CHAPTER 1- HEADACHES AND FAMILY
The sound of an alarm shattered the early morning silence and a pale hand slapped at it in an attempt to quiet it. The hand missed its mark and knocked it off the table without succeeding in stopping the noise. The teenager owning the off target hand gave a faint groan and started to push himself up out of bed to find the blasted noisemaker. About halfway up he changed his mind and sunk back into his pillow with a groan no longer of annoyance but of pain. The movement had caused his head to throb and made him feel slightly nauseous. He tried to think back on what could cause such a predicament in his body but was coming up empty when all of the sudden he heard a door open.
"You going to silence that thing son?" The humorous voice of Sandy Cohen asked from the doorway. When no response immediately came Sandy stepped further into the room and the face which before had held a smile now held a frown noticing the pale form of the teenager lying in the bed. In four quick steps Sandy was by the bed and had silenced the alarm on his own.
"What's wrong Ryan- you feeling okay?"
"Headache." The boy mumbled in a barely recognizable tone.
"I'm guessing you haven't taken anything let me get some Tylenol."
"Won't work- not strong enough."
The comment brought Sandy to a halt. Ryan had been living with them for a few months now but there was still so much he didn't know about the boy.
"What do you mean?"
"Migraine- need something stronger."
Sandy nodded this he understood Kristen got migraines sometimes. He walked over to the curtains and pulled them tight dimming the room for the boy and heard a satisfied grunt at the action. Next he went to the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth and soaked it in warm water ringing it out after a minute. He headed back towards Ryan grabbing a small trashcan just in case the boys headaches made him nauseous. He set the can by the bed and lightly laid the towel over Ryan's eyes.
Whispering he told Ryan "I'll go get some meds from Kristen- she gets migraines too. I'll be back soon just try and rest."
A small wave of the boys hand signaled his acceptance.
It seemed like ages but in reality was probably just a few short minutes and Sandy was back.
"Here you go kid- its Excedrin. I have some Sprite too- sip it slowly. Hopefully this will help."
"It should they usually last only a day for me- thanks." Ryan whispered in reply complying with shaky hands to Sandy's offerings of medication.
The rest of the day passed in a cycle of sleep, illness and medication but by evening Ryan was starting to feel better. It was the first time Ryan could remember anyone caring for him like a real parent. He hated being sick, but at least he had learned someone cared for him and with that last though he slipped into a healing sleep grateful God had brought him to the Cohen's.