Hey. Here's chapter 2. Hope you like it. Even if you don't have an account I can see that you have read this and I'm so grateful for your support. Thank you 😘


"Pneumonia! How bad?" A worried Lennox asked.

"It's looking like it's on the serious side at the moment, but we will do a chest x ray and more blood tests to determine that. He's being taken care of well and he's doesn't have a medical record of anything serious so don't worry about it."

"Thanks" Lennox said as she made her way back to Ryder's bedside.

"Does he know?" She asked Mel.

"Yeah. I don't think he knows what it is so he just nodded and went back to sleep. I'm gonna go tell Joe the news and tell work that I'm not going in for a few days." Mel left the room. Lennox texted her friends telling them that she might not be at school for a few days. Ryder moaned then, Lennox grabbing his hand.

"Go back to sleep, okay." She stroked his hair out of his face. The nurse came in with a thermometer.

"I'm Shannon and I'll be his nurse tonight. I'm gonna check his temperature and then hook a heart rate machine and put a nasal cannula on just to be on the safe side." The nurse checked his temperature. "It's 105.6. I'm going to get the doctor's here urgently." The nurse left and came back with the doctor.

"Is he allergic to any medications?" The doctor asked.

"I don't think so." Replied Lennox.

"Give him some ibuprofen and a damp cloth to dab on his head. Take the blankets off him to bring his temperature down and sure he eats something before he takes the ibuprofen. A doctor will come in the morning to check up on him." The nurse and doctor left. Mel came in to the room.

"Bad news. Joe's grandma is sick so he can't come home for a few days." Mel explained, sitting down. "You should sleep for a bit. There's a folding bed over there. I'll take care of him."

"Take the blankets off him and take his jacket off. He's burning up." Lennox gently took the blankets away from him. He began shivering.

"Ryder you're burning up. I'm taking your jacket and socks off." Mel lifted his limp body up. She sat him up. She took his jacket off and put it behind her chair. The nurse came in, holding a plate with some toast on it. Another one followed carrying some medical equipment.

"We're gonna attach the nasal cannula on him first." The nurse put the cannula on him. "This'll help you to breathe. Your throat is quite sore so this will help. I'm just going to put a heart rate monitor on him and that should be it. Eat the toast and then we can give you some ibuprofen. That'll bring your temperature down. We are gonna put the air con on in this room to get his temperature down so it'll get quite chilly." The nurse left and the other one put the table in front of him and put two tablets on the plate.

"Take these when you've eaten at least one slice of toast." The other nurse then left.


That Night

It was about 5 am. It was Mel's turn to sleep. Lennox had Ryder on her lap. He couldn't sleep.

"Lennox" he moaned

"Yeah I'm here. What's wrong?"

"I feel sick" he covered his mouth. Lennox grabbed the sick bucket from the bedside table and put it front of him. He began coughing up blood, followed by some vomit. The sound of him throwing up woke Mel.

"Honey what's wrong?" Mel asked, sounding worried.

"He's just throwing up and coughing up blood." Explained Lennox, holding his head.

"I'll sit with him. Go to sleep Lennox." Lennox put Ryder down on the bed and got on to the folding bed. Mel held Ryder in her arms. She put his head on her shoulder, stroking his hair. The nurse then came in to check his temperature.

"It's 105.3 so it's going down slowly. Keep the blankets off and dab this on his head." The nurse gave Mel an ice pack. She dabbed in all over his head. Sweat was still pouring from his head.

"I'm cold" he said, curling up.

"That's a good sign. Your temperature needs to be bought down so I have to put this on your head." Mel said to Ryder, who still looked very sick. He began to moan in pain. Mel wrapped her arms around him tighter.

"Ssshhh honey. I'm here. Just try to go to sleep." Ryder buried his head into his aunt's shoulder. He hadn't felt this bad ever. Mel was also worried about how Ryder had gotten pneumonia. Lennox was vaccinated to prevent it. Why wasn't he?

"Lennox" she whispered. Lennox moaned, waking up.

"What's up" she sat up.

"Why wasn't he vaccinated against pneumonia?"

"Dad was supposed to take him. I'm sure they went. Ask Ryder." Lennox got up out of bed and went into the toilet to brush her teeth. It was 7.30 so she thought she'd might as well wake up.

"Ryder" Mel shook him, making him jump. "Were you vaccinated against pneumonia?"

"Dad was supposed to take me but he went to see his friends instead. Worked for me I hate needle." he replied, closing his eyes tightly to try and sleep.

"That jerk." Mel got very angry at the fact that if his brother in law took his son to get this vaccination then he wouldn't be in this much pain. "Go back to sleep" she stroked his hair. His head was still very warm. "Lennox could you pass me that ice pack" Mel asked as Lennox gave it to her. Mel dabbed the ice pack on his sweaty forehead.

"How did you sleep Lennox?" Mel questioned, yawning.

"Not very well. I was too worried about Ryder." She answered, sitting on the bed. Mel lay Ryder down on the bed. He woke up and curled up into a ball and scooted next to Lennox, putting his head on her thigh. Mel passed her the ice pack and Lennox dabbed it all over his head. The nurse came in to check his temperature. This time it was the day nurse.

"His temperature is 105.4. It's going up again I'm afraid. I'll get him some ice cream to cool him down. Take some of his clothes off and put a thin sheet over him if he gets cold. I'm gonna turn up the air con more so you might get a bit chilly. I'll get him a drink and some ice cream and then check his heart rate." The nurse left.

"Aunt Mel I bought a bag of his things in. Could you get him some shorts?" Lennox asked. Mel got up and got the shorts. She took his trousers off and put them on him. She also took his socks off and opened the window. Just then, Mel's phone rang.

"That was work. I have to go in there's been an emergency. Could you please take care of him whilst I'm there Lennox? I'll be back in two hours tops." Mel explained. Lennox nodded and then Mel left.

"Lennox" said Ryder.

"Hey what's the matter?" Lennox looked at him in the eyes. He always had this sort of vulnerability that was clearly shown each time she looked in his eye.

"I...I can't breathe"


CLIFFHANGER! I hate it when I'm left on a cliffhanger bur I love doing them 😆