by Lora Powell
The First
30 Days
Lora Powell
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 Lora Powell
All rights reserved.
ISBN:
ISBN-13:
DEDICATION
This story is dedicated to my wonderfully supportive family. Without you, I would have never gotten up the courage to put my thoughts out there for the world to read. All of those sleepless nights, forgotten meals, and (I'm sure for you) tedious conversations planning out the plot have finally paid off. Here it is, the project that has consumed my life for the past six months is finally finished.
And to the fans, those of you who have religiously poured over every new chapter of this story, giving me your unvarnished opinions of my work in progress: Thank you! You all are amazing.
CONTENTS
ONE-DAY 1
TWO-DAY 2
THREE-DAY 2
FOUR-DAY 3
FIVE-DAY 4
SIX-DAY 4
SEVEN-DAY 4
EIGHT-DAY 5
NINE-DAY 5
TEN-DAY 7
ELEVEN-DAY 7
TWELVE-DAY 7
THIRTEEN-DAY 7
FOURTEEN-DAY 7-8
FIFTEEN-DAY 8
SIXTEEN-DAY 8
CONTENTS cont.
SEVENTEEN-DAY 8
EIGHTEEN-DAY 9
NINETEEN-DAY 9
TWENTY-DAY 9
TWENTY-ONE-DAY 9-10
TWENTY-TWO-DAY 10
TWENTY-THREE-DAY 10
TWENTY-FOUR-DAY 11
TWENTY-FIVE-DAY 12
TWENTY-SIX-DAY 12
TWENTY-SEVEN-DAY 14
TWENTY-EIGHT-DAY 14
TWENTY-NINE-DAY 14
THIRTY-DAY 15
THIRTY-ONE-DAY 17
THIRTY-TWO-DAY 17
CONTENTS cont.
THIRTY-THREE-DAY 18
THIRTY-FOUR-DAY 18
THIRTY-FIVE-DAY 20
THIRTY-SIX-DAY 20
THIRTY-SEVEN-DAY 20
THIRTY-EIGHT-DAY 21
THIRTY-NINE-DAY 21
FORTY-DAY 21
FORTY-ONE-DAY 22
FORTY-TWO-DAY 22
FORTY-THREE-DAY 22
FORTY-FOUR-DAY 22
FORTY-FIVE-DAY 22
FORTY-SIX-DAY 22
FORTY-SEVEN-DAY 23
FORTY-EIGHT-DAY 23
FORTY-NINE-DAY 23
CONTENTS cont.
FIFTY-DAY 24
FIFTY-ONE-DAY 24
FIFTY-TWO-DAY 24
FIFTY-THREE-DAY 24
FIFTY-FOUR-DAY 25
FIFTY-FIVE-DAY 25
FIFTY-SIX-DAY 28
FIFTY-SEVEN-DAY 28
FIFTY-EIGHT-DAY 28
FIFTY-NINE-DAY 28
SIXTY-DAY 28
SIXTY-ONE-DAY 29
SIXTY-TWO-DAY 29
SIXTY-THREE-DAY 29
SIXTY-FOUR-DAY 29
SIXTY-FIVE-DAY 30
For Kaylyn.
Remember to always dream big.
ONE-DAY 1
The trail of green slime worked it's way down her face, moving steadily closer to her mouth. Like when you pass an accident on the highway and you know you don't really want to see any dead bodies, but you find yourself looking anyhow, I couldn't pull my gaze from the horror unfolding.
The oblivious mother was at the other end of the cart, throwing groceries onto the belt as fast as her arms would move. Strapped into the seat, the blonde haired toddler clutched a stuffed pink elephant missing an eye, and watched me with equal fascination as I showed her. Big blue eyes lit up with curiosity when I shifted my overloaded shopping basket to my other hand.
The thick snot inched closer to her upper lip. I eyed it, not sure if I should say something to the mom. Mom's don't like unsolicited advice, right? Especially from 20 year olds who've never changed a diaper in their life.
My inner conflict was solved when the girl's tongue swept out and the green streak disappeared.
Holding back the urge to gag, I looked anywhere but at the kid. The store was packed. Why did I always manage to come do my shopping at the busiest times? You would think I would learn not to shop on a Friday night. The lines were long, resulting in the painful wait behind the snot nosed kid I was currently experiencing.
A large red sign hanging over the pharmacy advertised flu shots. Glancing back at the girl, I wondered if I should fork over the cash and get one. I never had before, but I really couldn't afford to miss any work, and the news stations were calling this year's flu an epidemic.
The line wrapping around the pharmacy counter was what finally convinced me to skip the vaccine for now. I'd already suffered inside this grocery store long enough for one day. That line looked like there had to be dozens of people in it.
Finally, enough room appeared on the belt for me to put my groceries up. Flexing my shoulder, I tried to rid myself of the soreness that my heavy basket had caused. Thankfully, the mother was now blocking my view of her sick daughter. After a few more minutes spent reading about the new president's policies, policies that had the country melting down, on the tabloids strategically placed at eye level, it was my turn.
"Thank you for shopping with us today. Did you find everything ok?" The bored cashier mumbled as she began scanning my things. She didn't look up.
"Sure, I..." I trailed off. The woman didn't actually care and wasn't really listening. Not that I blamed her. How many times a day was she forced to repeat that idiotic greeting?
I swiped my card and picked up my bags, stepping into the steady flow of shoppers leaving the store. Out in the packed parking lot, I found my ten year old Honda and jumped inside. All I really wanted to do was get home, put my food away, and curl up on the couch in my comfy pajamas. Netflix was calling me.
The house I shared with my roommate was only a few minutes away from the store. The short driveway barely had enough room for both of our cars. Parking carefully, I didn't want to bump her car again, I lugged the bags up the sidewalk and through the unlocked front door.
"Evie!" I put one armload down long enough to twist the lock behind me. "You left the door unlocked again!" My roommate was pretty good, as far as roommates went, but she frequently forgot to lock the door behind herself. A pet peeve of mine.
"Sorry!" Evie's head of red curls appeared at the top of the steps. "I was thinking about what to wear tonight. I must have forgot." She ducked back out of sight.
Sighing, I carried my bags to the kitchen and dumped them on the small table. Evie was never going to change, and I'd figured that out at some point during the nearly two years we had lived under the same roof. Restocking my shelf in the fridge with my purchases, I tossed the balled up plastic bags in the trash and headed upstairs. An oversized pair of ugly flannel pjs, a bag of chips, and binge watching my favorite pair of brothers were my only plans for the night.
Evie darted out of our shared bathroom, still putting an earring in her ear. I jumped back to avoid a collision.
"Sorry!" She smiled brightly at me. "What do ya think?"
Wearing a slinky black dress that barely covered her backside and sky high heels that I would be guaranteed to break an ankle in, Evie was dressed for a good time. "Going out with Austin?" For once, she was dating a guy that I actually liked. Evie's usual type was jerk.
"Yeah. He's taking me out for our two month anniversary," she flashed darkly lined eyes at me and grinned.
"You look g
reat, Evie. Have fun." As I was talking I noticed a band aid in her upper arm. "What's that?"
Noticing the direction I was looking, Evie gasped, "Oh! Thank goodness you noticed. I forgot." Reaching up, she pulled the band aid off. "I went and got a flu shot today over my lunch break."
"I almost got one today, too. But the line was too long."
"Yeah, I was almost late clocking back in, it took so long. At least now I shouldn't get sick."
Three loud knocks on the door downstairs cut our conversation short. Waving goodbye, she rapidly bounced down the steps and I heard the door open. My room was the last door in the hall, and I walked there as I heard her happily greeting her boyfriend.
The next couple of hours were spent drooling over Dean and stuffing my face with junk food. I was sprawled out on our lumpy couch, almost asleep, when I registered the sound of the front door opening. Pulled from my food coma, I sat up far enough to see who was coming in over the back of the couch. Only three people had a key, Evie, me, and our landlord. But it never failed to make me nervous when someone came in the door. You could never be too careful.
Austin appeared, an arm around Evie's waist as if he was supporting her as they came into the room.
"Here you go," he helped her into the recliner.
Awake now, I sat up all of the way. "What's wrong guys?"
"Evie's not feeling so great."
"I'm fine. I'm just feeling a little dizzy," she swayed a bit as she attempted to smile at me.
Evie didn't actually look fine. Her normally pale skin had washed out even more, except for her flushed cheeks. "You don't look fine, Evie. Maybe we should take your temperature."
She waved my suggestion away, "No. Don't worry, I just need to sleep this off. Must be that danged flu shot. That'll be the last time I get one of those." She looked up to where her boyfriend was still hovering next to her chair. "Help me upstairs?"
The two of them slowly made their way up to Evie's room. I was awake now, but no longer in a Netflix kind of mood. It wasn't like my friend to get sick. I picked up the mess I'd made in the living room and ran into Austin as he came back down the stairs.
He left after soliciting a promise from me to keep an eye on Evie for the night. Not that he needed to ask, I planned to check in on her anyhow. But it was nice to finally see Evie with someone who was concerned about her.
Up in my room, I put away the basket of laundry that had been sitting by my closet for three days. Deciding to check on Evie before climbing into bed, I crept to her door and opened it as silently as I could. I didn't want to wake her up if she was asleep.
Covered with a pile of warm blankets, Evie shifted restlessly, but appeared to be sleeping. After sneaking a glass of water and some Ibuprofen onto her night stand, I quietly closed her door and went back to my own room.
TWO-DAY 2
An ambulance siren sounding much closer than usual was what finally pulled me awake. Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I rolled out of bed and went to my window. I had to blink a few times to straighten out my blurred vision, but finally the ambulance disappearing down the end of our street came into focus.
It was an odd sight. While I didn't exactly live in a gated community, the neighborhood was quiet. I think the only other time I could remember emergency services on this street was the time Mr. Johnson had a heart attack after shoveling his sidewalk. I really hoped whoever was taking the ride to the hospital this time had a better outcome that Mr. Johnson had.
Stretching my arms over my head, I tried to finish waking up. Sleep deprived was never a good look on me, and I had gotten up a couple of times in the night to check on Evie. She had slept through the night, though somewhat restlessly. On my last check, I had noticed the fever meds and water I'd left by her bed were gone. I was happy to see that. I didn't risk actually touching her to know for sure, but the flushed color of her cheeks suggested that Evie was running a fever.
I knew that we kept a thermometer around somewhere. Rummaging in the bathroom cabinet finally produced the elusive object. Walking silently, I placed the thermometer, along with more water and Ibuprofen next to Evie. Then I shut myself in our bathroom down the hall for my morning shower.
When I turned off the hair dryer, a mild thump from Evie's room told me that she was awake. Throwing on jeans and sweatshirt, I opened the door, eager to talk to her and see how she was feeling. The news had been saying that this year's flu was a particularly nasty strain. I was hoping that that wasn't what was wrong with my roommate.
Mentally kicking myself for not getting that flu shot the night before, I lightly knocked on her closed door.
A groan answered me. Guess Evie was still sick. Frowning, I pushed her door open.
"Evie?" Inside her room was dark, she must have pulled the curtains while I was in the shower. I could make out her huddled form on the bed. "How are you feeling?" I stepped closer to her bedside.
The form on the bed suddenly rolled over. Flinging one arm over her eyes and the other waving in the air, she groaned again.
"Check for yourself," her voice came out raspy and strained. The hand waving around pointed towards her nightstand.
Realizing that she was pointing at the thermometer, I picked it up. My eyes practically bugged out of my skull. 105F. Was that even possible? "Evie, I don't think this thermometer is working."
"Oh, it's working. You should feel how I feel."
Reaching down, I touched the back of my hand to Evie's arm. Jerking back in surprise, I just stared at my friend for a few seconds. She was burning up. I'd never felt heat like that coming from a person's skin before.
"Hon, we need to take you to a doctor."
The arm that had fallen limp to the bed waved weakly at me again. "No doctor. I can't afford my deductible. I'll be ok, I just need to sleep."
"Evie, a fever this high is dangerous."
"Please let me sleep, Bri," she groaned. "Text Austin for me?"
I watched her for a minute, torn about what to do. Evie was really sick, but she was a grown woman. She had the right to make her own decisions. Reaching down, I pulled the comforter back over her huddled body. "Ok. I'll text him."
* * *
By mid morning, I was really worried about Evie. She hadn't moved from the position I left her in. I texted Austin, and within 20 minutes, he was knocking on our front door.
"Hey, she's asleep upstairs." I closed the door behind him.
Austin's worried brown eyes met mine before he turned to look up the steps. "Has she been awake at all?"
"Not since earlier this morning. Her fever was really high, but she didn't want to go to the hospital." I crossed my arms in front of myself. I had been second guessing my decision to follow Evie's wishes all morning.
"Yeah, she's stubborn when she wants to be. I'm gonna go check on her."
I watched as he bounded up the stairs. Going back into the living room, I decided to turn on the news. The news anchor was going over the same story that they had been running for a couple of days, urging everyone to get their flu shot. When she started reciting statistics on the number of children who had died already this year, I muted the TV. I'd already heard it yesterday, and didn't really want to hear about dead kids again.
Austin's footsteps coming down the stairs alerted me to his return. "She's asleep." He sat in the chair. "She looks really bad, Bri."
"Yeah, I know. I don't know what to do. She said no doctor, but I've never seen anyone that sick."
Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his knees. "I think she needs to go to the hospital. She's going to be mad, but I really think it's what needs to happen."
Austin was right, and I knew it. I'd been thinking the same thing myself. Luckily, Evie and I went to the same doctor. Nodding, I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed, she was just going to have to get over being mad because I was making her an appointment.
I sat impatiently tapping a foot as I listened to the phone ring. And ring. Suddenly the line went dead. Frowning, I
redialed. The phone rang for an uncommonly long time again before a stressed sounding woman finally answered.
"Family Medical Group, this is Lisa. How can I help you?"
"Hi, Lisa. I need to make an appointment for Evie Edwards. She's a patient of Dr. Gordon. She needs to be seen today."
"Ma'am, I'm sorry. Our schedule is full for today." Lisa the receptionist didn't even hesitate to deliver that news.
"I know it's short notice, but she really needs to be seen."
Sudden, loud talking in the background made Lisa difficult to hear. "I'm sorry, we are already overbooked. This flu is brutal. If Ms. Edwards is really ill, my best suggestion for you is to take her to the ER."
Getting desperate, I tried again. "But, I don't think you," I was cut off by a shrill scream coming through the phone.
The line went dead again. Who on earth was screaming in the doctor's office?
"She hung up on me," I told Austin incredulously.