Page 29 of Risk

“In here,” I call out to him.

He appears when I open the door to the stall, my bag in his hand and a bottle of water in the other.

“Thought you might need your bag, and I grabbed you a water…”

“You’re a lifesaver.” I take the water from him, and he puts my bag down on the floor next to me and crouches down in the doorway of the stall.

I uncap the bottle and take a sip, swishing it around my mouth. I spit it into the toilet and flush it away.

“Anything I can do?” he asks.

“Rewind time to moments before I threw up so I could make a more silent and graceful exit.”

“Hardly anyone noticed.”

I lift a brow.

“Okay, everyone noticed.” He chuckles. “But you can’t help being sick.”

“True.” I grab my bag and rummage through it to see if I have any mints or gum, but I don’t have any. “Do you have any gum or mints?” I ask him.

He pulls a pack of gum from his jacket pocket and hands me one.

I chew on it, hoping the mint flavor doesn’t set me off puking again. I wait a moment, but the nausea seems to have passed.

“How are you feeling?”

“Not sick anymore, but like a truck ran over me.”

“You should go home.”

“Yeah.”

He stands and offers me his hand, but I wave him off.

“Don’t want to give you my germs,” I tell him as I get myself to my feet.

“I’m gonna walk you home,” he says.

“I’ll be fine,” I tell him.

“It’s nonnegotiable. I’ll get you home, run to the pharmacy, and get you the essentials. Then, I’ll head back to class and send you the notes later.”

“You’re too good to me,” I tell him as I walk over to the sink to wash my hands.

“No, I’m your friend, and that’s what friends do. I’ll wait outside while you wash up. Hanging around in the women’s restroom isn’t good for my reputation.” He winks at me and exits out the door.

I wash my hands and stare at my face in the mirror. I look pale and washed out, and I’ve got dark circles under my eyes. I don’t look like myself at all. I didn’t sleep well last night or the night before, just tossed and turned all night, but I put it down to my confrontation with Kaden. Seems like I was getting sick.

Shit, I’m supposed to work tomorrow. I could really do without being sick. I need to work. I need the money. And surely, work won’t want me serving food to customers if I’m sick with what could be any kind of bug.

I splash cold water on my face and dry off with paper towels.

Grabbing my bag, I hang it on my shoulder and head out to Aaron. So ready to get home and in my bed to sleep whatever this is off.

TEN

Iwake up and wait to see if the nausea is going to hit or if I’m finally over this damn stomach flu.

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