As soon as she entered school, Nicky regretted it. She was feeling every twist in her stomach. Everything hurt, she could barely walk straight.
Lorna was chattering nervously at her side, but Nicky could barely hear what she was saying.
"Lorna, can you get to the point, please?" Nicky said hoarsely. "What did you need to tell me?"
"Oh... That..." Lorna said nervously. "Nicky... I"
"What?"
"Are you alright? You're sweating. Oh my god, are you going to vomit?" Lorna said trying to change the subject.
"For God's sake just say it." Nicky rubbed her eyes with exhaustion.
"OK, Nicky, I don't know what got into me at that party. That... Kiss, it wasn't supposed to happen"
Lorna loved Nicky to death. She was her best friend and there was no doubt about it. But she couldn't like girls. Not this way.
"Nicky, I'm sorry..." Lorna didn't lose the sad look Nicky gave. "Christopher and I are dating."
"Wow" Nicky chuckled. She could feel the tears forming in her eyes. And the pain in his stomach was nothing compared to the pain in his heart. "I love you so much, Lorna... But you know…you can't just, like uh, keep doing whatever the fuck you want and then thinking it's gonna be okay."
Nicky gathered her backpack and quickly headed for the school bathroom. Entering one of the cubicles, Nicky closed the door and sat down on the floor beside the toilet and began to cry.
"I'm such an idiot," Nicky said angrily, rubbing the tears running down her face.
Of course, Lorna was not in love with her. How she could be so dumb. Nicky was hating herself for loving this girl so much. She wouldn't forget this kiss so soon, and now that she knows the kiss was a mistake, it will be a painful memory of what was once a little bit of hope.
Nicky felt her pressure drop and her stomach twist. She was sweating cold and her heart was racing. When she realized it, she was clinging to the toilet vomiting.
"Nicky? Nicky, are you there? "Lorna said knocking on the bathroom door Nicky was in. Pushing the door slightly Lorna saw the image of Nicky vomiting.
"OH MY GOD NICKY."
XOXOXO
The movement in the market was a little quiet that morning. Red and Gloria were playing cards while there were no customers. The chat was fine between them until Red's phone starts ringing.
"Hello?" Red said, answering the phone. "Yes, that's her."
Gloria was patiently waiting for Red to finish the conversation when she saw her friend's face turn into sheer desperation.
"Please tell me that she's okay," Red practically yelled. "Yes, yes I'm going."
"What happened?" Gloria said with concern.
"Nicky won't stop vomiting," Red said desperately taking the car keys. "Please take over the market today." Without waiting for Gloria to respond, Red was in her car ready to go after her daughter.
XOXOXO
"Hello, I'm Nicky's mother... Nicole. They called me saying that she was feeling sick," Red told the woman at the school's office.
"Oh yes, Nicole Reznikov, right?" The woman gently replied.
"Exactly."
"Don't worry Mrs. Reznikov, she's getting better," said the woman trying to calm Red down. "Follow me and I'll take you to her."
Red walked in the school hallway next to the young woman. Red was kicking her own ass right now. She should never have allowed Nicky to go to school. She should have made the girl stay from the moment she felt her fever.
Entering the room, Red watched her extremely pale daughter lying in a chair.
"Oh my baby," Red ran up to Nicky and then pulled her into her arms.
Nicky melted all over her mother's much-desired arms. "I shouldn't have come," she said weakly.
"You think so?" Red laughed and put a wet kiss on Nicky's forehead. Red walked over to the school principal and talked to her for a few minutes before turning her attention to her daughter. "Let's go home? Hm? Are you ready to be babied? "
"I've never been so ready in my life."
XOXOXO
"Now you're going straight to bed," said Red parking the car.
"Take me on your lap?" Nicky murmured like a baby.
"Oh I wish I could do this, but you're so big," Red said.
"You always say I'm too thin, so you can carry me."
"Nicky, come on." Red got out of the car and opened the door for Nicky.
Sighing, Nicky obeyed and got out of the car closing the door. She was still feeling very weak and started to feel dizzy again.
Red hugged her daughter aside, making sure Nicky was stable. She felt terrible about seeing her girl that way.
Entering home Nicky went straight to the couch and lay down sloppily, letting out a sigh of pain.
"Malyshka, I think you'd better lie down in your bed," Red said sitting on the edge of the couch and stroking Nicky's back.
Nicky murmured in disapproval. "I want to stay here."
Red continued to stroke her daughter's back for a moment. Nicky whimpered as she felt her mother's hand drop from her back. Red went to the kitchen and picked up a thermometer.
"I need to measure your temperature baby," Red sat next to Nicky on the couch again. "Come on, open your mouth."
Nicky obeyed and Red gently placed the thermometer inside her mouth. After that Red returned to the kitchen to get some medicine.
Red knew this would be the hard part. Nicky never liked medicine. What kind of a child like medicine?
Returning to the living room Red put the medicine on the center table and sat next to Nicky removing the thermometer from her mouth.
"Oh no..." Nicky grumbled already knowing what was coming.
Looking at the thermometer Red was filled with concern. Nicky's fever was high, her girl must be feeling terrible.
"Oh yes..." Red took the medicine and put it in the small cup. "Here."
"Can I just have a tylenol? Please, Ma, I prefer capsules."
"Nicky, take it!" Red said, ignoring her daughter's request. When Nicky didn't move, Red approached the medicine from Nicky's mouth. "Open," her tone left no place for arguments.
Reluctantly Nicky opened her mouth and let her mother give her the medicine. The taste of the medicine made Nicky shiver and turn her face away.
"See? You survived." Red smiled and handed Nicky a glass of water, which she quickly drank. "I hope this improves your fever, otherwise I'll have to take you to the doctor. Do you still feel nauseous?"
"Not really," Nicky replied in her voice still sounding a little weak and hoarse.
"Are you sure? I think you got a really serious flu. Or even a virus." Red said beginning to stroke her daughter's hair.
Nicky quickly became sleepy. Melting to the touch of the mother. "Can you lie down with me?"
Nicky sounded so much like a baby. What made Red miss the times that she could still hold Nicky in her lap and give all the care and love she needed.
"How can I resist to that?" Red began to stuff Nicky with kisses all around her face. "Come here let me hold you," she said as she sat down in a corner of the big sofa.
There was no need to speak twice. Nicky ran into her mother's arms and lay on her lap.
The pair stayed for a long time in that position. Red stroking Nicky's hair as she watched a random mafia movie. She didn't understand how anyone could get involved in this kind of crime. In any kind of crime.
XOXOXO
Red woke up startled by the sound of a doorbell. How long have I slept? She thought. Looking at her lap, she couldn't avoid the smile on her face. Nicky was still sleeping like an angel.
Red placed a hand on her neck to see if she still had a fever, and was shocked to see how much her daughter was sweating. Red gently removed Nicky's head from her lap, carefully so shw wouldn't wake her girl, and headed to the front door.
"Oh hi Gloria... Come in, where's my daughter?" Red said pointing Gloria in and watching Tricia run to the door.
"Hi Mom," Tricia said giving a good bear hug to her mother.
"Hi my love," Red said hugging and kissing the top of Tricia's head. "How was school today?"
"No big deal," Tricia replied nonchalantly and headed toward her sister.
"Is Nicky getting better?" Gloria asked her friend.
"Her fever has gone down a bit, she's covered in sweat I need to send her to the bath." Red said watching Nicky lying on the couch. "Where's Julio? and Benny? "
"I left them at home, I just came here to leave Tricia and to know about Nicky," Gloria replied and walked toward the sofa to get a better picture of the sick girl. "She looks terrible."
"Thank you for picking Tricia in school for me, and yes..." Red sighed, "she looks awful."
"She stinks," Tricia said with disgusted face.
Red and Gloria laughed. "She needs a shower."
"Well, I need to go and feed my little wolves." Gloria said walking toward Red and giving her friend a hug. "Tell your little devil I hope she gets better."
Red chuckled rolling her eyes and returning the hug. "Thanks! See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow!"
Red closed the door and turned her attention to her daughter. "Nicky? Wake up, darling."
Nicky grunted, opening her eyes slowly. "Don't wanna."
"You're sweating too much. I need you to go take a shower." Red said. "Tricia, go take off that uniform, I'll do something for you to eat, and you'll be the next one in the shower because I can feel the dirt from here."
Red had prepared the tub for Nicky, who dutifully agreed to take the shower. Red helped her with the shampoo, something Nicky would never allow if she wasn't sick. Nicky doesn't like being treated like a baby, but Red never seemed to care, Nicky was her baby and she would treat her as such.
After Nicky's bath, it was Tricia's turn, who had just finished eating. Tricia curled up a little to get into the tub but as soon as she entered, she didn't want to leave.
"Did Tricia say anything else about the bullying? Are they still making fun of her?" Nicky asked as she lay down on the couch again.
"She hasn't said anything yet, but I can feel she's not ok," Red sighed.
"I can handle this if you want," Nicky said, yawning.
"You're going to stay away from that young lady. Get out of trouble," Red said in a stern voice. "Are you feeling better?"
"My head still hurts, but I feel better."
"I'll make some soup for you, you have not eaten yet." Red said going toward the bathroom
"Come on Trish, you had enough time to clean up every corner of your body." Red put a towel on top of the sink and waited her daughter to get out the tub. Red could feel that something was wrong with her daughter. "Baby, what's going on?"
"Nothing," Tricia said in her bathrobe.
Red took the towel and began to dry Tricia's hair. "Are you sure?"
"I don"t want to talk about it," Tricia waited for her mother to dry her hair and ran to her room.
Red sighed sadly, something was bothering her little one, and she knew what it was. As much as it hurt to see Tricia like this, Red knew that her daughter needed space.
Returning to the living room, Red gave a quick glance at Nicky who was lying on the couch watching Harry Potter and then went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Tricia after brushing her hair and putting on her pajamas went to the living room and laid on the couch next to her sister. Tricia placed a hand on Nicky's forehead to feel her fever. "Are you feeling better?" She said.
Nicky can't help but smile. "Yeah, I'm better already. And you? Are you okay?"
"They're still making fun of me Nicky," Tricia said sadly. "Please make them stop."
Nicky hugged her sister protectively. "I'll fix this, Tricia... I promise you, I'll fix this."