Page 13 of Come to Bed

“Don’t feel good,” she garbled out.

I sighed dramatically. “It was only one bottle of wine and we split it, you are not abandoning me for this.”

Yara shot up suddenly and ran to the bathroom. The retching noises were unmistakable.

“You’re not pregnant, are you?” I followed Yara and found her a puddle of misery hugging the toilet. Been there, done that. I held her hair and stroked her back as she shuddered.

“Shut up,” she gurgled out weakly.

My concern sky-rocketed, this didn’t seem normal. Usually she would puke and rally, but this felt like something else. “You’re not actually pregnant, are you?”

Yara’s response was to vomit into the toilet.

I was officially worried. “Can I get you anything?”

“No.” The word echoed around the porcelain.

“You’re not going to make it, are you?”

Another dry heave. The noise had me swallowing down my own nausea. Maybe this was a sign I should just bail on the reunion.

And my plans after.

“I’m not. I can’t be around those hellions in this condition. I woke up in the middle of the night like this, but I was hoping it would go away.” She managed to get the full sentence out before her dry heaving continued. “You are still going through with it. Both things. I have another room booked for you, under an alias. There is a packet I want you to read and an NDA you need to sign. You need this.” More puking.

How could I argue with my friend as she became one with the hotel toilet?

Fuck. I was really going to do this. “Okay.” I whispered the word.

“Good. In my bag, the folder labeled Come to Bed,” Yara yakked out.

I stopped stroking her back, if she wasn’t in this condition, I might hit her. “You know, you are going to catch these hands. How did you know what my plans were?”

“You forget, I am your best friend and I know everything. Now leave me to my misery. Nothing to do but wait till this passes. Throw me one of those fifty-dollar bottles of water from the mini bar first though, would you?”

“You’ve got jokes.” I used my hair tie to put her hair back the best I could, so it would not endure the radioactive waste below. The smell of vomit permeated the space and I needed to exit this room. Now.

I grabbed one of the unnecessarily expensive hotel water bottles and rolled it to her. “Feel better. You got your phone in case you need me?”

She pulled back from the toilet long enough to lift her phone and wave it at me. “You mean if you need me? If you bail on tonight, just know I will never let you live it down.” She made another disgusting noise before plummeting back to her new home below.

I could not handle any more of that and shut the door with a slink.

“She okay?”

I jumped, turning around. “How does your massive frame always sneak up on me?”

Maddox leaned against the wall across from me. I had not even heard the giant enter. He pointed his thumb at the opened door across from my bed. “Adjoining rooms, not that hard.”

That literally didn’t explain anything, but that was Maddox. A man of few words.

“Sure. And she’ll be fine, I think.” I crossed the room to my suitcase. “You’re still coming with us, right?” I tried to keep the anxiety out of my tone. I only had the singular plus one, but Maddox was on the list as Yara’s since she didn’t have anyone else she wanted to bring.

“Wouldn’t miss it.” His calculating eyes followed my every move. Maddox’s military background and close friendship with Oliver made it so I always felt protected in his presence. Except right now. I felt like prey.

Like I was one of his targets. I couldn’t understand why I was suddenly feeling that way.

I was beginning to think I was the problem, I kept feeling on edge for no apparent reason.

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