“Shit,” he muttered, catching my gaze in the mirror. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
My nose scrunched and I shook my head. “Fine, just slept wrong.”
Nox stared at me for a long moment, and I worried he wasn’t going to drop it, but then he nodded. He handed me a new toothbrush from under the sink, and we silently brushed our teeth, making eye contact occasionally that made my stomach flip. I inspected my appearance, feeling insecure fromall his staring, which I should’ve probably been used to by now, but I wasn’t, so I tried to smooth out my wavy, matted hair. Thanks to a hairbrush that Nox leant me, I was able to pull it back into a simple braid down my back.
At least my mouth didn’t taste like the bottom of a dirty tire anymore. And my eyes, well there wasn’t much I could do to fix the lingering redness other than not fucking crying again.
I grabbed Nox’s arm as we reached the bottom of the stairs, and he turned around to look at me. I accidentally brushed his hand on the banister and cringed.
“What’s up?”
“I’m really sorry about last night. Getting sick and all. You’re probably totally grossed out,” I chuckled awkwardly, eyeing the spot on the floor where I had puked last night.
“Don’t sweat it, it’s not your fault for having a migraine. Are you sure you’re feeling okay now?”
He looked at me with genuine concern, and it stirred up an emotion in my chest that I couldn’t pinpoint.
“Yeah, I’m just probably never eating pizza again.”
He chuckled and shook his head, “After watching you puke it up, me neither. Although I’m just glad I outgrew my sympathy puking phase.”
I quirked my brow with an amused smile, “Sympathy puker?”
He ran his hand through his hair and laughed awkwardly.
“Yeah…it was an extremely unfortunate reaction I had as a child. Couldn’t even watch a movie with someone throwing up, I was so sensitive.”
I bit my lip trying not to laugh at him and nodded, motioning for him to continue towards the kitchen where we smelled food cooking.
“Mornin’,” his mom sang with a smile, as she seemed to be scrutinizing me.
I shuffled awkwardly, pulling the sleeves down around my hands.
“How are you feelin’, Shiloh?”
I tried to smile as politely as possible as I nodded and answered that I was feeling much better. I was startled when his dad interrupted my apology rant by pointing a spatula at me with a serious face, a carbon copy of the one I’ve seen Nox give me countless times.
“Nonsense, Shiloh. You ready to eat? Where’s Jae?”
“I guess still in bed, I thought he’d be down here already. I’m starving,” Nox answered.
I nodded, trying to maintain my outward appearance as I grabbed the plate Nox’s dad handed me. Nox went to wake Jae, and I took a seat next to Esty. Thankfully she didn’t ask me any invasive questions, and I stared at my plate. The breakfast casserole looked amazing, but nausea was making me hesitant to eat any of it. I was apparently so consumed by my thoughts that I didn’t realize Dan was speaking to me. I put my fork down when Nox bumped my shoulder and nodded towards his dad.
“What?” I asked, glancing around the table as they stared at me.
“You got any plans for the rest of the three-day weekend?” Dan smiled patiently.
“Um, no.”
There was an awkward silence, and I realized I probably should’ve been paying more attention to the conversation that was happening around the table. I knew they were talking about their plans, but I couldn’t remember. Something about family in town for a party.
“You know, I still just can’t get over how small-world it is that you and Sebastian are like family,” Shelby suddenly added, and I let out a deep breath to contain my social rage that was bubbling.
“Yeah,” I nodded.
“You and your brother are welcome to stop by for Ruthie’s party. I know it’s last-minute, but I can give ya an invitation with all the party details. Sebastian tells me y’all haven’t had a chance to connect again.”
Nox awkwardly cleared his throat and gave his mom a look.
