Page 7 of Tinley's Daddy
“We had a deal.” He narrowed his eyes. “You said you would answer and no doctor.”
I shook my head from side to side.
“Okay.” He smiled, and it lit my insides on fire. He picked up a napkin and walked toward me.
“How about we have a little picnic here on the floor then.” He opened the napkin with a flourish and set it on the floor in front of me. He went back to the table and grabbed the plate with the burgers and fries in one hand and two small ramekins in the other. He set it all down in front of me. One of the ramekins was filled with a red substance, I assumed ketchup. The other was filled with a white substance.
“A friend of mine swears by ranch dressing on her burger.” He chuckled. “Actually, she puts it on everything. Give it a try.”
Ranch dressing on a burger. I shrugged and leaned over to smell the plate of food.
Josh turned away and I snaked my hand out and stole a fry. It was warm and salty.
I groaned and Josh turned around.
“Good stuff, huh.” He smiled again and I tried to smile back. I don’t think I quite succeeded because he frowned and then went back to the table.
The smell of the burger hit me again and I forgot all about being scared or showing my cards. I was hungry. I also forgot all my manners as I grabbed the burger with both hands and took the biggest bite.
“Careful.” He set another napkin down beside me. “Don’t want to make yourself sick.”
I put the burger down, grabbed a handful of fries, and shoved them in my mouth.
I half expected him to scold me, but he didn’t. He winked and let me eat.
I managed another bit from the burger before my stomach grumbled. I tried to eat through it. It grumbled louder. Josh turned back and stopped mid-sip.
I dropped the burger and put one hand on my stomach and another over my mouth. My eyes watered. I scanned the room. The two doors on the other side of the room were closed. One had to be a bathroom.
I stood up. The blanket fell around my feet. Josh stood up, too.
I shrank back toward the wall, but he didn’t notice. He shuffled toward the door on the right, stepped in to turn on the light, and stepped out. I gagged.
The smell hit me. I didn’t care if it got me in trouble. I ran for the bathroom and managed to shut the door behind me before I unloaded my dinner into the toilet.
I hadn’t eaten that much, but Josh was right. It was the first solid food I’d had in days. My stomach was not having it. Once I emptied my stomach, I slumped back against the tub and rested on the cool tile. The bathroom was pristine and white. White tiles, white fixtures, white towels and rugs.
A flashback of the hotel Damon booked for us in Paris popped into my head. I pushed it away and cried instead.
A soft knock at the door made me sit up. I rubbed the tears from my eyes.
“Are you okay?” Josh poked his head in. He held out a bottle of water and set it on the floor. He also held a T-shirt and shorts. He dropped them. “I thought you’d like something to change into.”
He stared for what felt like a minute. What did he think of me? I got good at reading people. I knew what they wanted from me. With Josh, I had no clue. Why would he help me?
He looked down at the clothes and then back at me.
“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.” He nodded and shut the door.
I grabbed the bottle of water, washed my mouth out, and spat it in the toilet. The smell hit me, and I groaned.
I flushed the toilet and pulled myself up. I tried not to look in the mirror. A toothbrush kit sat next to the sink. I ripped it open and brushed my teeth vigorously. We only got to brush when we were going on a date. I hadn’t been to a dentist in over a year. I went to a doctor when I was first taken and given an implant. Pregnancy wasn’t good for business.
I giggled. The sound made me nauseous.
A dry heave hit me, but nothing more came up. I finished brushing and rinsed my mouth with the faucet water.
I sat on the toilet, but before I could release my bladder, my eyes spotted the door. More specifically the lock on the door. I hadn’t locked it.
