CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
(BPOV)
The afternoon quickly came and went and when the sun began to set in the sky, and there was still no word from Jacob, I started to think the worst.
Charlie had returned to the station hours ago, and the kids had been content playing outside in the sandbox until I told them dinner was ready. My hands were busy with setting the table when a terrified scream from Clarissa made me drop everything and run outside.
"Mama!" She cried, pointing to the tree line with wide eyes of alarm.
"What's the matter? Did something scare you?"
My gaze followed to where she'd just pointed, but there was nothing to be seen there but the looming shadows of the setting sun.
Clarissa wrapped her arms around my middle and continued to stare off into the distance, as I squinted, still trying to see what exactly had startled her like this.
"Do you see it? There was a man standing right there. He was watching us play outside."
"No honey, I don't see anything." I replied, her words making my skin go cold.
Mason stopped digging in the sand then, his focus shifting to where Clarissa was pointing to with peaked interest. He helped Madison up out of the sand box and then ran toward the forest.
"Mason! Stop!" I yelled, but he kept going until he reached the very edge.
Clarissa left my arms and tore off after her younger brother, pulling him back from the tree line protectively when she reached him.
"Go back with mama, Mason." She told him and he did so without pause.
Clarissa stayed by the forests edge, her keen stare seeing something there that I couldn't and it unnerved me.
"Clarissa-"
"I'm okay mama." She assured, before we headed back inside the house but her words did little to calm the sea of worry currently raging on in my head.
Mason wouldn't leave the window, his tiny hands pressed firmly to the glass as he peered out into the darkening back yard.
"Where's daddy?" He soon asked while I tried to redirect him to the table so he would eat with us, but he refused to move. "No, I don't wanna eat without daddy! We have to wait until he's back."
"Alright, Mason. We'll wait."
"When is he coming back home?"
"I'm not sure what time he'll be back." I truthfully admitted.
Clarissa had been kind enough to get the twins a snack while they waited there by the window and I thanked her by placing a kiss to her forehead, my lips stilling there when they touched her warm skin.
My breath hitched and Clarissa caught sight of the worry on my face as she peered up at me still holding the bag of pretzels in her hand.
"What is it, mama? What's wrong?" She innocently questioned.
"Clarissa, do you feel alright?"
She shrugged and took a pretzel from the bag.
"I'm a bit tired." She admitted, as I tentatively touched the back of my hand to her feverish forehead.
"You don't feel sick?"
"Nope." She sighed, peering back out the window with the twins.
I retrieved the head thermometer from under the sink in the bathroom and carefully held it to her temple, my eyes studying the rising number as it reached 101.5 degrees and kept climbing to 102.1.
She had no other flu like symptoms. No cough or runny nose. No upset stomach. Just the fever.
The flu wasn't even going around this time of year. It wasn't peak season.
"Does your head hurt, Clarissa?" I asked, getting a cool cloth for her to hold to her flush cheeks.
"Maybe a little." She yawned. "Can I go lay down on the couch while we wait for daddy?"
"Course you can." I told her, as she headed for the living room and curled up on the sofa with a blanket.
She was sound asleep in minutes and after the sun had long since set, I convinced Madison and Mason to eat their dinner.
When the table was cleared, I fixed Clarissa her plate and tried to wake her so she could eat something. I took the blanket off her and noticed the way her cheeks were still flushed as I touched her forehead again.
Her skin gave off heat like a furnace and she groaned in protest when I tried to sit her up straight.
"No, I want to sleep." She half cried. "Let me be."
She had the chills and winced when I reached for her.
"Come on, honey. I'll draw you a cool bath." I offered, but she shook her head to me in protest of the idea.
"I don't want a bath. I hurt, Mama. Everything hurts."
I checked her temp again and gasped when the digital thermometer read 103.6 degrees.
"Oh, God- you're burning up."
I lifted her into my arms and she cried out in pain from the jostling movement as I headed for the tub with her, hurriedly stripping her clothes from her sweltering skin and turning on the water.
"I don't feel good-"
"I know, honey. I know. It's gonna be okay, alright?"
My hands must have felt like ice to her because she flinched in discomfort whenever they grazed her bare skin. The tub soon filled with the cool water and I lowered her down into it, hoping it would help to bring her core temperature down. After a few minutes it seemed to be working and I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Bella!?"
Jacobs voice was loud and urgent when it called to me from the front door, but I couldn't answer him, I was too focused on Clarissa.
She shook from the fever, and curled in on herself as she rocked back and forth.
"Daddy!" Clarissa yelled for him, as I added more cool water to the rimming tub and ran the wet cloth along her forehead again.
"Bells- what-" He stopped short when he saw us there, his face paling when she cried for him.
"Daddy-"
I grabbed the towel from the back of the door and helped her dry off before he took hold of her, her tiny frame appearing more fragile than normal to me when she clung to her father.
She was only in his arms for a few fleeting seconds, before Jake noticed the feverish heat her skin was giving off and he looked ashen as he held her close.
"How long?" He dreadfully asked.
"The last few hours." I told him, noting the way he cringed.
"It's rising- steadily?" He ground out in question, as he took her out of the bathroom and sat with her on the couch, his hand cradling her head to his chest with a pained look that made my eyes sting with emotion.
"Yes." I told him.
"Is something wrong with me, daddy?"
"No- no, baby- there's nothing wrong with you." He tried to assure her, but his voice failed him upon reaching the last few words to her.
She glanced up at him, the two of them seeming to have a silent conversation all on their own as they looked at each other.
"It's alright, daddy." Clarissa whispered. "I know what you are. I know you're a protector and I know what you protect us from."
Jacob's face paled further as he looked down at her, his gaze fixed on her face with his emotional reply.
"You do?"
Clarissa slowly nodded then.
"Grandpa Billy read me a new story last week and he said you've always been his superhero and that maybe I'll grow up to be the same kind of superhero one day, too."
"He told you that?" Jacob questioned, tightening his grip on her when she shivered again.
"Yep, he did." She softly admitted. "I'm scared though, Daddy. What if I'm not brave enough to be what you are? To be a protector?"
Jacob let out a shuddering breath and pressed his forehead to hers with his heartfelt response.
"You are brave enough, Clarissa. It's okay to be scared. I was, too. But I'm gonna be right here with you, honey. You're gonna be okay."
"You promise?" Clarissa tearfully questioned.
"I promise, baby. I promise."
A/N: Things are starting to turn in this plot. More to come soon! Thank you for reading and please review.