Chapter Nine
chapter nine
MAY
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I pull my phone away from my ear, Marina’s voice sounding too loud all of a sudden. “And this has nothing to do with you and Rafael’s argument on the weekend?”
I internally wince as she mentions the ‘argument’ that ended in me throwing my drink in Rafael’s face. It took me a long time to get Marina and Isla off my back, asking what he did or said that had me splashing his linen shirt with wine. I was supposed to be toning it down when it came to Rafael, but we needed a distraction, and I can’t say it wasn’t slightly cathartic throwing my drink in his face.
“No, Marina,” I cough as I place the kettle on the stove. “It’s not that. I’m fine, I just need a good night’s rest is all, I promise. I can barely get off the couch.”
Marina’s is supposed to open again today, having been closed since Ferragosto while Marina took a few weeks off to visit her friends in Sorrento. I’m supposed to open the bar, but I’ve been feeling less than splendid over the last few days, and feeling under the weather transformed into a full-blown sickness this morning. I haven’t even managed to do more than make my way from my bed to the couch since I woke up .
“Okay, well, have you eaten anything today?”
“Not really.” When I woke up, I felt like I’d been hit by a ton of bricks. Snot has been pouring out of my nose since the early hours, and my throat feels like I’ve been smoking for the better part of my life. So I haven’t really had the effort to make myself anything to eat. Not that I have much of an appetite, anyway.
“Okay, well, I’ll send someone round with some dinner for you later, okay?”
“Okay. Thank you,” I say, sitting back down on the couch.
“You’re welcome. Get better soon,” she says before hanging up the phone.
I toss my phone down to the other end of the couch and snuggle back up under my blanket. I tried to read before—I picked up the latest smutty romance novel I’ve been reading over the last few days—but my eyes couldn’t focus on it, and I fell asleep.
I don’t get sick very often, but when I do, it’s always bad, and it sucks.
This feels like more than just a head cold, though—I’m painfully exhausted. I can barely keep my eyes open as I lie here staring at the ceiling. I must have picked something up at the food festival, or maybe I ate something bad and it’s just food poisoning? That doesn’t even make sense. My head hurts just thinking about it.
Nope, that's just another headache coming on.
Another headache.
I can’t catch a break; my head has been constantly pounding since last night. I’ve wanted to fall asleep since the moment my eyes opened today. So I just close them, just for a second, just to give my eyes a break, just so I can rest a minute…