Sailors Knot by Phoebe Alexander

Author:Phoebe Alexander
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mountains Wanted Publishing

Fourteen

When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.

-Franklin D. Roosevelt

* * *

There were flashes of voices and movement and lights and color. But she couldn’t seem to pin them down, to grasp hold. She felt quite certain she heard her sister’s voice, but when her eyes popped open, no one was there, just the dark, placid hospital room underscored by a few faint beeps and whirrs. Her eyes drifted shut again.

And then she felt a warmth, a touch. Her eyelids fluttered open again, and her gaze shot down to her hand where she felt a bit of pressure. It was Paisley’s hand resting on top of hers.

“Casey?” the younger woman questioned, her blue eyes radiating hope.

For the first time, Casey seemed able to home in on that moment before it popped like soap bubbles in the air. She tried to smile, but spreading her lips caused a crack of pain, and when she tried to speak, she found her voice was nothing more than a raspy squeak.

“Get her some water,” Leah suggested. “I’ll go get Connie.”

It felt like several minutes before a plastic cup was placed against her lips, but then she realized she almost slipped under again. She fought it this time, struggling to sit up in the bed.

“Don’t move,” she was admonished. And there was her sister’s voice.

“Holy shit, you scared the crap out of us,” Paisley said, stroking her fingers lightly up Casey’s arms, making her shiver.

“Are you cold? We’ll get you a warm blanket.”

Casey shook her head, too afraid the warmth would cause her to slip away again. She grunted, trying to clear the gunk from her vocal cords. “What’s going on?” she managed, though it felt like her throat was full of splinters.

“You passed out on your living room floor,” Leah reminded her. “That was yesterday. You gave us quite a scare.”

“Oh…” It began to come back to her. All the people in her apartment. Cap finding out Leah was carrying twins. She felt dizzy when she stood up to use the restroom.

“You were severely dehydrated,” Connie noted, placing her stethoscope on Casey’s chest and having a listen. Then she helped prop her up so she could listen from the other side.

“We tried to get her to drink plenty of water,” Leah insisted. “You were there, Connie!”

“I’m not blaming you,” the nurse said with a laugh. “I don’t hear any fluid, so that’s a good sign.”

“Where did the menfolk go?” Casey questioned, her eyes able to clearly focus on her sister and friends at last.

“They went out to grab some lunch,” Paisley answered. “Don’t try to move so much, geez, woman!”

Connie stopped Casey from stripping the covers back so she could move her feet. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Can a woman pee, or would you rather I piss the bed?” Casey fired back, clutching the sheet around her as her eyes, which were working much better now, darted between all three women.

“You have a catheter,” Connie said, shaking her head.

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