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“Do you think you’re going to throw up again?”

I slowly shook my head.

“Here, let me help you up.” He gently took my arm. I felt weak as a kitten as I tried to stand, but Noah did most of the lifting.

“You’re missing the play,” I said. “And you’re in the women’s bathroom.” Thankfully the play was in full swing, so there was no one else here.

“I’m aware.” He didn’t seem the least bit bothered by either of those facts. “We should get you back to the hotel.”

I groaned and shook my head. “No, we need to see the play.”

“You can barely stand, and you’re as white as a sheet. I’m taking you back to your room.”

“We can’t leave the theater. We’ll get in trouble.”

“Don’t worry about the teachers. I’ll text Mr. Wagner and let him know you’re unwell and I’m taking you back.”

“But…”

Noah’s eyes turned serious, and I could see there would be no arguing with him. I wanted to protest but felt too exhausted to go through with it.

“Fine,” I grumbled. I didn’t particularly feel like seeing a play about Romeo and Juliet anyway. Not when things between Noah and me felt like they’d been ripped from its very pages.

Noah went to help me, but I stepped out of his grasp. “I can walk.”

He slowly nodded, but he looked like he wanted to object. Instead, he hovered close to me as we left the bathroom. He was acting like he thought I might faint or collapse. If I were honest with myself, I didn’t feel that far from it. I couldn’t handle the thought of him touching me though.

We were silent as we left the theater, and I tried to keep as much distance between us as possible as we took a cab back to the hotel.

“You really didn’t have to escort me back here,” I said, as we made our way down the corridor to my room. I still felt really unwell and was grateful Noah had brought me back. I felt terrible he had missed the play though. We had an assignment onRomeo and Julietdue in a couple of weeks. And while we didn’t need to see the play to complete the work, it definitely would have helped.

“It’s no problem.” Noah shrugged. “I’ve seen the play before.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I like watching stage productions. My mom and dad used to take me to the theater a lot when I was a kid.”

“Oh.” I didn’t know that about Noah. I didn’t want to know it about him either. I didn’t like knowing anything that might endear him more to me when things between us would never work.

“Well, this is me,” I said, gesturing to the door when we reached my room.

Noah crossed his arms over his large chest. “You think I’m just going to ditch you at the door and leave you in there alone?”

“I was kind of hoping so, yeah…” My stomach was still rolling uncomfortably, and the last thing I needed was for Noah to see me being sick again.

“That’s not going to happen,” he said. “I’ll stay with you until Anna gets back.”

“How did you know I was rooming with…” Noah had always been observant, so of course, he knew I was rooming with Anna. Instead, I nodded. “Fine. But no barging in on me in the bathroom if I’m sick again. I’ve suffered enough humiliation for one night.”

“Deal.”

I swiped my key card to open the door to my room. It was a gorgeous space with two large beds and a huge window at the far end that overlooked Central Park. It was dark outside, and the curtains were pulled open so I could see the twinkling lights of the city beyond. I felt far too unwell to really appreciate the view, and I collapsed onto the end of my bed.

Noah disappeared into the bathroom and came out with a glass of water for me. I took the glass but didn’t drink from it straightaway. At this point, I wasn’t sure if the water was going to help or make me throw up again.

“You need to rehydrate,” he said, nodding at the glass.

I let out a sigh and did as I was told, taking small, cautious sips as I waited to see how it went down. Thankfully, I didn’t start heaving again.