The nurse, Grace, just calmly handed me a vomit bag and smoothed my hair out of the way while I emptied my guts.
"Morning sickness," she told me with a wry smile. "Stupid name for it, really. Mine had me vomiting at six in the evening, every evening for the first sixteen weeks."
I wiped my mouth with a wet cloth she handed me and sagged against my pillows. "Then what?"
She smiled. "Then nothing. One day I was sick as a dog and the next I felt incredible. Pregnancy does crazy things, and everyone reacts differently." She disposed of my vomit bag and quickly cycled through all my vitals.
"I'll get a light snack sent up for you," Grace told me as she put the blood pressure machine away and wrote down all my numbers on her chart. "Refill your stomach so you've got something to throw up again later." She shot me a wink, then left my room.
Alone for the first time since Riley had shown up in the morning, I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around myself. As much as I wanted to blame my nausea on the pregnancy, it wasn't. It was pure, unfiltered fear.
24
Idozed for a while but gave up after the shift change and another round of observations. The hospital, thankfully, had cable TV, so I was able to watch a couple episodes ofGossip Girl—which had all new meaning now that I'd met the Delta Heirs—before my door opened again.
It wasn't Dylan, though. Of course not. He wouldn't come crawling back with his tail between his legs to apologize for being an overbearing prick. Nope, I suspected that I'd be the one apologizing to him because that was just the sort of person I was.
Weak.
"Just me again," Riley said with a small smile. "Sorry, you must be so sick of me already."
I kind of was, but not because I didn't like her. I just needed some time to process inside my own head.
"No, not at all," I lied. "But... don't you have better things to be doing?"
She pulled up the same chair she'd used earlier and sat down beside my bed with her oversized designer handbag in her lap.
"No way," she replied with a grin. "I mean, yeah, there's stuff. But D-man doesn't trust anyone but us to keep an eye on you right now, and I'd rather hang out in here than lurk in the hallway like a mega-creep. Is that okay?" She reached into her huge purse and pulled out a greasy paper bag of takeout. "I brought burgers to bribe you. Hospital food fucking sucks, no matter who is donating to the board."
It was on the tip of my tongue to refuse and ask for some time to myself. But then the smell of cheeseburger reached my nose, and I groaned. That wasexactlywhat I wanted to eat. No. No, no, no, Ineededto eat that burger.
Riley took my nonverbal cue and handed over one of the paper-wrapped, glorious beasts, then propped a box of french fries on the edge of my bed.
I needed to amend my thoughts from earlier. She was definitely friend material.
That was cemented just a little further when she didn't say a word as we both inhaled our junk food. There's something to be said for a person who can exist in silence with a virtual stranger and not make it feel uncomfortable. Riley had a gift, or maybe, I was just past giving a fuck at this stage.
"Wanna watch TV?" I jerked my head toward her to see the remote in her hand. "I'm sure they're not offering the best channels, but we'll find something."
I nodded. "Yeah, the doctor sort of gave me the all clear for some light television watching, and it actually sounds… kind of great.”
And it was. We just spent mindless hours watching rom-coms, and not once did I wish to be alone. If anything, she saved me from anxiety stressing over everything that had happened in the last few days.
The last few years even.
Our conversations were light and fun, Riley regaling me with tales about her fucked up best friends and fiancé. "Honestly, I don't know how you're alive," I said with a smile, laying my head on the pillow as I turned toward her.
Her laughter this time was soft and filled with the sort of happiness I wasn't sure I'd ever felt, except maybe in a few stolen minutes in a hotel room.
"I'm only alive because of them," she murmured. "I'm the luckiest bitch in the world to have them—not that I'll ever admit to them. And if you tell them I said that, I will vehemently deny it and withhold your cheeseburgers for at least a week."
I chuckled, and fuck if it wasn't genuine. "Your secret is safe with me. Friends before men."
Riley flashed me her perfect, white smile. "Yep. Hoes before bros. We have to stick together and stay strong, or those possessive bastards will have us locked in a room naked for the rest of our lives."
We both paused for a beat, each, no-doubt, thinking non-PG thoughts. "Yeah, still not the best idea," she said with a wide grin.
"But fun."
