Page 76 of Off Balance

"What you remember is more important, Cami."

Then it occurs to me.She knows.

"Did he tell you? That we're together," I specify, just in case she wants to play dumb to avoid the topic. Not that she's normally one to run from a hard conversation, but it's clear she doesn't want to talk about this, and I can't think of why.

"It was kind of obvious when he went charging backstage because he was worried about you. And then the way he cared for you was so… familiar. Intimate."

I can't help the blush that warms my cheeks. "And you kicked him out because…"

"Cami, we'll talk about this later. Right now, we need to focus on getting you healthy. You stopped eating enough and look what happened."

The parts of tonight that I can remember, I was shaky and feeling weak. I could barely lift Daphne during rehearsals or the performance. I'm surprised Emile let me go on after my poor performance. Then again, he was in rare form all day, from one end of the mood spectrum to the next. He was livid with me and making threats, then he was apologizing and throwing me a party. I never signed the paperwork…

"What are you thinking about?"

"Emile. He gave me a contract to officially sign on as principal dancer?—"

"Oh, honey, congratulations!"

"—but I didn't sign it yet. And then this happened. I was thinking that I'm not even upset about it."

"Well, you might be experiencing a little bit of shock." Shock or exhaustion. I just woke up, and I'm already desperate to go back to sleep.

On the other side of the wall, I hear Dom's low voice mutter something that sounds like it contains several obscenities. My mother's eye flutter shut and then back open again, focusing on me.

"I thought you liked him," I say quietly, although I feel certain Dom is hanging on to every word.

"I did." She sighs heavily. "I do. I'm just… not sure about this whole thing. I think I might still be in shock."

"He's a good man," I tell her. "Like Dwayne."

Her eyes close again, and they're glossy when they open. "I know he is. It's just going to take some time to get used to the idea of you being with someone my age."

"We both know you're older than me, Cora," Dom calls through the window.

"You're not helping yourself, Dom," I call back.

Any other time, it would probably be a moment that called for laughter, but as it is, there's a strained energy in the room. The tension is broken when Irene returns with a tall woman with green scrubs that highlight the olive tones of her dark skin.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Stevens," the doctor says.

"You can call me Cameron," I say tiredly.

"I'm glad to see you awake so soon. I'm sure you're feeling quite groggy."She's right. I'm barely holding on to consciousness at this point.

"We'll let you rest again soon, but I'd like to go over some of your labs and discuss a treatment plan with you, if you think you can stay awake for that?" I nod. "First, I just want to ask you some simple questions that might sound silly, and then get your account of what you remember. This will help me determine that you're able to make decisions for yourself as well as confirm some of what we might already know."

She starts with some of the same or similar questions that the nurse asked, identifying myself and making sure I know where I am, etc. I repeat what I remember of the night before I blacked out. Now that I've been awake for a few minutes, I can remember a few other details that didn't come to me before. Like drinking a sports drink and thinking it was odd that Emile was willingly giving me sugar, no matter how sick I was. He's been ridiculously strict lately.

"At least now we know why the vomit was blue," my mom says, trying to lighten the atmosphere before I start crying again. I look helplessly over at Dom lurking outside the door, and then at my mother, pleading with her to be reasonable. I know I could make the decision for myself and demand he be allowed in the room, but I'd rather have both of them with me. She sighs and asks the doctor if it would be okay to have Dom join us.

Dom doesn't even wait for an answer, my mother's permission enough for him to cross the threshold and come straight to my side. He gets to his knees beside the bed and takes my hand in his, kissing the fingers he weaves between his.

The doctor's eyebrow raises, and then she seems to melt a little. Whatever her opinion of Dom was before, she softens after seeing his affectionate care for me. I can't wait to ask what he did to piss off all the staff, but that'll have to wait. The doctor continues with her assessment.

"Your tox screen came back positive," she says, giving Dom an acknowledging nod. "It will take a few days or up to a week to get the full panel back to find out what drugs are in your system, but it looks like you were likely given something without your knowledge or consent. Mr. Connor mentioned that something similar happened to you recently?"

My nose tingles and my eyes grow hot. I look down at my lap and scrunch my face to avoid crying. "Several weeks back, at an afterparty. I thought it was an accident, that maybe the spiked drink was given to me by mistake. I'd drank less than half of it, but I got really sick. I recognized the effects from something that happened almost two years ago. I'd had a bad reaction to something, but I'd been drinking a lot back then, and?—"

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