Fourteen: Alexander

ALEXANDER

I scowled as I stared at the back of the bottle, reading the dosage as Bailee turned on the bath in the adjoining bathroom.

“How much do I owe you?” She asked, and I looked up to see her leaning against the door frame, staring at me stone-faced. “For the medicine, how much was it?”

“You don’t need to pay me back.”

“Well, I don’t want to owe you anything.” She snapped, and I lowered the bottle to my side.

The little girl was sitting on the bed, playing with the unopened boxes, and I felt uneasy. I was unsure if she should be playing with them or if I should take them away. If I did, would she just start screaming again?

“You don’t owe me. It’s a gift.” I said, and she held her hand out, palm up, careful not to touch me when I placed the bottle in her hand.

Pushing off the door frame, Bailee grabbed the syringe from the box on the bed, opened the bottle, and filled it without needing to read the back like I had.

She knew exactly how much her child needed off the t