15. Chapter 15
fifteen
Enough - Sleep Theory
Dimitri leaned against the guest room door when Jackie emerged from the bathroom. She raised an eyebrow at him and said, “If you’ve been out here listening to me pee, and are about to tell me you have a pee kink… I don’t know. That might be a dealbreaker for me.”
Dimitri snorted before bending over into a full-body laugh. Jackie hadn’t cracked a joke like that in weeks. He hadn’t laughed like that in weeks, either.
He finally straightened, shaking his head as he chuckled still. “Open your mouth.”
“You want to go again?” Jackie exclaimed. Even if it had been a few weeks, it had been a while since they’d needed each other desperately enough to go a few rounds in a single night.
He chuckled again. “No, just open your mouth.” She gave him a look but did as instructed. From behind his back, he held up a sugar-coated orange ring and placed it on her waiting tongue. “Now, chew.”
“That’s not the usual instruction,” Jackie joked, but did as she was told.
“Just eat the gummy.” He laughed, pressing his forehead to her shoulder. He was so happy to have her back, even if only for the night.
He watched her eat it, a cheeky grin on her lips as she did so. She swallowed and asked, “Why’d you give me a sour peach ring?”
From behind his back again, he produced a black pouch with a typeset label stuck to it. “CBD and melatonin gummy.”
He handed the packet to Jackie as he pressed past her into the bathroom. Jackie didn’t move except to catch the packet before it fell. She looked down at the label to confirm the gummy she’d just eaten contained sixty milligrams of CBD.
“You drugged me!” She didn’t temper her high pitch as she turned back into the bathroom. Jackie stomped to the vanity, ignoring where Dimitri had stopped. She read and reread the label, in total disbelief that her boyfriend had just drugged her.
“You need to rest, Jackie,” he said over his shoulder, totally unfazed that she was in there with him. “These will hopefully help you get that.”
“You drugged me,” she repeated. He flushed and walked up behind her, reaching to sweep her hair away and kiss her shoulder. She batted his hand away before he could touch her. “Wash your hands.”
“My hand and my dick were just inside you,” he countered, but stepped aside to wash his hands.
“Did you pee in me?”
“No, you said a piss kink would be a dealbreaker.” Jackie shot him a dirty look, waiting for him to turn back to her. She could feel his eyes watching her in the mirror, but she wouldn’t meet them there. He finally turned to her, drying his hands. “Would you please look at yourself in the mirror?”
She stared at him hard. She felt her throat tighten, and tears prickled the edges of her eyes. She didn’t want to look in the mirror. She knew what she was going to see, and she knew she wasn’t going to like it.
Dimitri didn’t back down, and finally, she turned.
The woman who looked back at her was a stranger.
The area around her eyes had hollowed out and was a shade of purple she wasn’t sure should be natural.
The rest of her usually peach-toned skin had turned a sickly grey colour.
Her cheeks were sunken in, her high cheekbones accentuating how narrow her jawline had become.
As she looked down, she realized the chub around her belly hung lower, suggesting she’d lost weight there, too.
She turned to Dimitri, her mouth open to speak, but only a choked sound came out. He wrapped her in a tight hug as tears fell again. Of course, she knew she had been putting her needs aside in the search for Talia, but she hadn’t realized until that moment the exact toll it was taking on her.
Dimitri’s hand found Jackie’s cheek, caressing it and tilting her head up to look at him.
“I don’t want you to feel bad. I know you’re working so hard to get Talia back.
And I know I haven’t been much help with it, but I haven’t been any help because I’m so worried about you.
I’m worried about both of you. You’re worried about how many pieces Talia will be in when we get her home, and I’m worried about how many pieces you’re breaking yourself up into to get her here.
I love you, Jackie. I can’t lose both of you.
So I am begging you to please take care of yourself.
Bringing Talia home can’t mean destroying yourself in the process. Okay?”
Jackie's bottom lip wobbled as she nodded. Dimitri leaned forward, kissing her forehead. He reached for the black packet and took a gummy. Jackie watched him curiously, surprised he was taking one, too.
“Not a very big dosage,” she said quietly.
Dimitri shrugged. “I didn’t want to risk a possible bad trip. If they work and you want to try a stronger dose, we can.” Jackie nodded. “So, now that you’ve been well fed and excellently fucked, let’s get you to bed so you’re nice and cozy when the edible kicks in.”
He pressed her hip, urging her out of the bathroom, but Jackie planted her heels. She tilted her head, smiling softly, inviting Dimitri to lean down and kiss her. He did so, kissing her tenderly.
“Thank you for always taking such good care of me.”
“I promised you I would.” He smiled, kissing her again. He hoisted her into his arms again, leading her back to the bedroom with her legs wrapped around his waist.