Page 27 of Tempt Me

Chapter 10

Gigi returned totheapartmenttothesoundof retching coming fromthebathroom. Silentlyplacing hermessengerbag onthefloorbythefrontdoor,Gigiapproach the bathroom.

“Jen?”Therewasapainedgroan followed by moreviolentsounds.“Jen,areyouall right?”Gigi asked,placing herhand onthedoor handleonlytofind itlocked.“Jen?”

“Killme,”Jen moaned.Thetoiletflushed.

She sanktoherknees,herhand still resting againstthedoor.“What’swrong?”

Thelockdisengaged and Gigi immediately openedthedoor.Theoverwhelming smellofvomithither nostrils, causing her toseal herlipsup tight. Jen wasslumpedagainstthetoilet,hercheekpressed tothe closed lid. Shewaspaleand shaky. Gigiswept her damp blonde hair awayfrom her forehead and felt hertemperature.

“You’reburning up,Jen.”

“Killme,”sherepeated,her eyesstilltightlyclosed.

“Howlong have you been vomiting for?”

Jen waved a hand intheair. “Don’tknow. Hours?Days?Argh,itfeelslikedays.”

She pursed her lips. Jen had been finewhen she’d left nomorethan an houror twobefore. “When doyou startwork?”

“Atfour,” Jenmanaged towhisper,her eyessqueezing shutmoretightly.

Gigi looked atherwatch. Itwasonlymidday.Therewasstill timefor hertorestand recover. “Comeon. I’ll help you getintobed.”Shehelped herroommategetontoherfeet. Togetherthey shuffled towardsJen’sroomwhereGigi tucked her intobedand wenttofetch somewaterand a bottleofGatorade. She placed themon thebedsidetable. “Getsomesleep. I’llcheckinonyou,and if youcan,trytodrinkthis,”shesaid,gesturingtothetwo bottles onher bedside.

“You’rethebest,Gigi,”Jenmurmured beforefallingtosleep.

She wentbacktothebathroomandopenedthecupboard under the sink. Shefound some bleach,a pair ofgloves and a rag and gottoworkcleaning thebathroom. Shecheckedin on Jen thenwentintoherroomto study.

When she resurfaced atthree-thirty,Jen wasstill asleep and her temperaturewasstill high. Gently,shewokeher up. “Jen,you havetogotoworkin half an hour.”

“Killme,”Jen said,and Gigirolled her eyes. Shecouldatleastcomeupwith something more original.

“I’m not going tokill you. Iam,however,going tocallMaxtolethimknowyouwon’tbecoming in.”

Jen replied bymaking a gagging noiseand boltingtothebathroom. Gigi sighedand retreated to her roomtofind herphone. Shepulled up Max’scontactdetailsandmadethecall. Hisrich voiceon theotherend wasjusthisvoicemail. Sheleftamessagethen hung up. Making her waytothe bathroom,she found Jenpassedouton thebathroomfloor.

When shetriedto moveher,Jen weaklyfoughtheroff. “Leavemehere. It’scoldand I don’thave torun asfar.”

“I’m going totryMaxagain. Hang tight.”

Three more voicemails later,and another dozen hang-ups,Gigi gave up. Maxobviouslycouldn’t hear hisphone.She had to phone theclub directly. AquicksearchontheInternetcouldn’t help her. Becausetheclub wassonew,no numberhad been added tothebusinessdetails,which leftherwith onlyonechoice.

Sheputher shoesbackon,grabbed her bag and headed forthedoor.

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