Color Blind (BWWM Interracial Billionaire Single Mom Steamy Romance Novel) (8 page)

“
My fingers hurt too.”

“
Your fingers?” I picked up her hand to examine it.
 

They didn’t appear swollen. I had no clue what would cause all of these different symptoms.
 

“
Okay, you take this and I’ll phone the doctor. Here, open up,” I ordered as I administered the dose of medication.
 

Before I hopped in the shower for work, I called the doctor’s office. They weren’t open yet, I’d have to wait until it was closer to the time we’d leave. I rushed around, getting both of us dressed and out the door. In the car, I tried once more while on my way to Lorraine’s house.
 

“
Dr. Herber’s office, this is Janice. How may I help you?”
 

“
Hi,
Janice. This is Kimberly Harris again. Dr. Herber examined Nevaeh last
week
and said that he thought it was a bug or something, but her symptoms have returned and now she’s complaining that her fingers hurt. Is it possible to get her in this week?”
 

Janice looked over the schedule. “Yes, we have an opening on Friday at noon. How does that sound?”
 

I hesitated for a moment. I knew that I was scheduled that day and my boss gave me hell for attempting to take off the week before. I quickly decided that I would see if
Lorraine
would drive her to the appointment. “Yes, that’ll be
okay
. I have to work so can my best friend bring her?”
 

“
Sure, no problem.”

When I dropped Nevaeh off, I told Lorraine how the symptoms had returned and explained the Friday appointment. She agreed that she would take her.
 

While working, I worried about her all day. I also thought about how much these doctor appointments would affect my bank account. Since
business
had died down and my tips had dwindled, I was only clearing around a thousand dollars a month. We were barely scraping by as it was. While I was grateful that my friend didn’t charge me for babysitting, I felt guilty that I had her running all over town taking Nevaeh to her doctor appointment. On this particular afternoon, I was glad that the restaurant was slow. I had so much on my mind. There was my sick child, the worrisome bills and the billionaire—whom I couldn’t stop thinking about.
 

I decided that he would just have to wait—billionaire or not. My baby comes first. She always did and always would. It didn’t matter if he had a woman for every dollar he had lined up waiting to meet him. They could all have him if he
weren't
patient enough
with
me. On the flip side of the coin, I didn’t want him to get away either. He was so
kind
, friendly, funny, smart and outgoing; the complete opposite of the loser guys I
regularly
fell for.
 

On my 15 minute
breaks
and lunch period, I checked on Nevaeh.
 

“
How’s she doing?” I asked.
 

“
She’s been hanging out on the couch. I gave her the medicine that you
sent,
but her fever seems to come back just as it’s time for her next dose. I don’t think this is
a stupid
bug or virus.” Lorraine confided in me.
 

“
You might be right. You’ve heard what they say about mother’s intuition, and I suspect it’s something more sinister.”

“
All we can do is keep fighting for her and taking care of her. Don’t worry about her while you’re away. She’s in the best of hands here—at least when she’s not with you, I mean.”

“
I know she is, but I’m worried about her. I better
get
back to work. Call me if you need anything or she gets worse.”
 

When I got to Lorraine’s house that evening, my love bug wasn’t in the window as usual. I frowned sensing something was wrong with my baby. She always watched for me to pull up. As I made my way to the front door and was about to grab the handle, the door opened from the inside.
 

“
Oh,
Hi
Kimberly. I was heading out to go pick up dinner.” Tyrone explained.
 

“
Hey,” I nodded, trying to muster a smile.
 

He shut the door behind him so Nevaeh couldn’t hear what he was about to say. “Kimberly, I want to talk to you about Nevaeh.” He began, looking over at the window to make sure she wasn’t sitting in it. “Lorraine didn’t want to worry you while you were at work, but she wasn’t herself at all today. She lied around on the couch the entire time and anytime she moved, her face flinched in pain. She wouldn’t let us touch her or anything.”
 

“
Ugh, I can’t deal with this right now. I’m so stressed out. I just want her to get well.”

“
Lorraine was planning on telling you when you came to pick her up, but I was worried that she would downplay Nevaeh’s symptoms so you wouldn’t be as concerned.”
 

“
She told me some of it on the phone. I have a doctor’s appointment for her on Friday at noon. Lorraine’s driving her to it for me since I can’t take her.”
 

“
That’s what I heard, but I wanted to let you know that if you need anything—we’re here for you.”

“
You’re sweet Tyrone that really means a lot to me.”
 

After he had
left
, I walked into the house. Nevaeh was lying on the couch covered up with her favorite blanket. I smiled at her, hoping to relieve her some since I was there.
 

“
I’m okay momma,” she mumbled as she watched cartoons, sensing I was worried.
 

“
Okay. I’m going to go talk to Lorraine. I’ll be right back.” I kissed Nevaeh’s forehead and called for my friend. “Lorraine!” I yelled throughout the house.
 

“
In here,” Lorraine said as she emptied a cap of detergent into the
washing
machine.
 

I walked into the laundry room and asked, “How did she do today?”
 

“
She wasn’t her usual self. She seems
frail
and exhausted. It was a chore for her to lift her head. I even carried her to the bathroom once.”
 

“
Seriously?” My heart dropped. What was wrong with my little girl? “I guess all we can do is give her ibuprofen until she gets into her pediatrician, and you’re taking her, right?”
 

“
Yes, I am. Could they get her in any sooner than Friday?”

“
I doubt
it,
but I’ll ask.”
 

I had already tried, but they were booked solid and Friday was the earliest appointment available, which was only because they had a
cancelation
before I scheduled Nevaeh’s visit.
 

 “
Can you help me carry her and her things out to the car?”

“
Of course.”

That night, I carefully watched my darling and saw what Lorraine had told me about. She was so weak. Her frail body looked delicate and fragile as I lied next to her in bed.
 

“
How are you doing sweetie?” I asked her.
 

“
I’m okay momma.”

I kissed her on the cheek and wished her a good night before flipping off the light. A tear rolled down my face as horrible thoughts raced through my mind. I’ve already lost my dad; I couldn’t stand to live without my baby.
What if it
was cancer
? It was more than I could bare. I tried to shut off my mind as I fought to fall asleep.
 

The next morning, Nevaeh was still the same, which made it difficult to wake her up. I did what she I to do and notified my boss that I wouldn’t make it in.
 

“
Kevin, this is Kimberly. I won’t be coming it in today.”
 

“
Again? What is it now?” he protested in a hostile voice.

“
Nevaeh’s still sick, but she’s gotten worse. I can’t even get her out of bed.”
 

“
This is getting ridiculous. You can’t just take off once a week. I gave you a break last time when you needed off, but I’m giving you a point today.”

“
Well,
then I guess that’s what you’ll have to do. Kevin, my
baby
is sick and she needs me. She’s too weak to get dressed or to take her to the sitter’s house. I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow
afternoon
so I won’t be in then either.”
 

“
Really?” he hissed.

“
Yes, really. Nevaeh is my priority. With the condition she’s in, I’m going to stay with her.” I stated, not caring whether my boss liked it or not.
 

“
That’s two points.” He warned before hanging up on me.
 

Frustrated, I called my best friend. I was beside myself as I reflected how hateful and mean Kevin was treating me. Venting would do me some good. After I had
told
Lorraine what happened, my friend agreed with me—he was being a jerk and didn’t show any compassion. It made me feel better that at least someone shared my opinions.
 

By the time Friday rolled around, my daughter
had shown
no change. Her back still hurt and her fever was still present. Her knees, ankles, toes and fingers were all swollen. The ibuprofen only seemed to keep her temperature at bay for a few short hours before it reared its ugly head again. When we finally got to her appointment, I explained all of my daughter’s symptoms and her behavior to the pediatrician.
 

“
It’s just so out of the blue for her to act this way. She’s normally your typical rambunctious
eight-year-old
girl who loves to run and play.” I pleaded with the doctor to figure out what was wrong with my little girl.
 

“
It’s possible we could do an
x-ray
though it won’t help much since whatever she has
is
affecting various parts of her body. I’d suggest we do some blood testing and analyze the results. It’s hard to say what she might have without having some numbers to determine what we’re dealing with.”
 

I agreed that it was probably the best route to go. “When will those be available?” I asked as I held Nevaeh closer.
 

“
We should have them back within a few days, but a couple of them might take about seven days or so.”

I sighed; it didn’t sound very promising to me. I wanted immediate answers—I didn’t
want
to wait a week. I wanted her back to her old self. “There’s no way we can rush the tests?” I begged, hopeful that the doctor might be able to pull some strings.
 

“
I’m afraid not. That’s just how long some of the labs take.” He looked over Nevaeh’s chart, “Is there any family history of others having these symptoms?” he inquired.
 

“
No. No one in my family has ever had any kind of disease except diabetes, and that was on my mom’s side.” I answered him.
 

“
What about on her dad’s side?” he continued probing.

“
I couldn’t tell you, but I don’t recall him ever speaking of any.”

“
Is there any way you could find out? Perhaps call him and ask him?” the doctor suggested.

“
It’s not like I can contact him quickly. The last I heard, he was in prison, and I couldn’t begin to imagine which one. We’ve not had any contact for a long time and I don’t have anything to do with his family either.”

“
I understand. We’ll get her blood drawn and request the labs right away. In the meantime, continue to give her ibuprofen for her fever, and it should also help alleviate some of the pain she’s suffering from. I’ll keep you posted,” he promised as he walked us to the door.
 

In the parking lot, I broke down after I got my daughter buckled into her booster seat. I tried to hide it from
her,
but the loud sobs escaped my
mouth before I could stop them. Fear and panic took over
and won.
 

“
Momma, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Nevaeh worried as she looked at me from the
rearview
mirror.