“Do I call for an ambulance?”
“Is she turning blue or changing any colors?”
“No.”
I blew out a relieved breath, my worry easing even more. “Not yet, then. This is fairly typical, but I’ll know more when I get there.”
“Okay. Okay.” Reese hiccupped a sob. “Hurry.”
“I will.”
I hung up, and once I reached my Jeep, I leapt behind the wheel. I had a feeling Sarah would be okay. My heart always stuttered a little with fear whenever she had a seizure, but she’d ended up fine after them every single time so far, so I had that reassurance.
I think Reese was the one I was more worried about. She sounded as if she were on the verge of having a panic attack. So I floored it all the way home, running a red light when I didn’t see anyone else at the intersection.
I didn’t bother pulling into the drive, just stopped at the curb and killed the engine. When I flew through the front door, the living room was quiet and dark, which made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Mom usually left the television on as background noise. It felt weird for it to be turned off.
“Reese?” I called, fearing the worst.
“We’re here,” a trembling voice answered from the hall.
I held my breath and hurried there, only to find my sister lying on her back on the floor with Reese kneeling next to her, gently smoothing Sarah’s pajama shirt over her torso.
“I was just getting her night clothes on,” she explained, wiping the back of her hand over her nose. “She passed out after the seizure stopped. I didn’t know if that was normal.”
I bent down beside her and checked Sarah’s pulse. “Sometimes. How long has she been like this?”
“Umm.” Reese shook her head and then kept shaking it as if she couldn’t seem to stop. “A few minutes. Three. Four.” She looked up at me, her face pale but nose bright red, which made her eyes look extra blue. “You got here fast.”
I wanted to touch her, just to soothe her. “You sounded pretty shaken.”
The movement of her head morphed from side to side to up and down. “How… How long will she be like this?”
“Not much longer. So you need to keep it together, okay. If she sees you upset, she’s going to get upset too. We don’t need anything triggering another episode.” But mostly I couldn’t handle seeing her so shaken. “Think you can do that?”
For a moment, her eyes looked wild, as if she were going to lose it all over again, but then she drew in a deep breath, her chest heaving, and she nodded again before wiping at her still damp cheeks.
“Good,” I said, shifting closer to her. “She’ll probably need a drink when she wakes up.”
“Okay.” She popped to her feet as if relieved to have something to do. “I’ll get her some water.”
I grasped her wrist, and she immediately froze, zipping a worried look to me as if she’d done something wrong. Her pulse jumped under my fingers, worrying me more.
“I’ll get it,” I said, pushing to my feet and encouraging her to sit with Sarah.
When I returned, Reese’s face was brightening with relief, and Sarah’s lashes were fluttering open.
“Hey,” I told her as I crouched beside Reese. “Welcome back, kiddo. You had a little spell there, but you’re okay now.”
Setting the water aside, I took my sister’s shoulders and propped her up so she could sit with her back against my chest. Th
en I grabbed the cup and tipped it up to her mouth, letting her drink her fill. Once she finished, she glanced around as if looking for something specific, stopping only when she found Reese.
Reese sniffed and forced a big smile, crawling forward until her knees bumped into mine. “I guess my knock-knock jokes were just too funny, huh?”
Sarah giggled. “Knock-knock.”
“Who’s there?” Reese asked.