That night had been incredibly difficult. Little did I know that was only the beginning of a very long journey. Yes, the doctor was able to give Lanie a special medicine to make her less nauseous, but it also made her drowsier. I watched as Shelby sat stroking Lanie’s hair.
“How is she?” I whispered from the opposite side of the room, just now realizing that Lanie was finally sound asleep.
“I guess she’s better now that she’s asleep,” Shelby sighed and leaned forward to place a soft kiss on Lanie’s forehead. “I can’t believe how sick she was all night.” She rubbed her eyes and glanced down at the wristwatch on her wrist. “Jesus, its 7 am.”
“How about you go back to the hotel and get some rest? I’ll sit here with her…” I said and glanced down at her sleeping form. She looked almost lifeless.
“It’s okay,” Shelby shook her head. “I don’t really want to leave right now. You can go, though. You’re just as exhausted as I am, Nick.” She said softly and curled up in a chair next to Lanie’s bed.
“How about you both go get some rest,” we heard from the doorway. I smiled up at Brian who was standing there. “Leigh and I are both here and we’ve got it under control. Baylee’s with Howie. Let us watch over her for a little bit.”
“Brian, thanks, but it’s okay,” Shelby shook her head once more. “Really, I’m tired but I don’t want to leave.”
“Ya’ll are only going to be in the way,” Leighanne winked and wrapped her arms around Shelby. “Brian and I want to spend some time with Lanie. So how about we do that while you two get some rest.” She suggested. I couldn’t agree with Leighanne more – I was tired. But I also knew that Shelby didn’t want to leave Lanie’s side. I kinda felt like a bad parent for not…caring more? It wasn’t that I didn’t care…it was that I was exhausted and I needed rest.
“Shelb,” I mumbled and stood up from the chair, walking over to where she and Leigh were standing. “Let’s just try to get some sleep, okay? If you can’t fall asleep or you want to come back, we’ll come back.” I said softly. “You and I both know Brian and Leighanne will take care of her.”
Shelby nodded, agreeing that I was right. “Okay…” I was shocked she had given in like she did. She must have been really exhausted. “Bye, baby.” She whispered to Lanie’s somewhat lifeless form and kissed her forehead. “Thanks, guys.” She managed to form a smile over her lips and walked towards the door with me. On the way out, she reached down between us and grabbed my hand.
I frowned, but squeezed her hand back, not entirely sure why she was reaching out to me like she was. But I realized there was probably a good reason for her and she probably needed me at that moment. “You okay?”
“Mhm,” she mumbled and nodded her head vigorously, though I figured she was nodding more so for herself than me. I could see the tears forming in her eyes.
“Hey, ya know what?” I interrupted her from whatever thoughts were going through her mind. I knew this was a scary time – hell, I was scared out of my mind. But I couldn’t let us get depressed over it. She glanced up at me, urging me to continue. “How about we go check out what movies are on Pay-Per-View at the hotel and get our minds off things for a while, okay?”
“I-I don’t know, Nick,” Shelby shook her head with a sigh. “I don’t want--…”
“You don’t want to what, Shell? Have fun? Continue on with your life?” I questioned. I didn’t mean to sound rude…I didn’t mean to sound angry or get her upset, but it needed to be said. I needed her to see how she was allowing this to control her. “Shelby, I know this is going to affect us and affect our lives, okay? I get that. But I don’t think we should allow it to completely take us over.”
She swallowed the sob that was trapped in the back of her throat and nodded. We had walked to an empty hallway and she stopped walking to face me. “You’re right, Nick. You really are.” She nodded. I watched as a few tears slipped out the corners of her eyes.
“Shelby, please don’t cy,” I sighed and pulled her in for a tight hug. “I’m sorry, I am.”
“Don’t apologize,” she shook her head as her body shook slightly with sobs. “I just need to learn how to deal with this. Because I don’t know what I’m doing…so I’m trying to learn.”
I nodded and pulled her away from me slightly. “That’s fine,” I nodded. “I want us to learn how to deal with it. And the best part of all is that we can learn together. Because I’m feeling exactly the same way you are, I’m just not as expressive.” I tried to crack a smile. She nodded with a small smile and dabbed at the corners of her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“Stop apologizing,” she giggled. “You’re right, though. Brian and Leigh have this under control for a little while. If anything happens, they’ll call us. We need some time to ourselves. So let’s go rent a movie and have a few hours on our own.” I smiled. It was somewhat like a breakthrough. Granted, I knew this wouldn’t change everything. Lanie was still sick and our hearts were still broken, but yet we had managed to work through something. Lanie had been so violently sick before and I could tell it was eating away at Shelby (and little did she know, it was eating away at me). But we managed to pull through together.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry for the wait!! Classes are absolutely crazyyyy. But keep the reviews coming. I'll try to keep updating as much as I can!!
