Take Me Home {Completed}

Chapter Seven

"We only have what we give." 
― Isabel Allende

***

Chapter Seven:  

Nola jolted up with sweat covering her face and neck. Her head felt as if it had a heartbeat, and her eyes felt droopy and heavy. However, Nola knew she couldn't go back to sleep. "Where am I?" Nola questioned as she glanced around the room. 

The place was unfamiliar to her, and that struck fear in her. Panic bubbled up as she tossed the blankets off herself, feeling as if they weighed her down with heat.

"Oh good, you're up," Parker stated as he walked over to her. The second he saw how her face was coated in sweat and how her eyes were battling to stay open; he got concerned. "Nola B. are you okay? You're sweating like a pig." Parker placed his hand on her forehead. 

Nola flinched away from his touch but before she did he was able to feel the heat radiating off her forehead. "Damn, you're burning up Nola." Parker looked down at her in concern. "Do you feel okay?"

"I'm fine," Nola lied, knowing that a woman was not to show pain or sickness. However, she couldn't stop herself from grabbing her head because she, truly, did have a splitting headache.

Parker watched as she grabbed her forehead and winced, quickly, in pain. "That's the chloroform. It gives you a headache," Parker told her, knowing that she lied a minute ago about how she was feeling. "You might even feel light headed for a while, but it'll go away. As for your fever, I don't think that has to do with the chloroform. I think you've come down with something."

"Chloroform ... you drugged me ... Why...?" She trailed off in question as she tried to stay awake and hear his explanation. But it wasn't a second later before she realized she had questioned a man on his actions and intentions. Nola was about to apologize but instead of a 'sorry' escaping her lips, yesterday's leftover spaghetti came chucking up. 

She had no control, in the realm of stopping herself, as she got sick. Every part of her tried not to imagine the lesson that would be taught after she got done being sick. 

Woman are never to get sick - they are to pull through and suck it up as Mitch taught the week she had the flu.

"Oh shit," Parker stated as his eyes got wide. Without thinking twice he raced out the room and into the bathroom. Parker got two rags. One he kept dry, while the other he ran through cool water. Once it was wet, he turned off the sink and twisted the rag, to get rid of the excess water. Running back to the room, he saw that Nola was done throwing up and was crying while muttering a thousand 'I'm so sorry's. 

Parker went up to her, "Shhh, shh, shh, it's okay Nola B. Nothing we can't clean up." Parker took the dry rag and brought it to her face.  

Nola, with all the energy she could muster scooted away from him and shook her head, "No! Please, no! Not again, please." 

Parker looked at her questioningly before realizing the last time he put a rag to her mouth; he knocked her out with chloroform. He sighed, "It doesn't have chloroform." He held it to his mouth and breathed in heavily a few times. "See? I'm awake and fine."

Reaching out, he decided he would not clean the throw up from her face but instead offered her the rag and let her do it herself. Parker, standing there, thought it was the wisest thing for he didn't want to scare her any more than she already was. "It's to clean your face with ... I promise no drugs. No more drugs, ever."

Nola stared at him with her big, dull, green eyes. She wasn't sure if she could trust him, but as seconds melted into minutes, and he gave her a warm smile, she knew that - somehow -  he wasn't lying.