Chapter 9
Chloe wakesa week later to an unpleasant new pregnancy symptom, one she was really hoping she might be able to avoid. She moans as she opens her eyes to the early morning light, waves of nausea crashing over her.
Morning sickness, in the most literal way.
Devin and Elena are still dead asleep, as any sane person would be at four in the morning, but Chloe knows immediately she can’t go back to sleep. Her stomach feels like it’s doing somersaults inside her.
Instinctively, she jumps into action. The bedspread ends up on the floor as Chloe runs to the bathroom, a hand over her mouth and sheets tangled around her ankles. In the dark of the hotel room, she almost faceplants tripping over Devin’s makeup bag, but mercifully makes it to the toilet right before she blows. The cold tile hits her knees hard as she throws herself over the bowl.
The light to the bathroom flicks on a moment later, and somehow this situation is even worse knowing she’s woken her friends.
‘Sorry,’ she says, her voice raspy. Her knuckles go white as she grips the edge of the bowl and God, her throat already hurts.
‘Hey, hey, don’t worry about it,’ Elena says softly, kneeling down beside her. She pulls Chloe’s hair back right as another wave of nausea hits her and her head goes back into the toilet.
‘Oof, that’s rank,’ Devin says from the doorway. She wrinkles her nose. ‘What the hell did you eat, CJ?’
‘Devin!’ Elena hisses, using her free hand to whack her in the leg. Devin jumps back, throwing her hands up in mock surrender.
‘I’m sorry,’ Chloe repeats, shaking her head. ‘I just—This—’ She can hardly get any words out before the smell triggers another round of vomiting.
‘You’re fine,’ Elena tells her. She rubs Chloe’s back in little circles, just like Chloe’s mom used to do when she was a kid. ‘Don’t listen to Devin. We knew this was gonna happen. Morning sickness is kind of a given.’
‘Still gross, though,’ Devin says lightly. Elena chides her again, leaning forward to flush the toilet for Chloe as she continues to throw up.
‘You just need to ride it out,’ Elena tells her, though she does scrunch her nose and turn away when Chloe retches again.
The next time Chloe’s head rises out of the toilet, she finds Devin cackling as she leans against the bathroom sink. Chloe flushes the toilet, practically gasping for breath.
‘Yeah, I’m aware it’s four in the morning,’ Devin says with far too much glee. She’s on the phone, a wicked smirk on her lips. ‘But your baby mama is currently battling some morning sickness and I think it’s your job to take care of her, isn’t it?’
Chloe blinks, resting her head in her hand as her still sleep-addled mind tries to catch up. It takes a minute for Chloe to recognize the flowery phone case in Devin’s hand.
It’s hers.
‘Leave Luke alone,’ Chloe says. She wraps her arms around her stomach, as if that could help settle it. ‘He’s got interviews in the morning; he needs to sleep.’
Devin rolls her eyes, tipping the phone away from her mouth. ‘He needs to be here. It’s his job to take care of you and the baby.’
‘I’m fine, this is gonna pass soon, anyway.’
God, she hopes this will pass. And quickly, too.
‘It’s fine,’ Elena says, brushing back a loose strand of hair. She helps Chloe sit back, resting against the bathtub. ‘Luke should be here to help. That’s why we’re here, right?’
Chloe shakes her head. ‘He doesn’t need to see this. Tell him no?—’
Chloe lurches forward again and pukes.
‘Better hurry!’ Devin sings, then hangs up the phone with a flourish.
Chloe scrubs her tongue extra hard, then spits out her toothpaste into the sink. Her stomach hasn’t quite settled, and she’s starting to worry it won’t settle again until after she has the baby, but it’s calmed enough that she feels safe leaving the bathroom.
Devin’s already snoring in her pull-out bed. She’s so buried in her blankets that only the ends of her bright red hair are visible. Chloe already feels guilty for waking her friends up.
‘If you say sorry one more time, I’m going to throw something at you,’ Elena says from her bed, as if she can read Chloe’s mind.
‘But I a—’ Elena throws her pillow, hitting Chloe square in the face. Chloe shoves it away from her face, gawking at her friend.
‘I told you!’ Elena whisper-shouts. She smirks and dodges when Chloe throws the pillow back. ‘Ooh, too slow, Chlo.’
‘Whatever,’ Chloe mutters, rolling her eyes. She climbs back into her bed, grimacing as nausea rolls through her again. She can tell she’s not in danger of puking her guts up again (at this point, what’s left in there to come up?) but it’s a deeply unpleasant feeling.
Just as she sits back against her pillows, there’s a knock at the hotel room door. Devin grunts from her pull-out bed, unmoving.
‘I got it,’ Elena says before Chloe can move. She points a finger at Chloe. ‘Just relax, okay? Let us take care of you.’
Like they always do, Chloe thinks. She can’t tell if it’s a happy thought or not.
Elena lets Luke into the room with minor ribbing for how long he took—a whole ten minutes, god forbid. He looks tired. He’s got some dark circles under his eyes, and still has some serious bedhead. Yet, somehow he still looks like he walked right off a magazine cover.
Chloe’s stomach does a flip and this time she’s pretty sure it’s not from morning sickness.
Without thinking, Chloe runs her fingers through her blonde hair, trying to tame her own bedhead situation. As if something like that might matter to Luke.
‘Hey,’ Luke says softly, stepping around Devin’s bed. He’s got a plastic bag in his hand, and he sets it down on the foot of Chloe’s bed. ‘How are you feeling?’
Chloe’s cheeks warm. ‘I’m fine. You really didn’t have to come. It’s so late and you have?—’
‘I wanted to come,’ Luke says, interrupting her gently. He sits on the bed in front of her. ‘I want to be here for everything, remember? It’s gonna be the same when the baby’s up screaming half the night, right?’
Something warms deep inside Chloe at that thought. The two of them, fumbling in the night to care for their baby. It feels so domestic that she could just cry.
Or maybe that’s the pregnancy hormones. God knows she’s been extra emotional lately.
‘I ran to the 7 Eleven across the street,’ Luke continues, pulling the plastic bag closer to him. He pulls out a bottle of ginger ale, followed by a box of crackers. ‘I thought these might help settle your stomach some.’
Chloe blinks. ‘Thank you,’ she says softly, taking the bottle and box from him. ‘That was really nice.’
Luke shrugs, smiling. ‘Of course. We can go back in the morning and stock up for the future, that way I won’t be late next time.’
‘You’d better,’ Elena says jokingly. She’s settled at the desk and already opened her laptop, as if being woken at four in the morning is the perfect excuse to squeeze in a couple extra hours of schoolwork. Knowing Elena, this wouldn’t be the last time she does this.
Luke yawns, and Chloe can’t help but feel bad again for being the reason he’s up at four in the morning when he’s got a full day of work ahead of him. ‘I’m sorry?—’
One of the couch’s decorative pillows hits her in the side of the head. Elena never even looked up from her laptop.
‘Ow, Elena!’
Elena throws another one at her, and Luke leans forward and blocks it with his arm.
‘My hero,’ she murmurs, only half joking as she stares down at the crackers and ginger ale in her hands. Gingerly, she opens the box and pulls out the sleeve of crackers.
Luke climbs around and sits next to her on the bed, opening the ginger ale as she tries (and fails) to eat her crackers without showering herself in crumbs. She murmurs her thanks, yet again, and sips at the drink.
And she tries not to focus on the way his leg presses against hers in the small hotel bed.
Her stupid, traitorous heart beats faster when he gives her a sleepy smile before tilting his head against the bedframe and closing his eyes.
Chloe pretends she doesn’t see the knowing look Elena shoots her way.