“I'm fine,” I lied.“I just need water.”I turned, but I couldn't remember which way the door was.“Why is this room so big?”Before I knew it—my legs gave out, and I fell to my knees.
“Francesca!”Stefan shouted, making my head hurt even worse.
“Why can't you just shut up?”I tried to get up, but my arms and legs just weren't working in tandem.When I felt Stefan behind me, picking me up—the whole room rocked from side to side.And then I realized it wasn't the room.
It was me.
My stomach protested, and I felt hot, bile rise up.
“Oh, no.Bathroom.Bathroom!”I yelled.Or at least I thought I had yelled.
Thankfully, Stefan was good for something.In one second, we were on the move.
When I tell you, I barely made it—
I.
Barely.
Made.
It.
Stefan held my hair back as my stomach emptied.
And emptied.
And emptied.
He flushed a few times for me because I was unable to do anything other than what I was doing.
After I was done, Stefan handed me a warm washcloth while I sat on the cool bathroom tile.
“Thanks,” I choked out, my mouth still parched like I'd never felt before.The warm washcloth felt wonderful on my face.
“You must've caught it from the kids,” Stefan said as he leaned against the counter.“I'm sorry.They're cute but germy as fuck.”
I let out a dry cough and nodded.“I hope they're better.These things are usually just twenty-four-hour bugs.”
He nodded and looked me over.“Do you want to shower?Or go back to bed?”
I tried to swallow.“Bed.I can't possibly stand long enough to shower.”
His lips pursed, and he pushed away from the counter.“Let me change the sheets and get you a new shirt.”He walked out, and I looked down at myself.My T-shirt—well, technically Stefan's—was sticking to me like I'd joined a wet T-shirt contest.
Gross.
But there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.I'd never felt this wretched before.My legs were shaky, my body ached, and my head pounded.
I could hear Stefan in the bedroom taking off the sheets and putting new ones on.Hopefully, I didn't ruin his mattress.
A few minutes later, he came back into the bathroom.“Ready?”he asked and crouched down in front of me.His eyes—those kind eyes I knew—were back.
“I guess so.”
Then he scooped me up into his arms and carried me to bed.He sat me on the edge and said, “Sit up for a minute if you can.”He handed me an ice-cold bottle of water, and I'd never been so grateful for anything in my life.
“Thank you,” I croaked out and started crying.If I had any moisture left in my body, tears might have actually come out.
