Page 104 of We Are Just Us

But they stayed a while longer, tangled together under the vast ancient sky, holding on.

THIRTY-ONE

Kieran woke to the sound of retching.

Not the dogs. Hank was curled at his feet, Mabel pressed against his side, both undisturbed.

Human. Outside.

“Rory?” He scrambled out of the sleeping bag and unzipped the tent flap, stumbling into the pre-dawn darkness.

The sky was that particular shade of deep blue that meant sunrise was still an hour away. The air was cold, shockingly so after the warmth of the tent.

He scanned the campsite and found Rory about twenty feet away, bent double near a cluster of rocks, one hand braced against a Joshua tree.

“Rory.” Kieran started toward him.

“Stay back,” Rory gasped, holding up his other hand. “I’m fine. Fuck—”

He heaved again, and Kieran heard the unmistakable sound of his stomach emptying onto the sand.

“You’re not fine,” Kieran said, stopping a few feet away. “What’s wrong?”

“Something I ate,” Rory managed, spitting. “I’ll be okay in a minute. I just need to…”

He didn’t finish the sentence.

Instead, his body made a different, more urgent decision.

Rory’s face went pale, barely visible in the dim light, and he turned abruptly, stumbling deeper into the desert.

“Rory…”

“Don’t follow me,” Rory said, voice strained. “Please.”

But Kieran could hear it. The telltale sounds of a body in full rebellion. Rory squatting low in the sand, one hand braced against the ground.

His body was evacuating from both ends simultaneously.

Kieran’s stomach twisted with guilt and sympathy.

He was frozen, not sure what to do. Not sure if staying was helping or making it worse.

“Oh god,” Rory groaned. “This is fucked.”

“It was the fish,” Kieran said, the realization landing like a brick. “Rory, it’s the fish. I didn’t cook it right. I couldn’t see in the dark and I—”

“Kieran, stop.” Rory’s voice was firm against the strain. “We left it out. While we were in the truck. Sat in the heat too long. That’s all.”

He closed the distance between them and knelt beside Rory, one hand coming to rest on his back.

“What are you doing?” Rory asked weakly.

“I don’t know,” Kieran admitted. “But I can’t just stand there.”

“You don’t have to…” Rory broke off as his stomach cramped again.

The muscles in Rory’s back tensed under Kieran’s hand, a violent shudder running through him as his body purged itself. He moved his hand in slow circles, the way his mom used to do when he was sick as a kid.