Chapter 6 Flip of a Coin
FLIP OF A COIN
LEXI
No, no, no… my stomach rolls again and I throw my head over the toilet, heaving and convulsing, but nothing comes up. I’m used to hangover sickness, but this is so much worse.
I’m shaking and my abs are sore. Sweat dots my hairline, but I’m freezing, and the tiled bathroom floor isn’t helping.
I lost my phone hours ago and haven’t bothered searching for it.
The only thing that helps the waves of nausea I’ve been dealing with for days now is sitting completely still, breathing smoothly out through my mouth with my head resting against the wall, and keeping my eyes closed.
I don’t know how much longer I can take this.
“Lexi!”
A loud bellow sounds from somewhere off in the house. I don’t have the strength to do more than whimper. My throat’s too dry and scratchy to yell even if I could.
“Where the hell are you? You haven’t left this house in three days, and now you’ve skipped work. You’re done hiding.”
Daring to peek an eye open, the hazy sight of big leather boots fills my vision.
“Si, what took you so long?” I croak.
“Fuck,” he whispers and rushes toward me.
In a split second, I’m heaved off the ground and wrapped in his arms. Mine are too weak to hold on, and my stomach swims at the unexpected movement.
“I’m gonna be sick, put me down.” I manage to get out before he leaves the bathroom.
A warm hand rubs circles against my back, but it doesn’t help the pain of my body trying to rid itself of nothing more than stomach bile.
“That’s it. I’m taking you to the hospital.”
Something in the back of my mind shakes free, and I turn my weary gaze onto my uninvited guest.
“Pierce?”
“Hey, Princess.”
“Ugh, no. Go away. I’m gross. Don’t look at me.”
His full lips tuck in as he shakes his head, helping me stand with what pitiful strength I still have, before confirming my worst nightmare.
“You’ve definitely never looked worse.”
“I hate you.”
“This is taking forever. Just take me back home so I can crawl into bed and die amongst the comfort of my own things.” I groan and peek an eye open at my unexpected white knight.
“Stop being so damn dramatic,” he quips back.
And there’s the man I know.
“Oh my God, Lexi, there you are!” My best friend rushes me, her hands gripping the sides of my face, as she looks me over.
“Not you too,” I whine, and she steps back, my brother hovering at her side.
“Yes, me too! I can’t believe you didn’t call me. You look like a zombie.”
If it wouldn’t hurt my head, I’d roll my eyes at her, but the pounding only intensified when we walked into the urgent care clinic.
The fluorescent light bulbs, strong chemical cleaner scents, and incessant screams of someone’s baby brought me to the brink of stepping out that door and taking my chances against dehydration.
“I’m fine. I just have food poisoning or maybe the flu.”
The lady across the narrow aisle gives me a dirty look, like this place isn’t littered with germs on every possible surface. As if on queue, a small child runs past and sneezes without covering it in his elbow.
“You are obviously not fine. Pierce said he found you basically unconscious on the bathroom floor.”
“Now who’s being dramatic?” I shoot his way. “You can go now,” I inform him. “Harlow will stay with me.”
He nods and lifts his strong body from the chair next to mine, before leaving without another word or look my way.
Harlow slides in next to me, while Silas follows Pierce out. Her eyebrows raise so high they almost hit her hairline.
“Want to tell me what that was about?”
“What is it always about with him? He’s everywhere these days, Lo. It’s killing me.”
“You could always tell him, you know?”
“Ms. Kane.”
Harlow and I both whip our heads to the young girl standing with a clipboard tight in her hands, before we burst into laughter.
“I’m still not used to that.”
“You and me both. Want me to come back with you?”
“No, it’s fine. Hopefully, they don’t take too long.” Pushing my weak body from the chair, I catch my best friend’s eye. “Thanks for coming.”
“Always.”
I follow the nurse back to another room and wait for what feels like just as long for the doctor to come in and only ask me the standard questions you get asked every time you go to the doctors before he disappears again for another thirty minutes.
I’m close to dozing off when the door opens again and Pierce slips inside.
“Dear God, you’re like a fucking STD I can’t get rid of.”
He doesn’t take the bait, only takes one look at me, and walks back out into the hall.
“Where is the doctor?” he barks at someone I can’t see.
“Uhh, he’s with another patient.” A small voice cracks with fear from the hall.
“Pierce,” I hiss, and he pushes the door back open to look at me.
“Leave the poor nurse alone. He’ll be back when he can.”
“Unacceptable,” he huffs, but lets the timid woman rush off before plopping down in the uncomfortable plastic chair I gave up on an hour ago for the cushioned exam table.
“I told you to leave.”
“I did.”
“That implied staying gone.”
“I went back to your place and grabbed your phone and bag.” He holds the offering out to me.
“Oh.”
Goddamnit, I can’t handle this from him. It was easier when he was out of my life. On the rare occasion, we’d happened to accidentally bump into each other, he’d act like I didn’t exist.
Why can’t he keep doing that?
Before the awkwardness can linger any longer, the doctor walks back in. No doubt, hurried along by the frightened nurse. I forget what the men in my life look like with the cuts on their backs, hulking frames, and endless tattoos. It’s intimidating.
“Sorry about the wait, Miss. Kane. Let’s see what we can do to get you feeling better.”
I give him the rundown on how I think it’s food poisoning or maybe the flu that’s always passing around this time of year. He nods and takes notes before explaining a couple of tests he wants to perform to double-check and ensure the treatment is correct.
“And there are no concerns of pregnancy?” he asks, the door poised half open to go grab supplies.
I choke on the stale air, my eyes flicking to Pierce in panic. He doesn’t know he’s the only guy I’ve slept with in months, and it’s been weeks since that happened. But I’m on birth control. There’s zero chance of that being the case. It’s gotta be the flu… right!?
“Uhm, I don’t think so.”
“Well, we’ll check just in case. If you’d like to follow me, I can show you where the restroom is.”
I stumble the moment my feet hit the floor, and Pierce is by my side in a flash to steady me.
“Need help to the bathroom?”
“Nope.” I keep my eyes averted and refuse to let him help me anymore tonight. It’s too much.
Dragging my feet behind the doctor, I try to remember the last time I had my period. It’s so funky these days, and I had that trip where I skipped my sugar pills, so I didn’t have to bother with it. Oh my God, what if I fucked myself over? I can’t do this.
I pinch my arm, calming the rapid worries bursting through my brain at warp speed.
“Meet me back in the room when you’re done.”
There’s no strength left in my body to acknowledge the doctor’s words as I close the door behind me.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuckedee, goddamn, fuck. The panic rises again when I sit and pee in the small plastic cup.
I do the one thing I haven’t done since I was a little girl. I bow my head and pray to a god I don’t exactly believe in. Then, I extend my pleas to the universe for an extra boost.
Please don’t let me be pregnant.
“Well, your flu test came back positive for strain A. You’re obviously dehydrated, so I want to get you some IV fluids before we discharge you.”
Every cell in my body sings in relief with his announcement. I will happily feel like I’m dying because of the flu, now that I know the other possibility—that didn’t cross my mind until the doctor mentioned it—is off the table.
Pierce refused to leave the room until I was fully discharged, but his face showed zero emotion at the doctor’s results.
Maybe he didn’t think twice about the pregnancy possibility.
How nice it must have been to not be on edge for the last twelve minutes and fifteen seconds.
Going over every little thing that would change in your life if he came back with a positive on a pregnancy test instead of a flu test.
“There isn’t much you can do besides wait it out at home, preferably alone or with limited contact to reduce the risk of spreading it around.
Absolutely, no work until you’ve been symptom-free for 48 hours.
Drink lots of liquids to stay hydrated. And unfortunately, you’ll be somewhat limited on what you can take over the counter for those symptoms. But Doxylamine with B6 is safe during pregnancy and should help with the nausea and vomiting. ”
The world stops—my vision swims. And I bolt upright on the table, throwing me even more off balance.
“What did you just say?”