Page 11 of Risk (Gods #3)

I ’m in my Abnormal Psychology class. It’s my first class of the day, and I feel like crap. I’m starting to wish I’d stayed in bed instead of dragging myself into school, like I’ve done for the last few days.

But today, I feel the worst I have.

I’ve been feeling crappy since the day after Zeus’s party. I’m putting it down to my confrontation with Kaden.

First, I was mad, then sad, then pissed off. Which are the only emotions I seem to be having when I think of or speak to Kaden.

Which is rare.

Having sex with him was a colossal mistake.

But I think it’s the stress of it all—keeping it a secret from my family and knowing I’m gonna have to keep pretending that everything is okay between me and Kaden when it’s far from it. Maybe, at some point in the future, it will be. But as of right now, it’s not.

So, I’m thinking the stress is presenting itself in my stomach, which has been upset for days. At first, I thought it was because I’d drunk too much and I was hungover.

I used to suffer from an upset stomach when my mother was ill and after she passed. And every time things were tough at home, my stomach would start acting up.

Although I don’t ever remember feeling nauseous before. And today, I feel a bit pukey.

Aaron leans over and whispers, “Are you okay?”

The fact that he’s asking tells me that I look as crappy as I feel. I know I looked shitty when I left my place this morning, and no amount of concealer and foundation fixed it, so I must’ve gotten worse.

“Yeah,” I reply.

Then, I feel my stomach turn, like I’ve just been flipped over in a somersault, and I know I’m going to throw up.

I put my hand over my mouth as the first retch comes.

I jump to my feet, knowing I’m making a scene, but not having the time to care or politely excuse myself.

I push past Aaron and run down the steps, rushing for the door.

I know there’s a restroom just a few doors down.

I bolt for it, hoping to God that I make it.

I burst through the restroom door and into a stall and make it just in time.

After I’ve finished emptying my stomach, I flush the toilet and sit with my back against the stall wall.

My skin is clammy. I press the back of my hand to my forehead, but can’t tell if I have a fever or not.

“Missy,” I hear Aaron’s voice say, coming from the doorway.

“In here,” I call out to him.

He appears when I open the door to the stall, my bag in his hand and a bottle of water in the other.

“Thought you might need your bag, and I grabbed you a water…”

“You’re a lifesaver.” I take the water from him, and he puts my bag down on the floor next to me and crouches down in the doorway of the stall.

I uncap the bottle and take a sip, swishing it around my mouth. I spit it into the toilet and flush it away.

“Anything I can do?” he asks.

“Rewind time to moments before I threw up so I could make a more silent and graceful exit.”

“Hardly anyone noticed.”

I lift a brow.

“Okay, everyone noticed.” He chuckles. “But you can’t help being sick.”

“True.” I grab my bag and rummage through it to see if I have any mints or gum, but I don’t have any. “Do you have any gum or mints?” I ask him.

He pulls a pack of gum from his jacket pocket and hands me one.

I chew on it, hoping the mint flavor doesn’t set me off puking again. I wait a moment, but the nausea seems to have passed.

“How are you feeling?”

“Not sick anymore, but like a truck ran over me.”

“You should go home.”

“Yeah.”

He stands and offers me his hand, but I wave him off.

“Don’t want to give you my germs,” I tell him as I get myself to my feet.

“I’m gonna walk you home,” he says.

“I’ll be fine,” I tell him.

“It’s nonnegotiable. I’ll get you home, run to the pharmacy, and get you the essentials. Then, I’ll head back to class and send you the notes later.”

“You’re too good to me,” I tell him as I walk over to the sink to wash my hands.

“No, I’m your friend, and that’s what friends do. I’ll wait outside while you wash up. Hanging around in the women’s restroom isn’t good for my reputation.” He winks at me and exits out the door.

I wash my hands and stare at my face in the mirror.

I look pale and washed out, and I’ve got dark circles under my eyes.

I don’t look like myself at all. I didn’t sleep well last night or the night before, just tossed and turned all night, but I put it down to my confrontation with Kaden. Seems like I was getting sick.

Shit, I’m supposed to work tomorrow. I could really do without being sick. I need to work. I need the money. And surely, work won’t want me serving food to customers if I’m sick with what could be any kind of bug.

I splash cold water on my face and dry off with paper towels.

Grabbing my bag, I hang it on my shoulder and head out to Aaron. So ready to get home and in my bed to sleep whatever this is off.