Chapter 5
A small knock sounds on my door.
My mom opens it and walks into my room. “Honey. Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I say with a groggy voice and clear my throat. My head throbs against my skull as I sit up.
“You don’t look so good.”
“What time is it?”
“Noon. I’ve been checking on you all morning to see if you were okay, and every time I checked, you were deep asleep.” She runs her hands down my cheek. “Did you not sleep well?”
I shake my head and wince. The throbbing in my head worsens with every move, making my head feel like it’s going to explode. “I think I got food poisoning last night from Sonic.”
“Did you throw up?”
I nod. Oh, no. Is she trying to catch me? “You didn’t hear me?”
“No. Why didn’t you wake me?”
I narrow my eyes at her. “You didn’t hear anything?”
“No. Should I have?”
I raise my knees and rest my head on top. “I thought I was loud.”
“Do you want me to make you some soup?”
I nod and watch her leave my room.
Groaning as I lie back down. Thankfully, she didn’t hear me. For a moment, I thought she was trying to catch me in a lie.
I reach for my phone and see Paige has texted me three times, and Kai sent one.
Kai: Good morning. If ur up for it I’d like to see u today.
Paige: Did u get home ok?
Paige: Text me when u wake up.
Paige: R U still not awake?
How are these two awake before noon? We went to bed when the sun was coming up.
I ignore all of them and go back to sleep.
A few hours later, I’m curled up on the couch, still nursing my hangover. Although, I believe I’m on the mend now after eating Campbell’s chicken noodle soup and saltine crackers. Now I know that’s the cure for hangovers.
I reply to Kai and tell him I’ll see him tomorrow at school. I’m not up to going out. He tells me he understands, but Paige is laughing her ass off because of how sick I was earlier. Whatever. Her time will come soon.
“What are you watching?” My mom says sitting on the couch next to me.
“16 and Pregnant.”
“Why do you watch that? You’re going to follow in their footsteps.”
I deepen my brows. “No! If anything, this will teach me not to get pregnant. That’s why they’re showing it, so others can learn from their mistakes.” The last thing I want is to get pregnant at sixteen. I can barely handle the neighbors’ kids when I watch them. I can’t imagine a baby.
“You better not get pregnant. I will not raise another kid.”
“You’re working yourself up over nothing. It’s a show. The show isn’t going to impregnate me.”
“It might give you ideas.”
“Ideas of what?”
“Sex.”
A loud laugh erupts through me. “They’re not filming the people having sex.” If anything, I’ve learned more about sex from Cosmopolitan. My mom doesn’t know I still read them. I hide them from her.
“I’m just saying. If you get pregnant, you’re out of my house.”
“Okay,” I say sarcastically.
Mom stands up and walks out of the living room. “Don’t stay up too late; you have school tomorrow.”
How can I forget? “Okay.”