Page 40 of Bossy Grump's Secret

“We definitely need to check it out this time.”

“…or maybe I’m just low on sugar or something. Cause aside from the dizziness, I feel nothing.”

“Huh. I guess you’re right. We gotta pump you with sugar for breakfast then.” Lily has to agree with me. Breakfast is an unofficial meal on the schedule, meaning we don't have it on the timetable. Still, anyone can do it when they want to as long as you make it as snappy as a toilet break and it doesn’t affect your work time.

Lily loads me with a cup of hot tea and a full sandwich, forcing me to engulf the whole thing in the same time to pee. She can get annoyed when the circumstances demand it…but I don’t mind. It’s cute.

I finally feel energized, but only for a bit. We’re at work, and the dizziness returns and holds me enough to realize that it's not a symptom of a lack of energy from too much sugar. Even a sugar high couldn’t rescue me from this one. I find out soon enough when Dylan comes to check on us, and I pass out again, just before I can focus my eyes properly on his.

The events of the morning replay themselves, only in a variant version. This time, not only Lily but Dylan is also above me when I open my eyes.

“…Think she’s super low on energy," I hear Lily tell Dylan like they are talking far away.

"I guess so. She's been working like crazy. Yesterday, I had to get Robbie to slow down and do the work comfortably,” he informs her. Their voice becomes clear once again.

“Oh, good. She’s come to.”

“Perfect. You can walk, right?” Dylan asks and tries to lift me up. I respond to his urges after a few seconds of hesitation, momentarily forgetting the functions of my limbs. “Good. You can, Lily?”

“Yes?”

“Take her to the room…” He slings my arm over Lily's shoulders. "And stay with her for a while; make sure she rests," he commands. “Come back in two hours, maybe get a little time to rest, too, in case tiredness is contagious."

I laugh tiredly and amble to the doors away from Dylan after Lily thanks him, and we move on. But there is a graveyard silence between us as we head to our room and an even graver one when we are finally settled. We are not speaking, but we know exactly the reason for the silence.

Before it completely eats me up, I open my mouth and say, "You know, Dylan and I never used protection while we were doing it."

“Dylan and I…” she starts, piquing my interest.

“Dylan and you what?” I look up at her with alacrity.

“It’s Dylan and I,” she repeats.

“What the hell did both of you do!?”

I can’t believe she’s about to confess something. Whether I’ll be angry or sad at what she will say next depends upon what she says.

“No,” she cries and shakes her head. “I’m correcting you. It’s Dylan and me, not me and Dylan. It gets annoying when you make that mistake.”

Words can’t express my relief. I don’t get angry at her for correcting my grammar when we’re talking about something so sensitive.

“And yes, that's exactly what I was about to ask you."

Another deathly silence fell upon us.

“You think…” she starts, and I shake my head.

“It can’t be... it shouldn’t be.”

Try as I might, there’s no denying that the possibility is greater than getting hemicranias again.

"You know, there's only one way to find out, right?" she voices my thoughts after several more minutes of grave silence. Both of us know what’s coming. It’s just too outrageous to rush, especially for me, the full bearer of the consequences of my actions.

I nod my head. We’re going to have to check. I'm not looking forward to it because I think I already have my results when I put it together.

"I'll get it as soon as I'm done with my shift, and we'll do it together, okay?" she tells me.

“Coo…cool…cool," I respond shakily. This probably has to be the most heart-wrenching moment of the year…if I don't scout hard for more dangerous things that might have happened in the past.

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