Bitten Read Free Page B

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    “Thank you for taking care of him,” Rachael said as she rubbed Hector’s head messing up his hair. Without saying anything Hector instantly started fixing it.
    “It was my pleasure,” replied Mrs. Jensen, smiling warmly. “It seems he’s come down with a slight fever, but Ms. Carlyle said a bowl of chicken soup would clear it right up.”
    “Oh, baby,” Rachael said looking down at Hector. “Do you feel sick?”
    “I’m alright,” Hector answered.
    “Be good to your mom now, you hear?”
    “Yes, Mrs. Jensen,” Hector said blushing a little.
    “Promise?”
    “Promise,” Hector answered.
    “Good,” Mrs. Jensen said. With that, she shut the door, waved goodbye to them both, and then went back inside the school.
    “Buckle up,” Rachael told Hector, but like any over protective mother, she found herself leaning over the seat and reaching for Hector’s seat belt for him.
    “ Ahhh, mom! ” Hector protested. “I can do it myself.”
    Hector grabbed the seatbelt and defiantly fastened himself in. His mother just looked at him with a big grin which only showed a small fraction of how proud she was. Not only to be his mother, but to be lucky enough to have him in her life.
    “Sure you can,” Rachael said with a warm laugh.
    “I’m not a little kid anymore, Mom.”
    “But you’ll always be my baby,” Rachael retorted.
    She started up the V8 engine and the car roared to life. Hector finished fastening his seatbelt and stared out the window at an empty school lot.
    “Sorry I was so late . Things ran long with a client,” Rachael said as they drove off.
    “Don’t worry, mom,” Hector said, trying to scratch under the cuff of his bandage. “I wasn’t worried.”
    Arriving safely at Hillside Parks Condominium, Rachael carried her sleeping boy, curled up in her arms, into the lobby of their building and waited for the elevator. The poor kid, she thought, was coming down with something. His complexion looked much paler than usual.
    Entering the elevator Rachael leaned against the guard railing and reached down with one arm, smashed the button with her elbow, then balancing Hector on her shoulder, she slipped off her high heels. Pinching them between her thumb and finger, she waited for the doors to close and take them to the sixteenth floor.
    Rachael shifted Hector to her other shoulder and then the elevator jerked to a halt. Walking into the hall Rachael took a right and walked down the hallway to the suite doors at the end. She pressed her thumb down on the biometrics scanner next to the door, barely holding onto her heels as she fumbled to keep everything balanced. It lit up with a green laser, scanned her thumb like a barcode, and the deadbolt automatically unhinged. Once inside, Rachael kicked the door shut with the heel of her foot. Taking Hector to his room she gently laid him onto his bed, took his shoes off, then pulled the comforter over him and tucked him in.
    Admiring Hector’s boyish face she brushed his dark hair out of his eyes so she could take a mental picture of her beautiful baby boy. He was growing up so fast. As her hand brushed his forehead she noticed that he was burning up with a horrendous fever.
    Rachael fetched a cool wet washcloth and gently laid it across her son’s forehead to help bring down his fever. Next she poured out a glass of water and set it on the nightstand by his bed, just in case he needed it later.
    “Meow!” a small voice called out. Their cat Trixie, a silky gray Russian Blue, leapt onto the end of the bed and circled a few times before curling up next to Hector’s feet. Rachael scratched behind Trixie’s ear and affectionately rubbed her hand down the cat’s soft back. Trixie immediately began purring softly as she licked her paws and bathed. After a few minutes of self grooming she closed her eyes and dozed off.
    “You two sleep tight,” Rachael said, in an almost whisper. She stood up and admired the warm scene of her son and cat curled up on