Small

You Have To Work

I was in a lot of pain when I woke up. I'd never felt a pain like I was feeling. Even when my mouth hurt from the ice cream, it didn't feel as painful. It was like my entire head was aching. From my jaw up to my head all I felt was pain.

My room was still dark. I couldn't tell what time it was. But that didn't matter to me.

I got out of bed and put a hand on my cheek. It was warm to the touch and still a little swollen. I figured it would stay like that for a while.

I couldn't hear Darren but figured he was working in his office. Unless he was on the phone, he wasn't very noisy. I usually had to go looking for him.

I walked across the hall and to Darren's office. He was writing things down on a notepad so it was no wonder he was being quiet. He looked up from his desk as I entered the room.

"Hey, baby. How are you feeling?"

I whined and walked over to him.

"Not good, I take it. Do you need some medicine?"

I nodded. I needed something that was going to make me feel better.

He stood from his chair and put his arm around my shoulders. I leaned into his side as we walked out to the living room.

"Go ahead and have a seat on the couch. I'll get you some medicine and a drink. Find something for us to watch while I'm gone."

I sat down on the couch and pulled down the blanket from the back. I wrapped it around my shoulders and bundled up in it so I could get comfortable. I turned on the TV and found a movie I liked for us to watch.

Darren walked over with a cup of water in his hand. I was surprised it wasn't in a sippy cup. I wasn't used to regular cups.

He sat down on the coffee table and handed the cup to me. Then, he unfolded his left hand to reveal several different pills for me to take. "Take one at a time so you can get them down. Have you ever taken any pills before?"

I remembered one time using them for a headache I had. I'd seen Owen do it enough times so I knew it wouldn't be so hard. I nodded to him and held onto the cup so I wouldn't spill it or drop it.

Darren watched as I took the pills one by one. I spilled some of the water on my shirt as I drank from the cup. I wasn't used to drinking from a regular cup. It also didn't help that my mouth was still swollen.

I handed the cup back to Darren and rested my head on the back of the couch. I didn't want to keep sleeping but it made me feel better when I did. Hopefully, I'd feel better after a few days and could go back to being me again. Really, I just wanted ice cream again.

"That's my good girl. I'll be right back, baby." Darren went to the kitchen for just a minute before he vanished back into the hallway. I wasn't sure what he was doing.

I watched TV for the minute he was gone. The movie I picked didn't interest me enough. I couldn't focus on it with the pain I was feeling. It wasn't enough to distract me.

Darren came back carrying another blanket and Ted nestled in the crook of his arm. He spread the blanket out over me before he sat down on the couch beside me.

"Daddy, you have to work," I said.

He set Ted down in between us. "I can spare a little time to make sure you're okay."

I scooted over to him and rested my head against his arm. "Thanks, Daddy."

"You're welcome, baby."

It took around ten minutes for the medicine to kick in. It was a struggle for me to not think about it but thankfully, I didn't have to deal with it for long.

I laid down and put my head in Darren's lap. I pulled the blanket tight around me and let myself doze off to sleep once again.