Free Web NovelChapter 692: He Must Pull Through
Wendy had not completely regained her memory. Lying in the next room, Wendy could not stop worrying about Jake. Not once did Michael come in to see her.
Perhaps no news was good news.
Wendy tossed and turned on the bed. After some time, she finally fell asleep. She soon started dreaming. In her dream, a little boy was walking towards her. He kept walking till he reached her side. He titled his his little head and looked up at Wendy.
Wendy could not see his face clearly, but he seemed to resemble Jake.
The little boy opened his mouth and said, "Mommy."
Wendy stooped and placed her hand on the little boy’s shoulder. "Who are you?" she asked gently. "Why are you calling me ’Mommy’?"
"Mommy, I’m your son," the little boy replied innocently. Then, he pointed his finger to the side and continued, "Mommy, I will take care of you on behalf of Jake."
Take care of me on behalf of Jake? Puzzled, Wendy turned her head in the direction the little boy was pointing at. Not far off from them was someone lying on the ground.
Wendy walked towards that person. "Jake!" she shouted once she saw clearly who was the one who was lying there. Wendy bent over and shook Jake several times, but he did not stir.
Fearfully, she placed a finger under Jake’s nose. The next second, Wendy sank to the ground. She held onto Jake, wailing, "Jake! Jake! Wake up!"
The little boy next to her wiped her tears away. He spoke in a soft and gentle voice, "Mommy, Jake told me to take good care of you and Leah. Don’t worry, I will take care of you."
"I don’t want your care!" Wendy pushed the little boy onto the ground without thinking.
He fell and started crying. Wendy turned to look at the little boy. She felt sorry and guilty. This little boy was her child too. She should not have pushed him.
"Baby..." Wendy had not named the baby yet, so she could only call him that.
Wendy had thought of putting Jake down to check on the little boy.
But when she looked at Jake’s lifeless form again, she could not bear to let go of him.
Wendy was in a dilemma. On was her firstborn, who was already dead. The other was her youngest child, who had been pushed to the ground by her.
Wendy looked back and forth between the two children. She did not know who she should embrace.
"Wendy, Wendy..." a familiar voice sounded next to Wendy. She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt very heavy. Try as she might, she could not lift them. In her daze, Wendy could feel someone wiping the perspiration off her forehead.
Finally, Wendy managed to open her eyes.
"Wendy, were you having a nightmare?" Michael saw the cold sweat on Wendy’s forehead and the tears in her eyes. His heart ached as he asked, "What did you dream about?"
"Michael..." Wendy burst out crying at the sight of her husband. She sat up and hugged him. "I dreamed of our unborn child."
"You dreamed of our unborn child?" Michael asked. "So why are you crying?"
"He said that he will take care of me on behalf of Jake..." Wendy’s voice trembled with fear. "I also dreamed that Jake was... he..."
Wendy did not dare to finish her sentence. She could not bear to say it out loud.
...
"Dreams are the opposite of reality. Wendy, don’t read too much into it." Michael patted Wendy’s back gently, comforting her. "You’re worn out from all the worrying and you lack sleep. That’s why you had that nightmare. Don’t worry. Jake will be all right."
"How’s Jake?" Wendy asked immediately. "Has his fever subsided?"
"Yes," Michael replied.
"That’s good," Wendy said with relief.
She got out of bed and said, "I want to see Jake."
"First, you need to eat," Michael said as he held her back. "Your food is ready."
It was already noon. Wendy was supposed to be taking regular meals so she ought to be eating now.
"Let me take a look at him before I eat. I’ll be quick," said Wendy.
But Michael refused to let go of Wendy’s hand. "Take your lunch," he insisted. "And then we’ll see Jake."
Wendy studied Michael’s expression. The relief she had felt was soon replaced by anxiety again.
"What happened to Jake?" she asked, feeling afraid and worried. If Jake was fine, shouldn’t Michael let her take a look at him so that she could feel assured?
Michael lowered his head. He avoided her gaze and dared not give her an answer.
"What happened to Jake?" Wendy tried to get a grip on herself, and her tone became harsher. "Is it his fever? Has it not gone down? Or has his condition gotten worse?"
"His fever has gone down..." Michael looked up at Wendy and sighed. "Wendy, listen to me. Eat your lunch, and then I’ll take you to see Jake."
"Michael, do you think I’d be able to stomach any food at this point?" Wendy’s eyes turned red all of a sudden.
"But you must eat." Michael refused to back down. "Your body cannot handle any more stress. Besides, you’re pregnant. You’re pregnant, remember?" Michael emphasized.
"Do I have to eat my lunch before I get to see Jake?" Wendy asked, eyes filled with tears. She knew that Michael was doing this for her own good.
Michael nodded. Wendy looked at the lunchbox that had been prepared for her.
"All right," said Wendy and she shook off Michael’s hand. She marched over and opened the lunchbox. She did not care that the food was still hot and stuffed everything into her mouth.
"Wendy..." Michael wanted to warn her that the food was hot, but Wendy had already started eating. In the blink of an eye, Wendy had finished half of it.
When she could no longer swallow any more food, she said, "I can’t eat anymore.
Can I see Jake now?"
Michael could only sigh.
Wendy ran as fast as she could to Jake’s ward. She saw Jake and Zess both lying on their beds. As Wendy neared Jake, she was shocked by his appearance. His face wasswollen beyond recognition. He looked like he was beaten up. His entire body was swollen too. Jake had ballooned to one and a half times his size. His facial features were distorted by the redness and swelling. This did not look like Jake at all.
"Who..." Wendy was in disbelief. She asked Michael, "Who is this?" ƒrēewebnovel.com
"This is Jake..." Michael answered miserably.
"How could this be Jake?" Wendy could not accept what she was seeing. "It’s just been one night. How did Jake become this... this thing?"
"If we hadn’t been here the whole time, I wouldn’t have believed it either," Michael said with a catch in his voice.
...
"Mom... Mommy..." Jake found it difficult to speak. He could not move one bit due to the immense swelling all over his body. Moving his mouth to speak took great effort.
The doctor was in the ward. He said, "Early this morning, Jake almost stopped breathing. We managed to save him, but..."
"Shut up!" Michael interrupted the doctor before he could finish.
The doctor realized that he had said too much. It was obvious that the rest of the family did not want Wendy to worry.
"Let him finish," said Wendy. She looked at the doctor and said, "But what?"
The doctor did not dare to continue. He looked down and said, "I need to work on Jake’s prescription." He then looked down and kept himself busy.
"Didn’t I tell you to wake me up if anything happens to Jake?" Wendy’s eyes were bloodshot as she looked at Michael. "Why didn’t you wake me up?"
"Jake is better now, so..." Michael lowered his head, avoiding Wendy’s gaze.
"Wendy, don’t blame him," said Mary. "We stopped him from telling you. Wendy, you’re a patient too. You should take care of yourself. Don’t make us worry about you."
"But, but..." Wendy started crying. But Jake was her son. She had carried him inside her for nine months. How could she not worry about him?
"Ms. Zess is starting to develop a fever. Her temperature is a hundred degrees.
That’s about 33 degrees higher than ten minutes ago," shouted the doctor who was next to Zess.
"Prepare to bring down her temperature now!" The principal doctor walked over to Zess. "Ms. Zess’s condition is most likely similar to Jake’s. The only difference is, Jake is a lot younger and his immune system isn’t as strong as Ms. Zess. Administer the same treatment that Jake received."
After treating Jake, the doctors now knew what needed to be done for Zess. Wendy stood by and watched helplessly as Zess was carried onto the gurney and wheeled to the emergency room.
Wendy’s gazed upon Jake and Zess with red-rimmed eyes. She was gripped by a fear she had never felt before.
Michael was afraid that Wendy might have a meltdown. He held her tightly in his arms, patting her back gently, and said, "She’ll be fine, everything will be all right..."
"Mom... Mommy..." Jake spoke with great effort. "Do... don’t... worry..."
Wendy wept at the sight of Jake struggling to speak. She sniffled and said, "Jake, don’t try to speak. You should save your energy. You must pull through, you hear me? Leah could do it. You’re her elder brother, so you must be able to do the same, got it?"
"Jake, you must hang in there..." Leah’s eyes were red and puffy, her voice choked as her eyes brimmed with tears. She reached out and gripped Jake’s hand as tightly as she could, as if hoping to give him strength through her touch.
"Jake, when I was sick, you encouraged me. You told me that I will be able to pull through," said Leah. "I believe that you can do the same. When you’ve recovered, I’ll do well in my studies and score full marks for every test."
Jake tried very hard to open his mouth but he could only make a very small sound.
And so he nodded with great difficulty. Tears streamed down the corner of his eyes.
He must pull through. He had a family that loved him so much. He had to grow up faster to protect his mother and sister.
