Lily
It was barely past 6 a.m. when the ringtone sliced through the silence of their apartment.
Daniel stirred first, blinking at the vibrating phone on Lily's nightstand. He nudged her gently. "Lil… it's your mom."
Lily groaned softly and turned over, her hand fumbling for the phone in the dim blue light of dawn. The screen glowed with the name: Mom.
Something in her mother's timing—too early, too precise—sent a current of dread down her spine.
"Hello?" Her voice cracked, sleep still clinging to her.
"Lily…" Her mother's voice was strained. Wet. Like she'd been crying. "It's your dad. He's—he's burning up. I think it's a fever, but it's high, really high. He was shivering and mumbling all night. I—Lily, I don't know what to do. I tried everything. He won't eat, won't talk."
Lily sat up instantly, sleep gone. "Did you take him to the ER?"
"He won't go," her mother whispered, almost shamefully. "You know how he is. He just keeps saying he's fine… But he's not. He's not."
