Page 31 of Two Is Better Than One

I called AJ the minute they left the suite. His phone rang four times and then it went to his voicemail.

"Hey," I said to the voicemail. "I heard you were sick, and I want to come see you. If you feel like seeing me, please call me back. I can get a ride over there." (I didn't have a driver lined up, but I figured if all else failed, I could always call Uber.) "I'm sorry you feel bad, and I'm worried about you a little. Please call or text and let me know how you are. Bye."

I hung up.

I wished I knew where his uncle lived. I felt terrible he had gotten sick, and I feared the worst about how it had happened. I kept flashing back to the conversation I overheard near the kitchen. Vincent's house was huge and mysterious, and I wasn't sure who had been talking, but my gut instinct told me something was strange about the coincidence.

I kept wondering if Garrett would do something like that—try to make someone else sick. He had made a few remarks about us being able to relax and not needing security. Also, AJ and I had held hands for a brief moment when we thought we weren't being watched. I wondered if anyone had seen us.

All morning, my thoughts were verging on slight paranoia. It was nearly noon when I heard back from AJ, and by that time, I was convinced of a conspiracy.

"Hello?" I said picking up the phone on the first ring.

"Hey, you called?" AJ said. I could tell his voice was weaker than usual.

"Yes. I did. Are you okay? I'm thinking about you. I'm worried about you."

"I'm good now," he said. "Whatever I had… I just wasn't able to keep down liquids, and I ran out of… they had to give me lactic acid in a drip. I'm almost finished with one bag, and I already feel like a new man—alive again."

"You had to get an IV? I feel terrible about that."

"Yes, but that's a good thing. I love it. I needed it. I was hurting, there for a little while. My stomach still hurts, but I'm better. So much better with that lactic acid. My uncle had a doctor come over here, and he said he thought it was something I ate."

"Do you know what? Did anything taste weird?"

"I don't know. No. And everyone else feels fine."

"Yeah, I think if it were a bug, other people would be coming down with it. Isn't it the same for food poisoning, though? Shouldn't multiple of us have it since we all ate the same things?" I asked, feeling nervous.

"No. I don't know. I feel like I could have gotten some bad food that no one else did. I have no idea."

I could tell by the grogginess in his voice that he still didn't feel well. "AJ?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I please come over there?"

"Oh, no, I'm… I look terrible. I'm holed up in one of my uncle's spare bedrooms. The curtains are closed and it's dark in here except for the TV."

"Do you not want me there for my sake or for yours?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you just said."

"Would you be uncomfortable with me being there with you?"

"No, but you don't want to see me. This kind of stuff is for married people. If you see me like this, you won't be smiling pretty at me anymore, and we can't have that."

There was a teasing smile in his voice, and my knees felt weak, even though he was sick. I experienced a yearning sensation for him that made me not care.

"I want to come see you," I said. "If you want me to, text me your uncle's address. If you're too sick, I'll just come see you sometime soon. But if you want me to today, I would love to stop and pick you up something. Gatorade? Popsicles? I know you're probably not eating much yet."

"Yeah, definitely not. But I don't mind if you come here. If you were ever attracted to me, you won't be anymore… if you're not afraid to catch it. Sorry if I'm not making sense. I don't mind if you come here. You're leaving soon, for Carolina, so maybe it's good for you to see me at my worst."

"Yeah, I was thinking that," I said, even though I wasn't. The last thing I wanted to think about was leaving. I was already having anxiety over AJ being sick, imagine how I would feel about him being out of my life. "I'll be there in a little while," I said. "Text me the address. And tell me what I can bring you. I'll stop on my way. Crackers?"

"No, nothing," he said in a weak but lighthearted tone.

"Text me the address," I said.

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