Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 151384 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151384 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
“Shit. What’s her temperature?” Sampson asked, walking over to put the back of his hand against her forehead.
Oh wow.
“You’re so cold!” she cried. “Sampson is the coldest. Like ice. Ice-man Sampson.”
“All right, Immy, shh,” Jenner told her, bouncing her up and down slightly. Which was not a good idea as she was starting to feel kind of ill.
“You’re feeling ill?” Sampson asked, alarmed. “Have you guys called Eric?”
“I think we should give her the cold medicine first,” Abe said. “Then if she starts to feel worse or doesn’t improve, we call Eric.”
“I side with Abe! He knows what he’s talking about. Abe is very sensisibible . . . is that the right word? I think it’s the right word. It feels like the right word. Jenny?”
“Yeah, baby?” Jenner asked.
“Oh, good, I thought you’d gone and left me. Don’t leave me, okay?”
“I’m not going to leave you, Immy.”
“I don’t wants to die alone.”
Silence fell in the room and she started to hum . . . because . . . awkward.
“Listen to me, Immy,” Jenner said firmly. “Are you listening?”
“Uh-huh.” She was also wondering if she added blue food coloring to mashed potatoes and put in little marshmallows would that look like unicorn poop?
Yummy scrummy unicorn poop.
“Why is Immy talking about unicorn poop?” Isaiah asked, walking into the kitchen.
“Issy!” she cried, throwing her arms into the air.
Jenner grunted and swore.
“Tut-tut. Those are naughty words, Jenny. Abby, Jenny, Issy and Sammy! My bestest friends in the whole world. Along with Maeve and Cat, of course.”
“How come Maeve and Cat don’t get ridiculous nicknames?” Sampson muttered.
Silly Sammy.
Always a grouch.
Sammy the grouch. Nope. Sammy the Salty.
There was a sound of amusement. “Sammy the Salty has a nice ring to it.”
“Shut up, Abby,” Sampson muttered.
“Abby the Angel,” she sighed.
“All of you be quiet,” Jenner said sharply. “I need to tell her something.”
“Jenny the Joyful. Jenny the Juicy.” She started to giggle.
“Dear God,” Isaiah groaned. “Do not do me.”
“Idiot,” Sampson told him.
“Issy the Igloo.”
“I’ll take it,” Isaiah said.
Jenner set her down on the counter and she started to whimper. “No! Want you!”
“I want you to pay attention, Immy,” Jenner said to her. “You are not going to die, understand me?”
“Jenner, she’s not thinking properly,” Abe told him.
Immy sniffled. Jenner was mad at her. She didn’t want Jenner to be mad at her. Immy was a good girl.
“Fuck,” Jenner muttered. “Of course you’re a good girl, Immy. I’m not mad.”
“You sound mad. Immy doesn’t like that. Immy is sick! You should be nice to Immy!”
“I only ever want to be nice to Immy,” Jenner told her.
“You’ve been avoiding Immy. And it makes her sad.” She had no idea why she was speaking about herself in the third person. But she felt like she was a different person. She felt . . . odd.
As though something had changed inside her. And she wasn’t just talking about the fever. She drew her legs up to her chest.
“I’m so sorry, baby,” Jenner said to her. “I’d never want you to be sad. I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you. And that it hurt your feelings.”
She sniffled. “It okay. Sometimes Immy thinks she has too many feelings. She should be tougher, not so emotional.”
“Immy should just be herself,” Sampson told her. “And other people should make sure they don’t upset her.”
Another sniffle and she felt tears dripping down her face. Oops.
“I don’ts feel so good.”
“Here, let’s get this medicine into her,” Abe said.
“I’ll do it. Immy, baby, open up,” Jenner ordered.
“I don’t wanna.”
“Immy, you need to take the medicine to make you feel better,” Abe told her.
“Nuh-uh. Don’t want it. Just want Snowy and bed.” That’s all she needed.
“I’ll hold her nose and someone shove them in there,” Sampson said in a gruff voice.
What?
No!
She’d kick him in the balls if he tried.
Oh, who was she kidding? No, she wouldn’t. She was a big old wimp who didn’t even like to swat flies. How did she possibly think that she was going to kick someone in the balls?
“Need to be more like Cat. She could do it,” she grumbled.
“You’ve been making some progress with your self-defense,” Sampson told her. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
Progress? She spent the first few lessons running away every time he came at her. Or giggling when he did something. That was hardly going to scare an attacker, was it?
“You don’t need to know how to fight someone off,” Jenner told her. “Because you’re not ever going to be alone to let someone get close.”
“For how long?” she asked tiredly.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“How long will I have to live like this? Not allowed to go anywhere alone? I just . . . Maeve’s stalker is gone. So shouldn’t things go back to normal?”
There was silence.
“We’ll see,” Sampson told her.
“None of us have a good feeling about this,” Abe told her. “Which is why Alejandro left Tobias here for a while longer.”