Chapter 21 #2
I leaned against the wall and nodded. But before either of us could make another move, my stomach rolled again. I was barely able to lift the toilet seat up enough to get the contents into the bowl, splattering a good portion of it onto my shirt.
“Shit,” I heard Knox say.
“Fuck,” I croaked.
“You’re okay,” Knox soothed, helping me sit me up against the wall again. “We need to get this antihistamine in you, but you’ve got to be able to keep it down. If not, we’ll need to call emergency services.”
I shook my head as my stomach finally calmed. “I can take it now; I think that was it.”
Knox placed two pills in my shaky hand before cracking open a bottle of water. I placed the fast-acting tablets on my tongue, allowing them to dissolve before taking the water from Knox and washing them down. I sighed, knowing I was about to have some relief from my symptoms.
I couldn’t believe that I had accidentally ingested bananas, and at a palace function no less.
It had been years since I’d had an accident.
Not only was I embarrassed beyond belief, but I felt so stupid.
I thought I had been thorough when reading through the recipe cards, but I must have been so wrapped up in the contest and talking to the girls and the queen that I missed something. I felt like such an idiot.
This is absolutely mortifying. Not only had I puked in front of Knox, but I had gotten it all over myself.
I hated getting sick in front of people; I didn’t even like throwing up in front of my own mom when I was a kid.
I preferred being sick in private like a goddamn normal person.
But then to have it happen in front of the guy that I finger-banged myself to? Put me in the grave right now.
“How are you feeling?” Knox asked. I could see the worry in his crystal blue eyes.
“You mean other than throwing up on myself, in front of you, and being covered in hives? I’ve had better days,” I half smiled.
“Glad you still have your sass about you,” he said, sounding relieved.
“I hate having to miss out on the rest of the evening, but those meds make me super drowsy. I should probably go back to Lexington Manor with Vince.”
There was a knock on the bathroom door. Knox stood to open it.
“Hey,” he said to Oliver.
“Hey. How’s our girl?” Oliver asked.
“She’s going to need to sleep off the meds she just took. Can you grab Vince? I’ll call for the car and he can get her home.”
Oliver looked between Knox and me and ran a hand over his jaw.
“With so much press here today, I don’t think we can get her out the front without being seen. I really don’t want this becoming a story. You know how the press would spin this, and I don’t want Birdie’s name to be dragged through the tabloids. Can you take her out the back to your place instead?”
“Oh God, if they found out I was throwing up, they would spin it into some wild story about how I am pregnant or drunk or something. And I’m covered in my own puke!
Do you think someone has an extra shirt I could wear?
I will be even more mortified if I have to walk in front of the press covered in this. ” I waved my hand in front of my shirt.
“Exactly,” Oliver said.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Knox looked at Oliver and then me, his eyebrows knitting together.
“Everyone is almost done cleaning up, and then they’re going to the Godric State Room on the other side of the palace.
Give me a few minutes to get everyone over there, then I’ll text you and you can exit through the kitchen so no one spots you.
Once you’re out, I’ll call the doctor to come check on her just to make sure she’s in the clear. ”
“Okay. Sounds good.” Knox nodded.
Oliver clapped Knox on the shoulder. “Thanks for taking care of her.”
“No problem.”
Knox shut the door and then turned around and kneeled in front of me. “You had me scared there for a minute.”
“What? Knox Henderson doesn’t get scared,” I replied, only having the strength for a half smile.
“Lift your hands. Let’s get that shirt off you.”
“I can’t walk out of here topless, that would be worse than walking out of here wearing a vomit shirt.”
“As much as I wouldn’t object to you being topless, I’m going to give you my flannel to wear.”
I didn’t even have the strength to dissect him saying he wanted me topless.
I just lifted my arms as Knox rolled the hem of the shirt over the saturated part so it wouldn't get in my hair or on my face. After he pulled it over my head, he tossed it in the trash; I was sure that Bronson wouldn’t miss it.
Knox wrapped the warm flannel around my back and I slid my arms into the sleeves. The shirt hung off me three sizes too big, but I didn’t care. It smelled like Knox: pine and mint. The flannel was so soft and warm from being worn by him. He knelt in front of me to button up the shirt.
“It looks like your hives have stopped spreading.” He ran his cool fingers along my collarbone and neck and my body shook from his touch.
“Good,” I whispered.
The drowsiness took over my body and my eyelids felt like they weighed a ton. I probably looked like a milk-drunk baby trying to fight sleep.
“You look like you’re about to fall over.”
“Yeah, I’m starting to get super sleepy. Hopefully they get out of the kitchen soon, I’m ready to pass out.” I laughed softly. “Figuratively, not literally.”
“Come here.”
Knox put his hands under my knees and along my back and lifted me off the floor.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Just close your eyes. I’ve got you.”
As much as I didn’t want to be treated like a baby or be pitied, the pressure of his arms around me calmed me almost as much as the medicine had. My eyes grew heavier and heavier, and I couldn’t fight the urge to close them anymore.
“Knox?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
“Anything for you, sweetheart.”
I dozed off in his arms to the sound of his heart beating. I woke to the feeling of being laid down onto something extremely soft and then being wrapped up in something warm. I felt pressure on my back and warm air on my neck—something, no, someone—laying against me.
The last thing I heard was Knox saying, “Keep her safe tonight, boy,” as a door closed.