"Eva," I whispered, placing my hand on her arm. She only stirred a little bit and stayed in the same position. "I put a bucket by your bed, okay?" She let out a whimper as she nodded and snuggled back against her pillow. As I got up, I was about to leave when I saw the picture of her parents sitting on the dresser. Making sure her eyes were still closed, I grabbed the picture and closed the door slightly before getting into the hall closet to check if I had a frame that would fit it. After combing through a bunch of them, I finally found one in the back of the closet. Placing the back on, I took a good look at the people in the picture for the first time.

Her birth had been a whirlwind of emotions. One minute I was pregnant with her, the next I was handing her to people I hardly knew. Fast forward to the time this picture was taken. Eva was sitting on the concrete of a raised flower bed in between her adoptive parents. One hand was wrapped around each of theirs. They looked so happy and it made me wonder about the things I had missed in her life by giving her up for adoption.

Getting off the floor, I placed the picture quietly back on her nightstand. I hoped despite the memories it would probably bring back that it would also make her smile. As I walked out of the room, I left her door cracked open just in case she needed something and walked back into the living room. At this point, I had no idea what to do next. Should I call Natalie again even though Eva seemed to be doing okay? Should I get some cleaning done? Or should I chance it and get in a quick shower while she was asleep?

Deciding on the third option, I grabbed a light red shirt out of my dresser and jeans before closing the bathroom door behind me. My hand absently twisted the knob and the steady stream of water hit the porcelain tub in rapid succession before disappearing down the drain.

I stepped in a few minutes later, stopping here and there to listen to any sound or movement over the sound of rushing water just in case Eva woke up while I was in here. Lathering my hair gently, I rinsed thoroughly before moving on to conditioning it. The house would creak and I would stop and listen to make sure there were no approaching footsteps causing those sounds, although none came.

Rinsing off one more time, I finally shut the water off and wrapped the towel tightly around my hair and another around my body before realizing I had forgotten my phone sitting on top of the coffee table. Figuring it was safe to venture out, I walked out into the living room and grabbed it before deciding to pad down the hall to check on Eva. She was in the same exact position as before, except her head had moved down off the pillow.

I was more than happy she was still sleeping, so I retreated back to my room to finish changing and dried my hair. As I pulled my shirt over me, I reached over and finally clicked the home button on my phone. It immediately notified me I had a missed call from Natalie.

Hi, Hailey. I'm sorry I missed your call. The ED has been slammed up until about ten minutes ago, which didn't allow much time to check my phone during all this craziness. I know you said in your message that you had some questions and I would be happy to answer them. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Figuring I would give it a little while before I called her back, I set my phone back on the coffee table and went to check up on Eva again. Pushing the door open with my index finger, I was surprised to see her awake and laying there in bed.

"Hey, you." I greeted her softly as not to startle her as I approached the bed. "I'm surprised you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"A little better. My stomach still hurts and I feel really tired." Letting out a yawn to back up how she was feeling as she rubbed at her eyes a few times.

"So your stomach isn't hurting much anymore or it is hurting worse than before?"

"It's a little better than before, but it still doesn't feel good."

"I know that sometimes when I was sick, I felt even worse because I wasn't eating anything. I'm not sure that's one hundred percent the case here, but I do know you haven't eaten since last night."

"What time is it?"

"Almost eleven-thirty." I sat down on the edge of the bed, running my fingers through her hair; mostly so I could check if she had a fever. "Think you're up to trying to eat something?"

"What if I throw it up?"

"Then we know we need to give your stomach a little more time to rest. How about some broth first, see if your stomach can handle it before we give you anything else?"

"Okay. Do I get to eat it in my room?" She perked up slightly, despite the fact that I knew how miserable she was feeling at the moment since she looked pale and was slightly warmer than earlier.

"I think being sick deserves a day in bed. I'll go heat up some broth for you."

"After I'm finished can you come lay by me?" She questioned, hesitating in anticipation of my response. The last time she had requested for me to be with her she had been nearly asleep already and I pushed away from the idea of waking her to comfort her. Now that she was asking again, I couldn't say no.

"I can." Moving some of her hair aside so it was sprawled across her pillow, I gave her a reassuring smile. I'll be back a few minutes."