Page 135 of The Fractured

“Lily?” I knocked lightly.

“Don’t come in here—” More retching cut her off.

“It’s nothin’ I haven’t seen before.”

“This is different.” She paused, groaning. “If you really want to come in…”

I slowly opened the door to find her hunched over the toilet. She looked up at me, face pale, but then pressed her lips together to force back what was coming up. It didn’t work, and she quickly pulled back her hair as she vomited into the toilet again.

I stepped in behind her and gathered her hair in my hands. After a minute, the vomiting eased, and she wiped her mouth with toilet paper as she sat on the floor, still not looking entirely better.

“I could carry you back to bed,” I suggested, crouching beside her.

Lily shook her head but smiled faintly. “I can walk. I think the motion of being lifted might set me off again.”

“Fair enough.” I offered her my hand to help her up. She took it gladly and slowly stood with me. “I’ll get you some water—”

She paused suddenly, and I wondered if she needed to vomit again based on the way her eyes had widened, and her hand went to her stomach. Before I could say anything, Lily brushed past me on her way to the bedroom.

I followed and slowed to a stop outside the bathroom as she rummaged through her nightstand and pulled out a planner.

I frowned. My brain was still processing the vomiting. And that I needed to get her water.

Lily started counting back the days as she made her way to me. A faint wrinkle formed between her eyebrows as she frowned, mostly in confusion. Her eyes slowly lifted off the page. “I’m not due for my period yet, but…”

I couldn’t help but glance at her stomach.

Mine seemed to drop ten feet.

Her throat bobbed. “You don’t think…”

Great. I’ve knocked up my girlfriend right before I go to prison—

The bedroom door swung open, and Seb rushed through it. Bypassing us, he raced into Lily’s bathroom with one hand on his stomach and the other over his mouth.

“Kira’s in the other bathroom—We shouldn’t have had that chicken pizza,” he groaned as he pulled the door shut. “Sorry!”

Lily leaned against the wall, resting her head back. “It’s food poisoning… How come you aren’t affected?”

“Didn’t eat the chicken,” I shrugged.

“Smart.” She rubbed at her stomach again.

“You good though?”

“I need to sit down. My life just flashed before my eyes…AndI need to let work know I’m not coming in today.”

I chuckled and stepped aside as she made her way back to bed, crawling under the covers like she was about to hibernate for the rest of the year. Until she paused, flung the covers back, and ran into the bathroom again.

The mild food poisoning settled itself early in the afternoon.

Toast, apple juice, scrambled eggs, and water were the only things on the menu for all three of them, and they managed to keep each meal down after their morning of sharing two bathrooms.

Kira and Seb had hunkered down in the living room, with blankets swallowing them into the couch and mugs of green tea waiting on the coffee table as they watched TV. Kira had said green tea was good for stomach problems, so I left the apartment and bought plenty as a precaution. Along with a fresh supply of recovery foods for when they felt up to eating something with more substance.

After putting away the groceries and making the mentioned teas, I went to Lily’s room — green tea in hand. She was sitting up in bed on the side closest to the bathroom, sketching in her notebook. There was color in her cheeks again, and her eyes were clearer.

“Did you want anythin’ to eat?”