Page 39 of Mac
"Why should it?"Mac tilted his head as he watched the man who was only a few years younger than himself.
CHAPTER18
Elyse's headache came back in full force at 3 a.m.She took another of her rescue meds and set the alarm for a more reasonable hour so she could call the manager of another location and arrange to have someone come in and cover for her.She hated doing it, but there was no way she could work, not like this.Alarm set, she lay in the dark, quiet room trying to sleep but fighting back tears because her head hurt so bad.Experience had taught her that giving into to the urge to cry would only make her headache worse.
Being awake was the only reason she heard her phone vibrate.She picked it up, thankful she'd turned on the blue light filter before bed.Elyse couldn't help but blink at what seemed like a blindingly bright light as she saw it had been an incoming message.From Mac.What was he doing up this late?
Hope your night's better than mine and you're sound asleep now.Wish I could be there with you.
She closed her eyes for a moment then rolled so she could put both hands on the device and type a reply.
Sorry you've had a crappy night.My headache came back.I was just laying here pretending to sleep, with the tiny hope of tricking it into going away.
She hit send then dropped the phone onto the bed beside her, closing her eyes once more.There wasn't much light in the room, but that only made what there was seem all the brighter.With the darkness and silence, she had no way to judge how much time passed before her phone vibrated again.She braced herself and picked it up again, not able to just ignore it, especially since it was probably Mac.
I'm home now, is there anything I can do?Want me to come over?
Her first instinct was to say no.She didn't want to be a bother, but the more she thought about it, the better it sounded.Right now, she wanted nothing more than his arms around her while she tried to get past the throbbing in her head.
That would be amazing.Not much you can do but having you near would feel good.She hit send then remembered that her front door was locked.She could go let him in but typed up another message.
Front door's locked but the gate on your side of the house is open and there's a key taped to the underside of the shelf on the grill.
With the last message sent, she dropped her phone next to her pillow and took a deep breath.Hopefully, he would be here soon, and it would help her relax enough to let this thing pass.This was the worst she'd felt in a long time, and the last time her head had felt a soccer ball being passed back and forth around the field, her migraine had lasted nearly a week.This time she had better meds and hoped it wouldn't last nearly as long.
The pounding increased and she felt like her head was now being kicked around by elephants.The light from the phone had been a colossally bad idea.She wrapped the ends of the pillow around her ears and curled on her side, trying to breathe through each increasing wave of pain.Focusing on letting the pain pass over her, without carrying her away, kept her from hearing Mac let himself in, and she was unaware of his presence until she felt the bed dip.She rolled over and found Mac sliding onto the bed behind her, wearing a t-shirt and shorts.
"Can I get you anything?"he whispered.
She shook her head as he settled in behind her, wrapped his arms around her.She let out a sigh and felt herself relaxing against him.The sound of his breathing, soft in her ear, the warmth of his body surrounding her, making her feel safe and protected.Slowly, sleep overtook her.
Alow, distant rumble woke her.Uncertain where she was or what was going on, Elyse stirred and finally opened her eyes.The room was only dimly lit, but that was normal, at least after a headache.Blackout curtains were a life saver in the desert, for more than one reason.
There it was again.That rumble she couldn't quite place.She blinked, slower than she normally would but everything was slow in the hangover period after a particularly nasty headache.She tried to get out of bed, but the blankets wouldn't let her go and she ended up laying in the middle of the tangle, limp and even more exhausted.
Her bedroom door opened, and a head poked inside.That's when she remembered Mac coming in during the night, and the way she'd fallen asleep wrapped in his arms.It must have been his voice she'd heard.
"You're awake."His voice was barely more than a whisper."How are you feeling?"
"My head is better, but I think the bed is trying to eat me."She struggled weakly again but gave up.She couldn't figure out how to get free.It sounded stupid, she knew, but it was typical of a post-migraine haze.Normally she'd probably roll over and go back to sleep.Her head still gave a faint throbbing ache, but it was waning, not getting worse and she didn't want Mac to think she was weak.
"You need up?Here, let me help you."Mac untangled the blankets and helped her out of bed, going so far as to catch her when her legs gave out and she almost hit the floor.Once she was stable on her feet, he stayed close, following her to the bathroom door, as if afraid she'd fall again.She couldn't really blame him, and the last thing she wanted to admit was that she'd fallen before.Headaches like the one she'd had last night felt like they were trying to kill her, and sometimes they came close.
"You all right?"he asked as she stepped out of the bathroom feeling ten times better than when she'd gone in.Before emerging, she'd brushed her teeth, and now the fuzzy feeling in her mouth was less.Not gone, but tolerable.
"I will be."Elyse tried to stagger past him, into the living room and the kitchen beyond, but he got in front of her and wouldn't let her pass.
"You look like death warmed over.Tell me what you need, and I'll get it."
She glared up at him for the space of a breath, then realized she didn't have the energy, not to mention the will power, to argue, not right now.
"I need something to eat, something bland.Toast, crackers, whatever.It doesn't have to be much, but I've got to get something in my stomach, or I'll be even sicker.And I need water, or some of the tea out of the fridge."She considered going back into the bedroom and laying back down, but the couch was closer.Besides, she didn't want crumbs in her sheets.
"Where do you think you're going?"His voice was stern and brooked no argument.
"To the couch.It's closer than the bed."She motioned to the furniture a few steps away, but before she could take another step toward it, he swept her off her feet and into his arms.Heat rushed to her face at the loud, near-scream that escaped her.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."Mac sat her down on the sofa, carefully, as if she were made of spun glass.
