Chapter 18 #2
Grabbing my mug again, I take a large sip, hoping to use the slight delay to compose myself. But no sooner do I take it, but the sour taste comes back. I can’t exactly spit it out, so I force myself to swallow.
A beat later, it threatens to come back up again.
My stomach roils.
Nausea surges.
“Melissa?” Eden asks. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” But I’m not. I feel on the verge of throwing up. Waves of hot and cold sweep over me. Perspiration pricks at the back of my neck. Sudden dizziness makes the room spin.
At first, I’m sure I can get through it.
When my mouth fills with saliva a few seconds later, I’m not as certain.
Don’t throw up all over Rafe and Eden’s living room, I tell myself. Get to the bathroom. Quick.
But I don’t know where the stupid bathroom is. Because the last two girls’ nights have been at Bea’s and Noelle’s places, respectively. And I’ve never gone further than the living room and kitchen in Eden’s.
Jumping up, I sway for a moment before regaining my balance. “The bathroom,” I manage. “I need—” As the urge to vomit comes on even stronger, I clamp my hand over my mouth.
Eden’s eyes widen in alarm. She leaps off the couch and rushes ahead of me, into the hallway. “This way.”
Thankfully, the house is small, so we reach the bathroom quickly. Eden shoves the door open and ushers me inside, saying, “I’ll be right in the hall. Call if you need me.”
I feel guilty for closing the door in her face. But it’s that or letting Eden watch me throw up, which I’d rather not do.
As soon as the door clicks shut, I fall to my knees in front of the toilet. Then I spend the next however many minutes crouched there as my poor stomach empties itself. It’s just as miserable as the last time I was sick, just about a year ago, from a stomach bug that ran rampant through the office.
I’m not sure how much time passes before I feel remotely normal.
When I’m fairly certain I’m not going to be sick again, I stand on wobbly legs and stagger over to the sink to rinse my mouth.
When I look in the mirror, I recoil from my reflection.
My hair is a tangled mess, my skin is the color of skim milk, and there are tiny broken blood vessels around my eyes.
Well, I decide, as I rinse my mouth with water, I guess I’m not going straight back to Tyler’s from here. Even if he does want to break up with me, I’d rather he didn’t see me looking like this.
“Melissa,” Eden calls through the door. “Are you alright in there? Do you need anything?” A beat, and then, “Should I call Indy? He was a medic, so he might be able to help more than I can.”
“No, that’s okay,” I call back. “I’m alright.” I try to pat my crazed curls down, but quickly realize it’s a lost cause. After one last glance in the mirror, I turn and open the door. On the other side, Eden’s waiting in the hallway, looking more than a little worried.
As soon as she sees me, her features twist with concern. “Oh, Melissa.”
“I’m sorry,” I reply. “I don’t know what happened. I felt fine before.” Belatedly, a thought occurs to me. “Oh, shoot. I don’t want to bring a stomach bug into your house and get everyone sick.”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about that.” Eden takes my arm and starts leading me towards the living room. “Just sit down, I’ll make you some tea. And I’ll call Tyler. I’m sure he’ll want to come get you.”
“No,” I blurt, surprising myself by the desperate pitch of my voice. “Don’t call him. I feel fine. Really.” Tugging free of Eden’s arm, I add, “I’ll just head back myself.”
“Melissa.” Eden’s voice firms. “You’re sick. You should sit.”
From the look on her face, I can tell there’s no arguing with her.
So I let her drag me to the couch instead.
“You don’t need to make me tea,” I tell her.
“I’ll just sit for a minute. But really, I’m feeling a lot better.
I don’t know what happened. I was just drinking my coffee and…
” I shrug. “You didn’t notice a weird taste, did you? ”
Eden stares at me. Her forehead creases. After a brief pause, she asks, “Has anything else tasted off lately?”
“No—” I stop. “Well. The cookie. But I figured it’s just stress.”
“Anything else?” she asks. “Have you been light-headed? Dizzy?”
“Just when I was throwing up.” I make an apologetic face. “I should clean up your bathroom. I’m sorry. I didn’t think—”
“Melissa. I don’t care about the bathroom. I care about you.”
The way she says it, like it’s a given, makes me come close to crying again. “Thank you. I’m just… sorry I brought this… bug here. If I’d been feeling sick, I wouldn’t have come.”
Eden sinks onto the couch beside me. “Any other symptoms? Even little things.”
I think for a second. “My legs felt kind of weak when I woke up. But that’s it. And I’ve been kind of anxious lately. But I think that’s just because of everything that’s been going on.”
She nods and gives me an empathetic smile. “After what happened last week, I can understand that. But.” She pauses. “Some of the things you just described, and getting sick so quickly like that…”
A long-suppressed memory niggles at me. But I sternly tell myself to ignore it.