Page 57 of The Game Changer

Johnathan

I roll over in bed, my hand finding cold sheets instead of the warm body that I’ve grown used to finding next to me, and that’s when I remember that Jill stayed at her place last night. She wasn’t feeling all that great, blamed it on cramps and said she just wanted to sleep after work, plus she had an early morning vet visit for Walter. I didn’t fight it, figuring that it wasn’t a bad thing that we have a little time away from one another. It feels like besides her going to work, we’ve been inseparable since we decided to give this relationship thing a go.

I roll back over, my head is pounding, something I haven’t experienced in months. A wave of nausea hits me out of left field, and I stumble my way from bed to the bathroom. I don’t have much in my stomach, so I end up dry heaving. Once I’m able to stand up, even if the room is still spinning on me, I rummage through my bathroom cabinets until I find the prescription bottle for the meds I was given for headaches when I first was diagnosed with the concussion. I toss back the meds with a small glass of water before I shuffle out to the kitchen to pop some bread into the toaster. I put a coffee pod into the Keurig for a quick cup of coffee and I’m hopeful between the meds, a little food, and the coffee that I can kick this headache that has settled in.

With my toast and coffee on hand, I plop down on the couch, kicking back into a comfortable position. I hear my cell start to ring, but it’s all the way in my bedroom, and I just don’t have the energy right now to get up and get it. I’ll deal with calling whoever back later. It’s probably Jill on her way in to work. I finish off my toast and coffee, feeling a tad bit better with some food in my system. My head is still pounding, so I pull the blanket off the back of the couch, covering myself up and fall back to sleep.

I startle awake, my surroundings foggy as I realize where I am. I look around, the sun is in the sky, so I must have slept for hours. My head is still at a dull ache, but no longer pounding like it was this morning.

“JC, open up!” I hear pounding and a muffled voice on the other side of my door. That must be what startled me awake. I push myself up, tossing the blanket aside.

“I’m coming,” I holler at the door so that whoever’s on the other side will quit pounding on it. Each pound is like a hammer to my head. “What?” I ask, annoyed as I open the door, finding Beckett and Mark Lee on the other side.

“You look like shit,” Beckett says.

“This explains why you haven’t been answering your phone,” Mark adds.

“Are you ok?” Beckett asks as he pushes past me and into my living room.

“Woke up with a migraine,” I say, closing the door behind them.

“Where is your phone?” Mark asks.

“I think on the nightstand, why?”

“Because your girlfriend is freaking out. She’s been trying to reach you all day and you haven’t answered any calls or texts from anyone.”

“Shit,” I say, heading for the bedroom. I snag my phone from the nightstand where it is still plugged in and, sure enough, I’ve got a dozen or so missed calls from Jill, Cindi, Mark, and Beckett, along with a string of messed texts, as well. I unlock my phone, hitting Jill’s contact to call her first.

“Are you okay?” she asks as soon as she picks up.

“Yeah, sorry to scare you. I woke up with a pounding headache, took some meds, and crashed on the couch. I didn’t hear my phone at all and only woke up because Mark and Beckett showed up and were pounding on my door.”

“I’m sorry,” she says.

“No, I’m sorry for freaking you out.”

“I just got so worried when you hadn’t called or texted me back by lunch time, so I texted Julia to see if Beckett had heard from you and she said she’d get him to check on you. Sorry if I overreacted.”

“It’s all good. How are you feeling?”

“Eh, okay, things will be better again in a few days.”

“How was Walter’s appointment?”

“Oh fine, just his normal checkup.”

“Are you coming over tonight?” I ask, looking at the clock finally and seeing that it is already almost five thirty.

“Do you want me to?” she asks.

“Of course, or I can come to you. I missed having you next to me last night. Waking up to cold sheets on your side of the bed this morning sucked.”

“I was quite lonely last night; Walter didn’t want to snuggle with me like you do.”

“Okay, let me kick these guys out of my place, I’ll take a quick shower and then head to your place. Want me to pick up some takeout on my way over?”

“Sure, how about some fajitas? We could share a double order.”

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