Page 142 of Never Stop

Before bed, I took my final pill then slept for five hours. That seemed to be my new normal. Probably due to the fact that I took naps throughout the day and was sleeping twenty hours in total. Everyone kept telling me to rest, and that my body was healing. Luckily that meant I wasn’t feeling pain.

When I woke up the following morning, I resisted the urge to take another pill. I started sneezing even though I wasn’t sick or that it wasn’t allergy season. The longer the day progressed, the more I was feeling the effects. I had no idea it would happen so soon. Then again this was my first time experiencing something like it.

Easton came home, took one look at me on the couch, and said, “I think Cheyenne should stay at my parents for a few days.”

I nodded. “Can you turn the heater on?”

He drew his head back as though I slapped him with my words. “You want the heater on when it’s in the nineties outside?”

I shivered. “It’s not ninety in here, and I’m cold.”

“This must be a side effect because it’s not cold in here.”

“Well, I’m cold!” I stood. “I’m so fucking cold on my right side, but my left side is sweating.” I started to pace in front of the couch.

Back and forth…

Back and forth…

“I’ll get you a blanket.”

Back and forth…

Back and forth…

“And socks. My feet are so cold.”

Easton turned and went down the hall to the closet where we kept blankets. “This is definitely withdrawals.”

“How would you know?”

He came back with the blanket. “I’ve seen movies.”

I sat down on the couch, and Easton placed the blanket on me. “Not sure it’s the same thing. Where are my socks?”

“I’ll get them now.”

He turned and left again while I closed my eyes, willing sleep to take me. Instead, I shivered non-stop. When he returned with my socks, I slipped them on, and he tucked me under the blanket again.

“Thank you,” I said. “I don’t like feeling like this.”

He crouched down on the side of the sofa. “We’re in this together. We’ll get through it.” Tears started to fall from my lids.

“Why are you crying?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I just do that now.”

He reached up and brushed the hair away from my forehead. “It’s okay. So what do you want for dinner?”

I glared at him. It was the same every night.

“Okay. Well, you’ll eat what I make you, or I’ll call Nicole to come force you to.”

“God!” I groaned. “I’m starting to hate this whole taking care of me bullshit.”

He smiled. “No, you’re not.”

I wasn’t. In fact, I loved it.