Still the Baby

Carmin tossed and turned in her bed as she tried to get to sleep, something she hadn't been able to do all night long. She moaned a little as her stomach flipped again. She coughed at little, grabbbing her neck as she did. Her throat burned, her stomach ached, her body burned with excessivley high fever and overall she felt incredibly weak.

She struggled to crawl out of bed to make it to the bathoom as she could feel her stomach screaming for release of its contents. After two minutes of fighting with the blankets that trapped her on her bed she crawled on her hands and knees to the bathroom, too weak to stand.

The minute she reached the toliet bowl it was instant release. After a few minutes of retching she collapsed on the bathroom floor gasping for breath.

Carmin reached up to the sinktop, using it to steady herself to stand. She looked at herself in the mirror; all color drained from her face. She turned on the water and grabbed a washcloth from under the sink trying to clean herself up before sliding back down to lie on the cold tiled bathroom floor.

She moaned a little as the bathroom light was turned on, causing her head to throb. She looked up to see her brother standing at the bathroom door.

"Carmin" Cody said with worry as he saw his sister on the floor

"Cody." Carmin said in a whisper, her voice no stronger than that.

Carmin shot up from the floor, hugging the toliet bowl again as the second round of retching began.

"I'm getting you to a hospital" he told

"No." Carmin said.

She knew the only way he could make her go is if he knew her temperature was above 103, so she struggled to her feet to grab the thremometer from the medicine cabinet before he did.

"Carmin!" Cody told, trying to get there before she did

Carmin managed to grab the thremometer before her brother.

She curled up in a ball on the floor with it in her hand, determined not to give it up.

"Carmin, give me the damn thermometer!!"

"No." Carmin whispered before she started coughing like crazy.

" you know what I don;t care about fevers, I'm calling an ambulance"

"No Cody." Carmin whimpered.

"Please?"

"Yes, Carmin" he told

"I'm not letting you lie there sick,you're my sister and I love you"

"Cody please, please don't." Carmin pleaded.

"sorry" he told, going to the phone

"Cody please I'm begging you don't!' Carmin said hoarsely as she started to cry.

Carmin lay on the bathroom floor crying, remembering what had made her so afraid; something Cody didn't know.

"I'm not gonna let you lay there dying!!!!!!!" he shouted

Carmin looked up from the bathroom floor to see Cody was gone. She had one hope, the backdoor.

She managed to crawl to the door and almost open it when she felt a hand on hers.

"Carmin don't do this to me" he told

"Come you left once, if you leave, it may be for good this time"

"Please don't make me go there Cody please." Carmin pleaded.

"you're going, the ambulance is on the way"

"Cody please please don't, Please I'm begging you don't." Carmin said crying.

She knew it was killing Cody to see her cry.

"you know I hate seeing you cry. I hate seeing you in pain" he told

"But I can't stop the ambulance from coming"

"Please don't make me go...don't make me go alone." Carmin begged.

"you're not going alone sis" he told