Chapter 16
Otto
“Fuck,” I groaned. “Hold on.”
“Otto, you don’t answer me, I’m kickin’ in the door,” my brother Micky yelled.
“Don’t bust my door,” I yelled back, the pain in my head almost bringing me to my knees again.
“Open it,” he snapped.
Holding on to the counter, I reached out and unlocked the door, letting him swing it open.
“Fuck,” he said, getting a good look at me.
“Yeah, no shit,” I whispered, squinting against the light.
“Bad one?”
“Worst I’ve had in a while,” I muttered as he helped me out of the bathroom.
“Scared the shit outta Esther,” he said as he walked me toward the kitchen. He’d thankfully dimmed the lights.
“She okay?” I asked, panic tightening my chest. “How long was I out?”
“Long enough,” he murmured. “She’s fine.”
“Otto,” Esther said, coming out of the kitchen. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” I whispered as her arms came around me, holding me tight. “Sorry I scared ya.”
“I didn’t know what happened.” She sounded like she was crying, but I couldn’t see her face and it was taking every ounce of willpower I had to stay on my feet. My head felt like it was going to explode. “I called your mom. I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s fine,” I replied, looking up to see my mom and Myla at the table.
“You look like shit,” Myla announced sympathetically.
“Found your pills,” my mom said, coming toward me with a glass of water. “You wanna take them now or wait until you’re in bed?”
The events of the night came into clear focus, and if I was steady on my feet, I would’ve hit something. “Can’t take ’em,” I replied. I started to shake my head but stopped at the piercing pain in my skull. “They’ll knock me out.”
“Take them,” Esther ordered, pulling away. “You can barely stand up.”
“Titus,” I muttered, closing my eyes as Micky’s arm came back around me, holding me steady. “Esther’s sister. Can’t be down in case—”
“I don’t think you have a choice, son,” my mom said flatly. “You’re no good to anyone like this.”
“Shit.” My dad’s voice came from behind me. “How long’s he been like this?”
“Esther called me twenty minutes ago,” my mom answered. “He won’t take his pills.”
“Knock me out,” I mumbled again. Damn it, I just wanted to sit down. My stomach churned and I could feel sweat breaking out all over my body.
“I can’t stay,” Micky said apologetically. “Don’t wanna leave Emilia and Rhett home alone with everythin’ that’s goin’ on.”
“We’ll take ’em home with us,” my dad replied.
“Not ridin’ in a car,” I argued, opening my eyes. The only thing I could think of that would make the migraine worse would be sitting in a moving vehicle. I gagged.
“No choice,” my dad replied.
“This is a migraine?” Esther asked skeptically. “Are you sure we shouldn’t take him to the hospital?”
“He’s had them since he was little,” my mom replied, reaching out to rub her back. “All he needs are his pills and to sleep it off. Promise.”
“Can you go pack whatever you two will need for the night?” my dad asked her gently. “I’ll load him into Heather’s rig.”
“You will?” Micky asked jokingly as he started leading me to the front door. “I’d like to see you hold his huge ass up.”
“Shut it,” my dad shot back.
Esther reluctantly followed us to the door and then turned and hurried up the stairs.
“Perfect fuckin’ night for this to happen,” I muttered as the cool night air hit my face. “Jesus.”
“Could’ve picked a better one,” Dad agreed. “No worries, bud. You guys can stay with us tonight.”
“You talk to Titus?” I asked as Micky helped me into the front seat.
“Worry about that tomorrow.”
“They could show up here when I’m at work.” Closing my eyes, I leaned back against the seat.
“Here,” my mom said, shoving a plastic bag at me. “For when you puke.”
“Not pukin’ in the car.” That was all Esther needed after the night she’d had—watching me hurl my guts up while she was stuck in a small space with me.
“We’ll see,” my mom replied. “Open.”
I took the pills she shoved into my mouth without complaint. By that point, knowing Esther was safe, I was willing to do anything to stop the excruciating pain.
The car door shut, and I listened in a daze as they all talked outside the car. A few minutes later, Esther and Myla climbed in the back seat, and my mom got behind the wheel.
“Brace yourself,” she said sympathetically, patting my knee.
The car ride to my parents’ house was as miserable as I’d imagined.
I puked twice, barely making it into the plastic bag the first time.
My shirt was wet with sweat as Micky helped me back out of the SUV, and I couldn’t even look at Esther as he helped me into the house.
We’d been married for a week and she was already seeing me at my worst. Fucking fantastic.
I would’ve been really embarrassed if I’d been able to focus on anything except my head.
I lifted my arms like a child as Micky helped me strip to my underwear so I could climb into bed. The familiar smell of my parents’ house was soothing, and I relaxed as much as I could into the pillow.
“Sleep,” Esther whispered, kissing my shoulder.
Then I was down for the count.
I woke up the next morning with Esther curled up against my back and my mouth tasting so rancid that I could’ve puked again.
Slowly sitting up, I gave myself a minute to make sure the headache was gone before stumbling to the bathroom.
It always took at least twenty-four hours to get back to one hundred percent if I took my migraine medicine and it didn’t look like that day was going to be any different.
After using the toilet, I stared at myself in the mirror.
I really did look like shit. Brushing my teeth and washing my face helped, though, and a few minutes later, I was back in the bedroom.
Esther was already up and dressed when I got there.
“How are you feeling?” she asked quietly from the side of the bed.
“Better,” I rasped. My throat was sore after all the puking. Shit, I’d puked in the car. “Sorry about that.”
“Why are you apologizing? You can’t help it if you’re sick.”
“Still pretty fuckin’ gross,” I countered.
“Well,” she huffed, shrugging a little. “You love me, so I guess I can overlook it.”
I startled. That’s right, I told her I loved her. In the worst possible way. Fucking fantastic.
“Fucked that one up, didn’t I?” I asked, rubbing the back of my neck.
“Not sure how you could mess up telling someone you loved them,” she said, smiling.
“How I did it,” I clarified, moving into the room. “Should’ve bought you flowers or somethin’ first.”
“Well, I love you, too,” she said. “So I think it turned out okay.”
I froze. “When did you decide that?”
“Oh, sometime between when you collapsed in the bathroom and throwing your puke bag away last night,” she said conversationally, watching me closely.
“Jesus,” I muttered under my breath.
“There’s something about seeing someone vulnerable,” she continued quietly. “It really brings things into focus.”
“You love me because I passed out inside a locked bathroom like an asshole?”
“No.” She snickered. “I realized that I loved you when you passed out in a locked bathroom like a—a butthole.”
I smiled at her refusal to swear.
“I think I started loving you a little when you gave me my slippers after the wedding.”
“Those fucking slippers.” I shook my head. “You’re a weird woman.”
“They were thoughtful,” she argued, waving me off. “But I think what sealed it—” Her voice grew hoarse, and she swallowed hard. “I think I really started when you snapped at me last night after the grocery store and apologized for it as soon as we got home.”
“I was a dick.”
“You apologized,” she said softly, emphasizing the words. “You knew almost immediately that you’d been unkind and said you were sorry.”
“Hell, I’m unkind a lot.”
“Are you really arguing with me about whether I love you or not?”
“I was ordered to marry you,” I blurted, uncomfortable with the way she was looking at me.
“What?”
“Straight from the top,” I confirmed. “I was ordered to marry you.”
“Oh,” she breathed, looking away from me. “Do you regret it?”
“No,” I choked out. Why the fuck had I told her that? I was such a fucking idiot.
“I just have one more question. No, two.”
“Go ahead.” My heart beat in my ears. What the fuck had I just done?
“Do you always follow orders, no matter what?”
“Yes.” The word was practically torn from my throat.
Esther nodded before looking at me again. “If they’d told you to kill me, would you?”
“No!” I stared at her in horror.
“So, maybe you wouldn’t always follow orders,” she said softly, her eyes on mine.
“I’d never hurt you,” I continued as she got to her feet. “I’d kill anyone that tried. Period.”
“I know,” she said with a sigh, sliding her arms around my waist.
“I probably wouldn’t have married you right away, though,” I confessed, wrapping my arms around her. “But eventually—”
“And I probably would’ve told you about the baby…eventually,” she countered in a whisper. “Or maybe my parents would’ve found me a husband and you would’ve never known.”
The truth of that statement hit me straight in the solar plexus. Neither of us had been in control of the situation, no matter how much we would’ve preferred it otherwise.
We were quiet for a while, and I assumed that, just like me, she was thinking about all the different things that had happened, leading us to that point. Decisions made by other people, circumstances beyond our control, but also the decisions we’d made.
“Some day,” I said, pressing my lips against the top of her head. “You’ll have to tell me why the hell you decided to hook up with me at that party.”
“When I figure it out, I’ll let you know,” she replied ruefully.
“Thank God you did.” I smiled.
“God, huh?”
“Shh,” I said, pressing her face back against my chest. “Just enjoy the moment.”
“You really scared me last night,” she replied, tipping her head back. “Do you get migraines a lot?”
“Not a lot.”
“Do you know why they happen?”
“There’s a few different reasons. I’m guessin’ last night was stress.”
“That makes sense.”