When I woke up, Mason was in my room. He was putting another blanket over me, but stopped when he saw me awake.
"Quinn!" He gasped. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."
I shook my head and sat up, giving him a weak smile. Mason nodded and hugged me, smashing my face in his chest. I began to cough and he pulled away, patting my back. My lungs and throat both hurt from the hard coughing, and drool dribbled down to my chin. I wiped it and looked down in embarrassment.
"I'll go get Nora, you stay in bed," Mason ordered. He jumped up and rushed out of the room.
My face was burning up, and I felt like a cold shower would be amazing. I slipped out of the covers and wobbled to the door. Three doors down on the right side of the hall was the bathroom. I slowly made my way over to it, closing, and locking, the door behind me.
I ran the water in the sink on cold and splashed my feverish face. There was a gentle knock on the door and The Kind Lady called, "Quinn, sweetie are you in there? Please come out, I don't like you being in there alone, there's things in there that could hurt you." I blushed a bit, feeling like she was treating me like a baby.
I turned off the faucet, dried my face, then opened the door. The Kind Lady looked down at me with a worried expression, seeming almost scared.
"Are you okay? What were you doing in there?" She asked. I nodded to answer her first question and looked down. "Is your stomach upset again?" I shook my head no. "Well, let's get you back to bed, okay?"
I nodded and took The Kind Lady's hand. She led me back to the room and had me lay on the bed. She disappeared downstairs for a moment, then came back with some medicine. Sitting down beside me, she handed me the small cup of the purple medicine.
Hesitantly, I put the cup to my lips. I sipped it and swallowed quickly. She took the cup and set it on the table, then reached down to hold my hand.
"Quinn, do you always get this sick?" The Kind Lady asked. I nodded. "Well, what did your Mommy and Daddy do to make you feel better?"
I pointed to my notepad on my desk. The Kind Lady nodded and grabbed it for me, along with a pen. "They cut me some peaches," I wrote.
"Peaches huh? Well I'm sure we have some of those," she mumbled. She gave me a pointed look and said, "You need to stay in bed this time, you hear me? I don't want you passing out again."
I nodded and she stood up to leave. Before she did, I grabbed her arm and opened my mouth to tell her thank you. The Kind Lady watched me intensely as he waited. After hesitating for a while, I closed my mouth and let go. She looked a bit disappointed and sat beside me. Her warm hand stroked my cheek with the back of her fingers and she leaned down to kiss my forehead.
"You don't have to talk," she whispered. "I understand a lot better than the others." The Kind Lady stood up again and walked to the door. "You don't have to thank me, either," she said before she left. "It's my job after all."
How did she know?
I watched the lady walk down the steps, my eyes never leaving her. How did she know what I was going to say? Was she psychic?
I decided to rename her to: the Psychic Lady.
When the Psychic Lady came back he had a fever pad. She pulled off the white film and gently placed the gel pad on my forehead. "Feel good?" She asked. I nodded as the cool pad began to help my fever. It felt amazing on my warm face, and worked much better than splashing myself with water.
I laid back and closed my eyes, a tiny smile on my face. The Psychic Lady chuckled and tossed the trash into the wastebasket beside my desk.
"Hey, she alright," Alex asked from the doorway.
"Yeah, hopefully the fever pad will help," The Psychic Lady nodded. She turned to me and smiled softly. "Look, Quinn, it's big brother."
I sat up and nodded to Alex, who came over and sat beside me. He cupped my face and whispered, "Don't go getting out of bed anymore. Just let us take care of you until Mommy and Daddy come home, 'kay?"
I nodded and hugged Alex. He hugged me back, almost pulling me into his lap. The Psychic Lady joined in on the hug. "Camy's slicing up some peaches for you right now," The Psychic Lady whispered. "Lay back and rest until she comes up."
I laid back like she said, cuddling into the blanket she laid over me. Alex smiled and stroked my hair gently, then moved his hand to my cheek. He felt it with the back of his hand then turned to The Psychic Lady. "Have you checked her fever yet? I'm worried it went up," he whispered. "She feels warmer than when I checked on her while you were getting Mason."
The Psychic Lady stood up and hurried downstairs. She came back and propped the thermometer in my mouth, watching me impatiently. When it beeped she took it out and frowned.
"What?" Alex asked.
"It went up," she sighed. "She was one-oh-three when I went to pick her up, now she's one-oh-five." She turned to me with a stern look. "Did you spit out the medicine? I know you didn't want to, but you're too sick not to take it."
"I did take it," I wrote.
"If it gets any higher you're going to see the doctor," The Psychic Lady stated surely. "Whether you want to or not, I don't care."
"NO," I wrote as large as I could. I circled it multiple times, then shoved it out at the two. Tears pricked my eyes.
Alex sighed and this time really did pull me into his lap. He rested his chin on the top off my head, and wrapped his arms around me. He squeezed me tight, then whispered, "I know your scared, but your big brothers and sisters are here for you. You can always come running to us, we'll make sure the scary things go away."
"Promise?" I asked in a tiny whisper.
"Cross my heart and hope to die," Alex smiled.
I pulled my legs up and turned to sit sideways. I rested the side of my head on his shoulder, shutting my eyes. "I like the doctor I had last time, do you think I'm going to have her again?" I whispered into Alex's shoulder.
"Maybe, but I promise if I don't like the doctor they won't go near you, Quinn." I nodded and hid my face in his chest. Alex smiled and turned to the Psychic Lady. "It looks like Quinn likes Adam."
"Adam?" The Psychic Lady asked, her eyes lighting up. Yes! I'm getting a brother-in-law soon! "I haven't seen him in forever! He's a doctor now?"
"Yup," Alex nodded. "I guess they got along."
"I'm glad to hear that, since I'm sure I'll be seeing him soon," she grinned. "But, Alex? Do you maybe know what he would—would like as a gift?" She mumbled sheepishly.
I giggled and grabbed my notepad. "You like him, don't you?" I wrote. She nodded her head softly and blushed a deep red. I giggled more and scribbled down quickly, "He was talking about you. He called you cute. And attractive."
"He did?" She asked hopefully. I nodded. "Okay, what should I get him? A tie? Chocolates?"
I recalled the way he looked whenever I went to visit. He had a few different ties lying around. "A tie," I wrote.
"You think?" She asked.
"He had a bunch of them," I wrote.
The Psychic Lady nodded and kissed my cheek. "My little hero," she smiled. I smiled back then snuggled into Alex. "You're probably still sleepy, huh?" I shook my head quickly.
"She likes cuddling with me," Alex explained. "I'm her giant pillow to lay on, as Camryn explained."
"Awe, but you want to cuddle with me too, right?" She asked hopefully. I nodded softly, and pushed off of Alex a bit. The Psychic Lady leaned over and hugged me. I latched onto her tight and hid my face in the crook of her neck. "You're too cute," she chuckled. "Is she always like this?"
"No, especially not with people she just met. I guess when she's sick she likes to be held," Alex explained softly.
"That's so adorable," The Psychic Lady gushed as he squeezed me tighter. "You're such a cutie, I'm not gonna let you go. Hope you like college." I shook my head no and loosened my grip a bit, just to tease her. "Oh no you don't! I'm is going to hold you whether you like it or not!" Age held me to her tight and buried my head into her shoulder. I smiled
In my mind, I kicked myself for letting out a yawn after only a few minutes of snuggling. The Psychic Lady started to lean over so he could lay me on the bed. Alex had already gotten up and moved out of the way.
Nope. Not happening. I need something to cuddle or else the world will end. Dramatic? Yes. Do I care? No.
"I think laying down and having a nap will help you a lot, so why don't you get some more rest?" She suggested while trying to pry me off of her. I shook my head and held on tighter. "What if I laid with you? Would that be okay?" I took a moment to think, then nodded.
The Psychic Lady laid down on her side while I cuddled into her. Alex laughed softly and pulled the blanket over us. Sam was slipped under my arm, and I held him close to me. The Psychic Lady held me tight, pressing me onto his chest. Alec kissed my cheek then hers before leaving.
"Quinn, you know how I wasn't adopted like the others?" The Psychic Lady asked quietly while playing with my hair. I nodded. "Things were really bad for me. In all honesty, I was a lot like you. I didn't eat much, and I was covered in bandages for the majority of my first year here. I was scared of anybody and everybody. Mom and Dad had to stay away from me for the first week because I would freak out so much. Chance, the only one of our siblings that's older than me, was the first person of this family that I trusted. The first person ever, really. He got me to open up to the others, slowly but surely. Then I realized that Mom and Dad would do anything for me, and that they love me. They love all of us. I think that was the last crack in my wall that just sent it crumbling down and let me open up to this family. To our family. I hope that soon the same will happen for you."
"I don't know," I sighed. I grabbed her warm hand from my unruly, knotted hair, then started to play with her fingers absentmindedly. "It's scary," I mumbled.
"You don't have to open up right now, Quinn. But I just want you to know that nothing bad will happen to you in this house," she assured. "You can trust us." I just nodded and shut my eyes.
After a few minutes of a comfortable silence, I was able to drift off. It was nice—holding Sam in my arms while my hair was being played with. I didn't know the Psychic Lady well, but there was a connection between us two—something we both had that the others didn't.
I napped for a few hours, then woke up to loud laughing downstairs. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, looking down to see The Psychic Lady smiling up at me softly. "Morning, sunshine," she whispered. I laid back down and snuggled into her again. I put my warm face into the crook of her neck, sighing with content as her skin cooled down mine. She chuckled and played with my hair. "Okay, a few more minutes. Leigh's here, so she'll come barging in to get you soon."
I popped back up and climbed off of him at the sound of Leigh being here. The Psychic Lady stopped me just as I got to the door and put her back to me. She leaned down a bit and looked at me expectantly. I glared at her, but she shrugged it off. I hopped on, and we walked out of the room. I sighed and wrapped my arms around her neck, resting my head on her shoulder.
"I want to check your fever," she explained as she started down the steps. "You feel a lot cooler, but I want to be sure." I nodded softly in response.
"Peaches!" Leigh yelled as we reached the bottom. My head popped up and I fought back my smile as I saw her racing over to us. The Psychic Lady stopped her just before she could get to me. Leigh and I both frowned at that. We had our arms out to hug each other already and everything.
"I'm checking her fever first, you can be with her afterwards," the Psychic Lady said sternly.
"Yes ma'am," Leigh replied stiffly, giving the Psychic Lady a salute. I gave one too, making both of the ladies crack smiles, Leigh's being bigger than the latter's.
The Psychic Lady carried me down the hall and to the medicine closet. She pulled out a thermometer and propped it into my mouth. It beeped, and she beamed at me when she read it. "I told you it would help. One-oh-two, kiddo, because you got your rest like you're supposed to. See, sleeping and taking medicine helps you so much."
I nodded and snuggled into her back again. I was still sick, and, since snuggling with Sammy would always made me feel better, I wanted to snuggle with somebody.
"Okay, you're gonna be a little baby for now?" She asked jokingly. I nodded. "Well then I guess we'll have to spend all night cuddling, huh?" I nodded quickly. The Psychic Lady chuckled and carried me back into the living room. She sat me down on the couch, then took her spot beside me. She wrapped her arm around me, swaying us side to side softly.
Leigh sat next to us and ruffled my hair. "How are you, little lady?" She asked. I gave a thumbs up. "Awe, Peaches, you look so sleepy. Think you can stay awake to watch a movie with us?" I nodded while playing with Sam's paws.
"Good 'cause we were going to make you do it anyways," Alex said from behind the couch. He leaned over to kiss my forehead, then handed me a fuzzy blanket. "It's like three hours long, just so you know," he called as he walked into the kitchen.
Leigh took the blanket and laid it over me. I snuggled into it, happy with how warm it was. The Psychic Lady pulled my head down into his lap while Leigh put my legs in her. Alex, Devin, Camryn, and Mason came out of the kitchen with bowls of popcorn, and Mason also had a plate of peaches. Camryn sat next to Leigh, and Devin sat on Cam's other side, pulling her in so she laid against him. Mason and Alex sat on The Psychic Lady's side. We just barely all fit onto the couch together.
The Psychic Lady got up and turned off the lights, then put in a movie. I lifted up my head so she could sit, then lowered myself onto her lap again.
Leigh teasingly started feeding me peaches as I watched my movie. I didn't mind it. I mean, I could have done it myself, but Sam did need his snuggles. She signed up for it herself after all
Halfway through the movie, I got drowsy again. The Psychic Lady playing with my hair didn't help. By the end of the movie, which I had spent more time fighting sleep than watching, I was dozing off. I felt the blanket being pulled up on me from an almost-asleep Psychic Lady, and gave a tired nod as thanks. The others had all fallen asleep.
I ended up falling asleep surrounded by a group I hadn't even known for a year, but was glad to be with. Especially the Psychic Lady, who whispered into my ear just before I was out, "I was mute too. Don't worry, I promise it gets better. And someday you realize you're just as much a part of this family as the kids who were adopted at birth."
It hit me then. The others had been adopted into this family at birth, we had to suffer to get here. We had to fight to survive in this world. Nobody understood what we went through better than us. Maybe—just maybe—what Mom and Grandpa did to me wasn't right, and maybe I could trust Nora. Not as an adult, but as a sister. And if Nora was willing to trust this family, maybe I could too.