Sinner's Creed (Sinner's Creed #1)(84)
But he surprises me when he laughs. “What the hell do you have that can be more important to me than Texas?”
I give him my best smile. One that wipes that shit-eating smirk right off of his face. Shady really was the best at what he did. And he found out a secret Cyrus never thought would ever surface.
“I have your daughter.”
23
“I PRAYED TODAY,” I tell Saylor when we are back in bed. Her back is to my front and I feel her tense in my arms.
“What did you say?”
“I prayed today.” She turns to face me, the light from the scent warmer on the dresser just enough for me to make out the unbelieving smile on her face. It makes her so happy that I elaborate. “I prayed for both of us,” I tell her, and I see a glint of sadness in her eyes before she smiles wider.
“That’s great, Dirk.” She kisses me before snuggling in closer. But I want to tell her more.
“It worked,” I say, still not believing that it did. I’m sure God did it for her, but the fact that I asked and he actually listened was enough. She pulls her head back, and this time confusion floods her face.
“I don’t understand.” Then I realize why she doesn’t. She thinks I prayed she would get better. Maybe I should have. Maybe I will.
“I don’t want to go into detail about it. I just needed something to go away for a while so I could concentrate on you. I know that no one will take care of you like I will, and I think God knows that too. So I asked on your behalf if he would give me a little more time before I had to deal with it. Tonight, I got confirmation that he did.” Maybe that was a little too much information. Now Saylor is propped on her elbow, and I have her full, inquiring attention.
“Deal with what? Are you in trouble?” I laugh at her concern, even though it really isn’t funny. She smiles, and I watch her eyes as they fall to my mouth. She likes when I laugh.
“No, baby. I’m not in trouble. It’s just some club business I have to handle. I thought I was going to have to do it sooner rather than later, but it worked in my favor. Maybe it was just coincidence.” This has her head shaking furiously.
“There is no such thing. If you asked and got it, then it was ’cause he gave it to you. Don’t go looking for any other explanation than that.” I can already tell she is fixing to go into a huge spill about God and how wonderful he is and how magnificent he is and all that, so I shut her up with a kiss. Then I do what I done last night. This time, I make sure that yesterday wasn’t better, by making sure today is the best.
After Saylor is asleep, I walk outside and stare up at the sky, thanking God for the first time in my life. I called in my favor, and he gave it to me. Shady found the leverage we needed, Cyrus found something more valuable than Texas, and Death Mob would give me four months of life before getting their revenge. And it was all the time I needed.
—
Tuesday, I got the first taste of what the next six weeks would consist of. Saylor was fine one minute, drinking chocolate milk at the kitchen table. The next, she was vomiting all over the floor. There was no warning, it just hit her suddenly.
It stopped as suddenly as it started, but when she realized the mess she’d made, she began to get upset and insisted on cleaning it up herself. Because she begged me, I stepped outside and smoked while she did.
That night, she was laying in bed, sound asleep, then woke up vomiting. Before she could make it to the bathroom, the diarrhea started. This time when she tried to push me away, I refused to leave.
I helped her shower, then put her clothes and the sheets in the wash before remaking the bed. I placed a trash can by the bed, but since her sickness was so sudden, I wasn’t sure it would work. We spent the next hour sitting up while she sipped a glass of Gatorade. I was sure it wasn’t enough to hydrate her, but she said she couldn’t stomach any more.
—
Wednesday morning, she got worse. When Donnawayne and Jeffery came over with doughnuts, she was only two bites in when the nausea hit her again. I expected them to freak out or be grossed out and make a scene, but they simply helped me clean up, ignoring her feeble attempts to do it herself and reassuring her it was okay every time she apologized.
By that night, her throat was so raw that every time she threw up what little bit she drank, tears would fall from her eyes from the pain. But she never complained. I called Dr. Zi on the cell number he gave me, and told him what was happening. He said it was normal, and that the steroids were wearing off, that was why she was experiencing the sickness now.
He told me a home health nurse would be over Thursday morning to give her an IV of fluids, so she wouldn’t have to go out.
When the nurse arrived the next day, she gave Saylor two bags of fluid, and before she left, I could already tell a difference. That night, she managed to eat some applesauce and Jell-O. By the time we went to bed, she was in a much better mood, and had some of her strength back.
Friday morning, we had to be at the hospital for treatment by ten. Saylor ate some oatmeal, drank two glasses of water, and bathed me when we showered. I tried to stop her, but she told me she needed it.
When we arrived at the hospital, they did blood work first and found that Saylor was still dehydrated. They upped the dosage of steroids, administered two more bags of fluid, and this time, Saylor took the green bag of Skittles. While she was in treatment, I went out and brought back the Skittles you can eat, and she managed to eat ten or twelve with no problem.