.”
“I’ll fix him some soup and bring it up to him,” I offered.
“Good. Thanks.” He looked around uncomfortably. “I have to get going and my dad won’t be able to make it today.”
“That’s okay, Kobe,” I said. “I can spend the day here. I have no classes.”
“Good. I’ll be back later tonight.”
Tonight? I wanted to say. But I could understand that he needed to get back to his own life. I couldn’t imagine that tending to his brother could be very exciting.
I headed into the kitchen and quickly prepared a simple broth that I brought up to Axel’s room. He stirred the moment I walked in, and I immediately went to his bedside and pushed his damp hair off his brow.
“I’ve brought you some soup, Axel.”
His eyes fluttered open, and he mumbled incoherently.
I set the bowl of soup on the bedside table then did my best to stack a few pillows up in order to sit him up a bit.
He opened his eyes again, but his gaze was unfocused and lost. I settled in to spoon the warm broth into his mouth, and he greedily took every spoonful.
“Do you want some more?” I said as I stood to leave.
