When I’m done, I sigh and set my laptop to the side. Good… that was good. I’m glad I did that…
Suddenly, my stomach pitches and a wave of nausea hits me out of nowhere. Scrambling out of bed, I rush to the bathroom to get to the toilet before I throw up all over myself.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: FIGHT FOR ME
RYLEE
“Rylee?Rylee, come on sweetie. Time to wake up.”
Groaning, I crack open my eyes and look up to find Grace standing over me, her expression concerned.
“What… what are you doing here?” I murmur. God, I feel like shit. Am I in the bathroom?
Oh, fuck… I fell asleep with my head resting on the toilet seat. I suppose I should at least be grateful I didn’t puke anywhere else.
Did I? I honestly can’t remember…
“Come on.” Grace reaches down and grabs my hands, helping me to my feet. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
She closes the toilet lid and sits me down on top of it, then grabs a wash rag and gets it wet with warm water. Holding my chin, she gently wipes my face. I close my eyes, enjoying her soothing touch, but am immediately hit with dizziness and nausea so I open them again.
“Okay, brush your teeth,” she instructs, handing me my toothbrush and toothpaste. I obediently do as I’m told, standing up and brushing the feeling of scum off my teeth and gargling mouthwash to get rid of the taste of puke. Ugh, my head… it’slike someone is beating it with a hammer on the inside of my skull. I just want to curl up on the cool bathroom floor and go back to sleep.
Once I’m done, Grace helps me change my clothes and brush my hair, and when I feel human again, we go out to the kitchen where she makes coffee and sets two Advil down in front of me. I swallow them with some water and settle on a stool by the island, my mind clearing and the details from the night before coming back into focus.
When Grace hands me a cup of coffee, I look up at her and murmur, “Sooooo… ”
“I already know what happened,” she tells me, plopping down onto the stool next to me. “Jensen told me Zander stayed with Jayce last night and has been miserable all day. When you didn’t answer your phone, last night or this morning, I decided to come by and check on you.”
“Oh, so he still didn’t go back to his own apartment?” I snap. “What? Is he so afraid of being alone with his own shitty self that he has to latch onto the closest sucker he can find?”
Grace arches a brow at me. “That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?”
I snort. “I think it’s accurate.”
“Does it make you feel better to lash out like that?”
Sighing, I pinch the bridge of my nose and shake my head. “That doesn’t make me feel better, even though I kind of want it to. It makes me feel like an asshole. But, it doesn’t matter. I think it’s time for me to go home. My work is basically done, I don’t really need to stay. I can finish the rest back in Nashville.”
“Hold on,” Grace replies, her tone startled. “You don’t need to leave yet… ”
“There’s no reason for me to say,” I murmur.
Grace sighs. “I know what Zander did wasn’t great, but he didn’t lead you on in the app after he found out who you were.”
“It doesn’t matter. He should’ve told me. End of story.”
She hesitates and I can see she’s struggling to hold back what she wants to say. In the end, she can’t help herself. “Can’t you think about forgiving him? You two are so good together, and so good to each other. I really believe you can get past this.”
She sounds so confident, but I’m not sure. Here I was starting to think my mom might not be totally right when it came to relationships and making sure to never settle before finding a perfect guy, but in the end, Zander seems to have proven her right. He lied. Even after I told him how much I hated liars, he went along and did it anyway.
“This is for the best,” I snap. “I need to get home. Get back to my actual life.”
Grace lets out a breath of frustration. “So you’re going to run to avoid your problems?”
“I’m not running.”
She gives me a soft look and murmurs, “But you’re going to numb yourself to your pain? Is that what you were doing last night?”
