After a while, they tried to get Bexley to eat some of the soup that Darry bought for her. But she wouldn't eat anything. She did manage to drink some juice though. She would occasionally whimper and mutter something quietly in her sleep. Most times, she would shiver like crazy, even though she had two or three blankets over her. Her brothers became increasingly worried for her.
When Darry returned home around 7:30, he instantly went to the bedroom to check on Bexley. He didn't bother to get out of his work clothes yet. Ponyboy had fallen asleep on the bed with her, making sure to stay as close to her as possible. "How's she doing?" Darry asked softly. Soda told him how the afternoon went, much to Darry's displeasure.
"We need to get her to eat. It's starting to become worrisome," he said, sitting on the edge of the bed. They needed to check her temperature and give her some more of that medicine. Bexley looked as if she was having trouble sleeping, her face was twisted in pain and she whimpered quietly.
Darry reached over and shook her shoulder gently, "Bexley, can you wake up for me?" She stirred and her eyelids opened partly. She looked utterly miserable it made her brothers hurt.
"Darry?" she feebly said, looking at her eldest brother. "Yeah, it's me, hon," Darry said, holding her boiling cheek. "I hurt so bad... please... make it stop..." she whimpered, coughing hard a few times. The coughs made her sob audibly. Ponyboy woke up at the sound of her coughing. Darry put a hand on her forehead, then her forehead, then her neck.
Darry quickly checked her temperature, holding it there since she didn't have the strength to hold it herself. Darry felt his heart skip a beat when he saw that her temperature was 104.1. It was too high.
"What do we do, Darry?" Soda asked, his voice shaky from the anxiety he was feeling. "We need to bring her temperature down; it's too high," Darry replied, looking at Bexley, who had her eyes closed as if she was asleep, but she was awake and had no idea what was going on. "How?" Soda asked.
"Go start the water in the bath, make sure it's cool water. I'll bring her in a minute," Darry said. Soda nodded and went to do as he was asked. As Soda left, Ponyboy stirred awake. "Hmm... what's going on?" he asked, pushing himself upwards. Darry picked Bexley up bridal style as he answered his youngest brother, "We're going to bring her temperature down. It's too high,"
Ponyboy became worried when he heard this; he didn't want that. He just wanted his twin sister to be okay again. "Can I help, Dar?" Ponyboy asked, not wanting to feel helpless.
"Sure, grab some extra clothes for her if you would and get her the medicine," Darry said, nodding towards the dresser that was by the closet. Ponyboy nodded and grabbed a Donald Duck t-shirt with some sweatpants and a pair of underwear, even some socks for her.
He followed Darry to the bathroom and set the clothes down. Sodapop had gotten the water ready to use in the tub.
Darry had asked his younger brothers if they could step out so he could work with Bexley. They did so without argument. There was only so much they could do to help their sister even though they're trying so hard.
'Now we're back to square one.' Darry thought as he sat Bexley on the closed toilet seat. She looked even sicker than the last time she was awake. Her skin was a pasty white but her cheeks looked pink. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused. It was common when either one of his siblings was really sick. Despite that, she seemed to hear what I was saying.
Seeing this concerned him; the medicine should've kicked in by now. Her fever was so high that it burned right through the medicine. Normally, he'd let a fever run its natural course but it was way too high to let that happen.
It wasn't at a dangerous level, but nonetheless, Darry would have to cool Bex down in order for them to get some sleep tonight. As much as he didn't like being in the bathroom while Bexley bathed, he didn't have a choice. She'd have nothing on but her bra and underwear, so he really wouldn't be seeing anything.
"D-Darry... I don't want you to see me... naked..." Bex whimpered, hesitant to get undressed in front of him. "Bex, keep your bra and underwear on. Ponyboy got you new ones," he tells her, turning the water to lukewarm, letting the tub fill up over halfway.
She undressed until she was down to her underwear and bra.
When the water reached over halfway, I turned it off. "You ready to get in?" he asked. She nodded as she reached out towards me, both arms outstretched. I scooped her up with one arm under her back and the other under her knees.
She clung to his neck like she and Ponyboy did when they were very little. That action alone concerned the eldest Curtis. Both her and Pony were clingy whenever they were sick, this was no exception.
He carefully set her down in the water. But, the second the water made contact with her skin, she cried out and wrapped her arms around his neck quickly and tightened her hold.
"I-It's too cold, Darry." she whimpered, trying to climb out of the tub. "It's alright, hon. It's just gonna cool you down." Darry whispered to her, biting his lip. Hearing this made his eyes widen a bit, the water was at room temperature, but it feels like icy needles to her.
He pulled both of his arms out from underneath her but she didn't let go of her eldest brother. She started sobbing against the nape of his neck, breaking his heart.
"Pl-Please... I wanna get out... It ain't w-warm..." she sobbed, tears wetting my skin. "I know, hon. But we need to cool you down. Your temperature is too high." Darry replied, feeling heartbroken. She must've been really hurting to be crying about the bathwater.
He took her wrists and unraveled them from my neck. He saw the tears streaming down her pink cheeks, biting her lip. She curled into a ball and trembled in the water, her teeth chattering. Darry felt so bad for her, seeing her in this state absolutely broke his heart.
With a washcloth that he gathered, he wet it in the bathwater and carefully dabbed it on the back of her neck, her face, and chest.
"C-C-Can I g-get out? It's so cold..." she whimpered, her body tensing at the wet washcloth touching her skin. "Give it one more minute," Darry tells her softly. When that one minute was up, he scooped her up again, one under her back and the other under her knees. He placed her on the closed toilet seat and drained the water from the tub.
She sat there shivering, hugging her arms. I handed her a towel so she could start drying off. "Here, dry yourself off. Do you need help getting dressed?" Darry asked. She shook her head, still shivering madly.
She had managed to take off her wet underwear and bra, and changed into the clothes Ponyboy got for her. She had to sit down to slide her socks. As she slid them on her feet, her head started to pound something awful.
Blackness started to darken her vision. She needed to lay down on the floor; there was no way she was going to pass out here.
She slid herself off of the toilet and laid herself down on the cold tiled floor on her left side so she was facing the wall. It wasn't comfortable, but it was better than falling on it and getting hurt from passing out.
Her breathing was heavy, her chest wavering with each breath. Her eyes were feeling heavy from exhaustion, she wanted to sleep.
Darry brought in a glass of water to help her hydrate. He walked into the bathroom and nearly dropped the glass when he saw Bexley laying on the floor.
"Bexley, are you alright?" he said, kneeling down and gently picking her up. Soda and Ponyboy ran after hearing Darry's peril. "What happened, Darry?" Soda asked in a slight panic. "Is she okay?" Ponyboy asked worriedly.
"I think she passed out," Darry said, picking Bexley up. Bexley couldn't open her eyes, they were too heavy.
Everything around her seemed to fade, fatigue taking full control. She could feel herself being carried to her bed but she couldn't figure out who it was. Afterward, she felt the bed underneath her aching body and managed to get to sleep.