Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Good luck, tomorrow.” I decided that was enough. I felt lighter. Maybe it wasn’t the past that got me twisted, but the fear of losing the great life we’d created. Who knew for sure? I placed the phone on the table and stared at the ceiling. This was probably my final climbing trip. My heart liked that idea a lot.
Dash
Three Days Later
“Girls, pay attention to Amelia, or you’ll be late for school,” I said between labored breaths through our Alexa devices in the house. From what I could tell, my sinus issues had escalated into something severe that was getting worse by the day. Given the aches and pains throughout my body, whatever was going on with me probably needed a doctor’s visit.
“Daddy, I wish I could see you,” Ava called from the other side of my closed bedroom door. “I’m wearing my Maleficent costume from the cruise. We’re gonna wear the Tinker Bell costumes when you and Uncle Scott take us trick or treating so no one will know which one of us is which.”
“Babydoll, I don’t want you to get sick. That’s the only reason I’m keeping you out of here. Tell Amelia to send lots of pictures,” I managed, my eyes closing, feeling like those few words exhausted me. In what may have been a first in my career, I had taken the last two days off work to give my exhausted body time to heal. It hadn’t helped. “Go to school and enjoy your Halloween party. You have all of next week off. I’m sure I’ll be better.”
The following sneeze was a neck-jarring, brain-rattling explosion inside my head. Fuck, I felt bad. In the last forty-eight hours, I’d slept about thirty-five. The rest of the time, I stared at the ceiling, truly feeling like shit. It was such a bummer. After the court victory, I missed all my client’s family celebrations, knowing there would be delicious home-cooked meals. At least she had her partner and children with her, which made me feel good, sort of. I barely held any malice toward her father who’d shared this cold with me, or I guessed that was what had happened.
“Dash,” Amelia said from the other side of the door. “Do you need anything?”
“Yeah,” I said. “For Beau to come home and take care of me. He owes me.”
“You don’t sound any better,” she said, concern in her voice. “You need to see a doctor before the weekend. I’ll call them. They make house calls.”
Another bout of hacking coughs made my chest concave, at least in theory it did. Stars filled the blackness in my head, pounding violently in pain.
“I’m calling them,” she said.
“Give me until Monday.” Whether I actually said the words aloud or not, I didn’t know. Pain zipped through my head like a cannonball.
Silence followed, suggesting she either heard me and chose to ignore what I said, or she was in fact gone. I had forgotten about the house call, I just wished I’d have a magical turnaround without causing any more stress to Amelia.
I hadn’t heard from Beau since the flight to Kathmandu. Being so far gone in such a dangerous sport made me worry. Even more than that, for the last five years we had spent every night together. I should’ve gone with him. I dragged his pillow to my chest and curled in around it. Seconds later, I fell back to sleep.
8: The Himalayans
Dash
“How long have you been not feeling well?” Jane, a nurse practitioner from my primary care doctor’s office, asked later that day. She stood beside the bed, with a disposable mask covering the majority of her face, and gloves on.
“About a week,” I answered. “I put it off to sinuses. I struggle this time of year.” I paused to take a few labored breaths before I could continue. “Now I think it’s the flu.”
As I closed my eyes, I struggled to open them again, but it was a lost cause. Instead, I lifted the lid of one eye with my fingers. Jane perched on the side of the bed and began to examine me. Maybe the mask seemed suspicious but the fog inside my head made it hard to think. I closed my one eye.
“Take another breath for me,” Jane instructed, pressing her stethoscope against my chest. My lungs felt ravaged. Maybe I had pneumonia. I couldn’t figure it out. Overthinking made my head spin. When had that happened before?
“We need to get you to the ER to see what’s going on. I’ll call an ambulance,” Jane said.
“I just need time,” I murmured.
“Dasham, she’s not talking to you,” Amelia said from somewhere around my bedroom door. “The decision’s out of your hands. You’ve made a mess of things.”
“His oxygen saturation levels are lower than I’d like,” Jane said. She took something off my finger as the bed bobbled. Another round of spiking pain shot through my brain. Jeez, it hurt.