I Want to Scream 'I Love You'

I paced around the kitchen table, almost digging a moat around it. I was stressed. I’d missed school for two days in a row now, considering I refused to leave Danielle with any babysitters. On top of the fact I couldn’t even go pick up the medicine for her until tomorrow, and the whole day had consisted of scrubbing the house, floor to ceiling, in latex gloves and face masks.

“Relax,” Patrick said, grabbing my wrist and pulling me over to sit next to him. I sighed and let myself fall on to the couch. “You’re going to worry yourself to death, I swear.”

I sighed heavily and, before thinking about it, let my head fall onto his shoulder. As soon as I did, I started to lift it back up, trying not to make things awkward, but he stopped me.

“It’s fine,” he whispered and I rested my head back down. “Just relax. You need to.”

“No,” I mumbled, “I need to find someone to cover my shift for work. I’m not using up all my sick days.”

“Have someone in mind?” he asked, hitting my weakness.

“No,” I admitted, “not really.”

“Then relax.”

I sighed and he chuckled slightly.

I glanced over at Danielle, asleep in the rocking chair. She had stayed up all night, considering she had slept all day yesterday, and she was sleeping again. Which means that I’m probably not going to get any sleep tonight. Again.

“Hayley?” Patrick asked quietly.

“Yeah?” I let my eyes close and rested my head deeper into his shoulder.

“What would you say if I offered to watch Danielle tonight so you can go work?”

“I’d say no,” I bluntly responded. He sighed and shook his head.

“Just for tonight. I was talking to my mom, and, since she’s a nurse, she suggested we maybe watch Danielle for tonight and maybe figure out some better medicine. Since none of it seems to be working.”

He was right. Nothing we tried had been working. And, more than anything, just making her feel good enough to bear school would be better than having her sleep all day.

“Patrick, I don’t know…”

“For tonight. It would be better for her and you. You said yourself you can’t use all your sick days on this.”

“I don’t know. I mean, I haven’t even ever met your mom.”

“Then we’ll drive over there now and you can meet her.” He paused after I said nothing. “Listen, I’m not going to force you into this. But, honestly, think about it. You go to work, avoid taking a sick day, Danielle has a bit better chance of getting better, and we’re all happy.”

“I don’t want to impose, I mean-” I started but he stopped me.

“It’s not imposing if I offer.”

“What happened to ‘just relax’ and ‘take it easy?’” I questioned. He smiled, and, once again, he already had the answer.

“You’ll relax better if you can get Danielle off of your mind for awhile.”

I groaned, as always, he was right. I hated admitting it; why can’t he be wrong just this once?

Danielle stirred in her chair, pulling the blankets tighter of herself and disappearing below them just as a bead of sweat dripped off my forehead. Somehow, she’d convinced me to turn the heat up, and now I’m burning up, but she’s just as cold.

“Please?” he pleaded.

I waved him off with my hand. “Okay. Fine.”

A smile made it’s way across his face. “Thank you, now, I’m assuming you’d maybe like to go over now and meet my mom?”

I lifted my head, which felt like it weighed twenty pounds, and nodded. “Sure, I’ll go get dressed real quick though.“

I slipped on my work uniform and grabbed a few blankets and the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie for Danielle. I came back into the living room and Patrick was sliding his shoes on.

“Can you take these?” I asked. He took the blankets and movie from me and I carefully picked Danielle up, trying not to wake her. I balanced her in one arm and wrapped blankets like a jacket around her with the other arm.

After we got her situated in Patrick’s car, somehow, without waking her up, I hopped into the passenger’s seat and Patrick slid into the driver’s. He looked over at me and smiled.

“Thank you,” he said, sliding the key into the ignition and starting the car.

“I don’t totally understand why you’re thanking me but you’re welcome, I guess.”

“I’m thanking you because you’re actually letting me help. For once.”

“The only other time you offered to watch her, I let you, so, like I said, I’m not sure why you’re thanking me.”

He chuckled and glanced up at the rearview mirror to see the still sleeping Danielle in the backseat. I turned slightly to look at her, noticing she was shaking once again. Just as I was about to ask, Patrick turned the heat up.

***

We pulled into a driveway of a two-story house. It was off-white with dark shingles, and had about five windows and a single door sitting on the front of it. Very middle class.

“Welcome,” he said with a smile as he pushed his door open.

I grabbed Danielle and followed him up to the front door.

“We’re home, Mom,” he called, as we stepped inside. I pulled my shoes off with my feet and pushed them to the side of the door.

A woman, about Patrick’s height, came out of nowhere, smiling as she saw me.

“Hello there. I’m assuming you’re Hayley?” she asked, greeting me with a hug, which quickly turned awkward since I had Danielle in my arms and couldn’t hug back.

“Yes ma’am,” I said as she pulled away.

“Call me Pat,” she glanced down at the bundle of blankets in my arm, pulling them back to see Danielle’s face. “My, she’s adorable. Danielle, right?”

“Thanks, and yeah.” She held her arms out and I shifted Danielle into them.

“Oh, wow, her skin is burning. Now, Patrick said that you think she has whooping cough?”

“Yeah. One of my friends who has it had come over, and I’m pretty sure that’s how she got it.”

“Follow me, sweetheart,” she said, taking Danielle and turning towards the main room. “Now, I think I might have some medicine that may help.”

“That’d be amazing. Anything we try doesn’t work.”

Pat sat Danielle down on the couch and pulled the blanket off of her, then rewrapping it around her, I assumed better than I could have.

“Alright, anyway, it’s nice to finally meet you,” she said, now turning around to be face-to-face with me.

I nodded and forced a smile, which was difficult. My head was spinning and my knees felt like they were swaying from the lack of sleep.

“Same to you,” I managed to say.

“Hayley brought extra blankets and Danielle’s favorite movie,” Patrick interrupted the awkward silence. He set them on the table and glanced up at his mom.

“Oh, well, thank you,” Pat said, glancing down at the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. She pursed her lips at it and I refrained myself from laughing.

“I better get going to work,” I said, “thank you again, so much, for this. I really, really appreciate it.”

“Oh, it’s no problem.” She hugged me again, but this time a little less awkward.

I waved to Danielle, though she was still asleep and turned to walk over to the door.

“You’re going to walk?” Patrick asked. I turned around and shrugged.

“It’s only a ten minute walk from here,” I said, sliding my shoes on.

“So? I’ll drive you,” Patrick said, grabbing his keys off the counter and walking up to the door.

“You really don’t have to,” I said, but he opened the door and held it for me anyway.

***

We pulled up to the all-too-familiar tan building. I grimaced, thinking about going back to work. Sure, I didn’t mind it. But did anyone truly care for work?

I sighed before pushing my car door open.

“Thank you, Patrick,” I said, moving one foot to the concrete.

“It’s no problem,” he said, flashing me a crooked smile. Only he, in the worst situations, could smile, and make me smile back. “You get off at eight, right?”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “See you later.” I finally pulled my other foot out too and jogged up the building as Patrick pulled away.

“Look who actually showed up today,” Rebecca said, smiling at me.

“I missed one day,” I pointed out, “that’s all.”

“Well, it looks like you’re feeling better,” she noticed, picking at her nails that were, once again, a new color.

“Looks can be deceiving.”

“Yuck. What’s going on?” She hoisted herself onto the counter as I leaned back against the wall.

“Danielle’s sick.”

She grimaced and handed me a cookie that was in her reach. “Cookie?”

I laughed before taking it. “Sure, thanks.”

“So,” she said, changing the subject, “who dropped you off?”

“Nosy,” I accused her, my mouth full of cookie.

“Just trying to make small talk,” she shrugged.

“Patrick dropped me off.”

“Patrick who?”

“Stump. Like you know him anyway. He goes to my school.”

She shrugged again, “You never know.”

I shook my head with a smile. “Okay, yeah, sure.”

As more and more people started arriving, Rebecca continually kept taking their orders, not even giving me a chance to get to the counter. And every time, I’d thank her and tell her that I’d get the next one; and, every time, she’d nod, but end up getting the next customer anyway.

“Just relax,” she’d say the same two words Patrick had been telling me all day every time I got close to beating her to whoever was next.

By the end of the night, I managed to only get four out of the twenty-some people we served.

“Can I borrow your cell phone?” I asked Rebecca as we walked outside at the end of our shift. Patrick had said he’d be here at eight, but the parking lot was pretty much empty.

“Yeah, here,” she said, handing it to me.

I did my best to dial Patrick’s number off of memory, getting wrong numbers the first two times, then, finally, hearing Patrick’s voice answer.

“Hello?” he asked, I could almost feel the tension in his voice. The hair on my arms immediately stood straight up and I could feel my heart beating faster.

“Hey, it’s Hayley,” I said. He sighed from the other end.

“Yeah, I’m on my way,” his voice was even thicker with anxiety.

“Patrick, what’s wrong?”

“Just hold on, I’ll be there in a minute. I’ll explain everything then,” he said, confirming my suspicions.

My mind scrolled through everything that could’ve possibly gone horribly wrong. “What happened?” I snapped.

“Relax,” he tried to sound unperturbed but he failed, miserably. “I’m pulling in.”

With that, I hung up the phone and handed back to Rebecca, thanking her for letting me use it.

My feet immediately carried me to the car faster than I thought I ever could have.

“What’s going on?” I asked as I pulled myself into the car. I slammed the door shut, and he swiftly pulled into the street. I noticed we weren’t going the way to his house.

He didn’t answer at first, concentrating on the road.

“Patrick Stump. Tell me right now what’s going on.”

He sighed heavily and ran a hand over his face.

“We took Danielle to the hospital.”