Under the Viaduct by H. Anderson (first e reader txt) 📗

the blankets and sleeping bag down onto her lap, then unzipped her coat. Max and Blayne helped her out of it. She clenched her jaw, shivering, but didn’t say anything.

Max put the earpieces of his stethoscope in his ears and held the diaphragm to her back. “Take a deep breath in and out.”

She got halfway through an inhale and broke into another long coughing spell. By the time Max had listened to all the lobes of her lungs, several minutes and several more coughing spells had passed.

Quietly, Max helped Mama C put her coat back on. Blayne pulled her blankets back up to her chin and helped her ease back down against the rolled up sleeping bag she’d been leaning against. They stood and Kaylee and Allie stepped closer to them.

“Well?” Kaylee asked.

Max shook his head. “She definitely has pneumonia in both lungs. I’m sure she isn’t getting enough oxygen. She should really be in a hospital.”

“That’s not gonna’ happen, young man,” Mama C said.

“Why are you so stubborn?” Blayne asked, an angry scowl crossing his face.

“Just born that way.” Her voice softened. “Honey, if the Lord wills it, I’ll get better. And if he doesn’t, well, then…”

Max looked from Blayne to Kaylee and back at Mama C. “Will you at least let me give you some antibiotics?”

“Yes,” Blayne answered for her. “She will.”

“Blayne—”

“Mama,” his voice rose. “If I have to roll you over and bare your butt cheek so he can give you a shot of penicillin, so help me, I will!”

Mama’s eyes widened and Kaylee hid a smile.

“That won’t be necessary,” Max said, holding his hands up placatingly. “I have some pills back at the house, if Kaylee can run us back home, I can get them for you.”

Blayne narrowed his eyes at Mama. “And she will take them.”

“Are you allergic to anything, ma’am?” Max asked.

Mama shook her head and closed her eyes, seemingly resolved to do as Blayne demanded.

“How bad is it?” Blayne asked once they were back in the car.

“Pretty bad,” Max answered. “If she’d started taking antibiotics earlier on in the process, she’d probably be better. But the infection has progressed to the point where she really needs IV antibiotics, fluids, oxygen…”

“Can’t you force her to go to the hospital?” Allie asked.

Max shook his head. “She could just sign herself out AMA—against medical advice—unless she doesn’t have power of attorney for herself.”

“What’s ‘power of attorney’?” Blayne asked.

“It’s when a person either signs over their right to make decisions for themselves to someone else—usually a family member—or a judge decides a person isn’t capable of making their own decisions and assigns power of attorney to someone, again, usually a family member.”

“She doesn’t have any family.” Blayne frowned. “At least not that I know of.”

Max leaned forward, his hand on the back of Kaylee’s seat. “Maybe you’ll find some relatives when you go to New York next week.”

Kaylee winced and quickly glanced at Blayne before returning her gaze to the road. His face froze mid-frown. He turned to her, and after a moment of angry silence, said, “You’re going to New York?”

She glared at Max in the rearview mirror. “I was going to tell you—tonight.” She rushed on, babbling, not wanting to give him a chance to speak just yet. “I didn’t put it on my credit card, my dad let me use his points. It’ll only be for a couple of days and I’ll be really careful. I won’t leave the hotel after dark, I won’t ride the subway, I won’t take my purse with me…”

“Stop,” Blayne spat.

She chanced a look at him and immediately regretted it. His beautiful eyes held anger, hurt, and worry all wrapped up in a scowl she hadn’t seen since their first couple of weeks of knowing each other.

Blayne whipped his head around, facing the passenger side window. “It’s really none of my business, it seems.”

They rode in silence to Max’s apartment, Max and Allie signing to each other in the back seat. Blayne waited in the car while Kaylee followed them inside to get the medication.

“I’m sorry, Kaylee,” Max said as they tromped up the stairs. “I thought you’d have told him by now.”

Kaylee shrugged, not ready to forgive him just yet.

Once inside, Max went into his room to get the pills. Allie turned to her friend. “I’m sorry Max did that. Blayne looked furious.”

“Yeah,” Kaylee said. “He doesn’t think I’ll be safe there by myself.” And I still don’t think he likes the idea of me digging into Mama C’s past.

“I’m a little worried about that myself. I looked into flights and I’m afraid they’re out of my price range.” Allie laid a hand on Kaylee’s shoulder and squeezed.

Kaylee smiled slightly. “I’ll be okay. It can’t be that much worse than Denver, can it?”

Rattling a bottle of pills, Max stepped into the living room. “Here,” he handed them to Kaylee, “she’ll need to take one pill twice a day. I hope it’s enough to help her turn the corner.”

“Me, too.” Kaylee put the bottle in her jacket pocket and thanked him. She hugged Allie. “See you at home.”

Blayne continued to stare out the window as Kaylee pulled out into the street. Anxiety and anger fought inside her, making her stomach roll with nausea. It really was none of his business, it wasn’t like she was his girlfriend or anything. Who was he to tell her what she should and shouldn’t do? But on the other hand, she really liked him, and the thought of him being mad at her hurt, physically and emotionally. She pressed a hand to her chest, trying to calm the rising pressure there.

They both remained silent until they were almost to the viaduct. Blayne sighed and finally turned to look at her. “You’re crazy, you know, going to New York by yourself.”

She shrugged, relieved that he was speaking to her, but not quite trusting her voice yet.

“I don’t want you to go,” he continued, “but I understand that you feel you need to.