Page 36 of Broken

I did a quick brush of my teeth, and we all piled back into the tent. This time, I was able to curl into Tucker, enjoying the feel of his hand brushing along my back and the sound of his heart beating beneath my ear as I lay on his broad chest. We didn’t attempt anything more intimate, him seeming to know I didn’t want to push it.

I eased into a peaceful sleep, something exciting and comforting about being on the beach with my friends, sister, and boyfriend overnight. A new place in our relationships that seemed to fit so well. But not long before dawn, I woke with an awful twisting pain in my stomach again and ran back outside.

No one woke up that time, and I settled in one of the chairs by the depleted bonfire, letting the early morning ocean breeze cool my flushed features. I threw up two more times before the others started to emerge, and Annie took one look at me and frowned, taking the chair beside mine.

“Why didn’t you tell us you were still sick? You look like death.” My head laid back as she pressed the back of her hand to it. “Crap, Izzy, you’re burning up. Why didn’t you wake me up?”

I shrugged, not even wanting to attempt words at that point. She went and got the guys, and I went to lay in Tucker’s truck while they cleaned up the campsite, my head in Annie’s lap in the backseat on the way home. Tucker carried me up to bed, and the second he set me down, I was racing for the bathroom, nothing but dry heaving and stomach acid coming up at this point.

Jet was waiting by the desk while Annie started bustling about the room when I came out. “I’ll get you some Tylenol and a washcloth. You lie down, and I’ll pull a trashcan up to the bed just in case,” she instructed.

“You’ve got this?” Tucker asked her, holding the covers open for me as I crawled into bed.

Annie rolled her eyes. “Mom’s a nurse. Pretty sure I know how to take care of my sister, Tucker.” Her face softened in retrospect. “But thanks for wanting to check.”

“Text me if you need me.” He reached down, brushing my hair back from my face. “Soup, a new book. Whatever. I’m your guy.”

I couldn’t help but smile, and within minutes, I was out.

I stayed out of it for days, with a blistering fever and my horrible stomach to boot, and poor Annie spent so much of her time taking care of me that weekend that by Monday she’d woken up with it as well. Mom dragged us to the doctor, confirming there was an awful virus going around, and I had at least another few days of it to go.

Tucker and Jet had been amazing, bringing home our things from school each day and curling up with us on the couch downstairs to watch movies and our favorite shows. Tucker even surprised me with a gift card one day when I was finally coming out of the worst of it so I could update my stash of ebooks while I was stuck at home.

We were cuddled up on the couch under a blanket one afternoon, Tucker lounging back against the arm while I laid between his legs, my back on his chest. I was reading my new smut on my Kindle while he flicked through shows on the TV. Jet was upstairs, checking on Annie after another spike of her fever. Mom had headed to work a couple of hours ago, and Archer was still over at Colton’s.

Tucker’s fingers trailed lazily through the long strands of my loose hair, and I shifted, snuggling so I was laying with my cheek on his chest. I propped my Kindle at the edge of the couch toread. It was so strange how quickly my comfort level with Tucker had changed. These touches and caresses between us were still so new, but nothing had ever felt so right. We’d fallen into the role of boyfriend and girlfriend so seamlessly. A part of me kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Where would the perfection end?

“You finally coming back to school tomorrow?” Tucker dropped the remote to the floor when he settled on a show, wrapping his arm around my middle, his other hand still playing with my hair.

I sighed, laying my Kindle down. “Probably. I don’t feelsickso much anymore today, just weak.”

“Yeah, that virus y’all had was killer.”

I nodded. “Annie will probably still be out for another day or two, though.”

“Makes sense.” He lifted a lock of my hair, studying the strands before bringing it to his nose. I gave him a funny look, and he smirked. “I love the smell of your hair. And the color, like it’s countless shades of warm brown.”

My heart did a funny little flip. “Um, thank you?”

He rolled his eyes with a teasing grin. “Think it’s safe to kiss you yet?”

“Only the brave will find out,” I joked back.

“Wow,” he deadpanned, but only a second later and he was pulling me up his chest and pressing his lips to mine.

I sighed, my heart mimicking the feeling, and tucked my hand behind his head to bury my fingers in his hair. His tongue ran along my bottom lip, asking for entrance, and I opened, letting him brush mine with his own. It was tender, passionate, filled with everything that we’d been forced to hold back this week. How much we’d missed each other.

His hand burrowed in the back of my hair, deepening the kiss just as the door pushed open. I froze at first in surprise beforespringing apart, not wanting Archer to see, but then my face fell into shock, meeting Mom’s stunned green stare in the doorway.

The next few seconds passed like minutes, neither of us moving, our gazes holding, until Tucker shifted, breaking the trance.

“It looks like congratulations are in order,” Mom said, shutting the door. “How long has this been going on?”

My mouth opened but nothing came out, everything going dry.

“Since she broke up with Zane. About two months ago.”

I watched in horror as a strange look of anger and betrayal swept over Mom’s features before it suddenly disappeared. “Well, I’m glad you bothered to tell me. I think I caught y’all’s virus. They sent me home with a fever. If you need me, I’m taking a shower and then lying down.” Her words were normal, but oh, so cold, almost vacant, and terror took over my insides. I shot Tucker a look and scrambled off the couch, tripping over the blanket before yanking my foot free.

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