AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Two pills short. I missed two days’ worth of doses.
Sleeping with Remy without proper protection was stupid. We’d both been caught up in the moment of passion and it certainly hadn’t been planned, but it was stupid, nonetheless.
Think, Claire. Google what to do.
Except, you can’t, because you still don’t have a phone.
“Okay.” I don’t even realize I say it out loud until I notice how calm my voice actually sounds. “It’s fine. You had this happen once before. Take two and get back on track.”
I pop the pills out of their pack and swallow them immediately, as if that will make any difference in the grand scheme of things. “You’ll be okay, Claire.” I say, though I’m not sure if I’m talking to myself or the girl in the mirror. Because either way, we don’t seem to be the same person anymore.
I repeat those words as I twist the ibuprofen cap in my hand. I also have melatonin I brought to adjust to the time difference, though I’d forgotten to use it. I dump a little pile of them into the mix and toss back a few of those, too.
It was just one time. You’ve missed doses before. Everything is going to be okay. You’re probably more likely to get a UTI than to get pregnant after one shot.
I stumble back to the bed, suddenly so exhausted that my pounding head, my aching stomach, my tangle of emotions… none of it seems to matter anymore.
No sooner do I fall on the bed than my eyes are as heavy as my limbs. My eyelids are just fluttering closed when I realize that I must have worked myself into an anxiety attack. My heart shudders in my chest, a strange pattering feeling... pathetic. The world blurs together, and I feel like I’m trying to fill my lungs with air I’m sucking through a straw.
But I get what I want, because the pain disappears and then the blissful lack of sensation sweeps over me.
I would swear I hear my heart slow down, down, down…
And then, I’m really numb.
Chapter three
Remy
Something about Elaine’s eyes on me the next day when I take a chair at the bar irks me. Maybe it’s the judgement in her eyes or maybe it’s just my own foul mood. Either way, something has shifted out of place in our relationship, and I’m not really sure it will ever go back.
I scrub my hand over my face and help myself to the coffee, trying to ignore her eyes lingering on the back of my neck and the uncomfortable sensation burrowing under my skin. What little coffee is left in the pot is cold.
“Thirty seconds in the microwave should do the trick.” Elaine says, like she just read my mind. “That little start button is a shortcut.”
I hold my tongue the best I can so that I don’t end up snapping at her for treating me like a child and turn my attention to warming up my coffee. When I turn back around, it’s to see her with her arms crossed over her chest, her expression even colder than the coffee was. She doesn’t say anything, her jaw set like she’s working hard to keep it that way.
“What’s for breakfast?” I ask, both to distract her and to irritate her the way she did to me.
“Breakfast?” She snaps. “It’s eleven a.m. It’s practically lunch time.”
“Another late night.” I attempt to dismiss any further conversation that may stem from there, though she doesn’t seem in the mood to entertain me anyway. I didn’t sleep because I couldn’t. How could I when my thoughts won’t leave me alone? Claire is haunting me from down the hall. I watched her last night staring at the ceiling until she jumped out of bed so suddenly that I thought she was ill. I’m not sure if she was or not, given that I couldn’t see her when she moved out of view. I did hear her talking to herself, though I couldn’t make out any of it. “I won’t object to lunch.”
“Well, in that case you’ll have to wait.”
I open my mouth to retaliate, but then switch tack. “What’s the deal, Elaine?” My voice has more venom than usual. “Why have you been so uptight?”
“Uptight?” She laughs harshly, narrowing her cold eyes on me. “I haven’t been uptight. I’ve been careful.”
“Careful?” I take a sip of the coffee and cringe. Not only is it barely lukewarm, it’s bitter and with the texture of coffee grounds that have seeped through the filter. Thirty seconds seems like all it did was warm the mug, but I’m sure Elaine knows that.
“Yes,” she nods. “Careful. Just because I don’t make conversation about your family business, doesn’t mean I don’t know what it is that you do.” Her tone is all accusation.
It’s not funny, but I can’t exactly take her seriously as she plants her hand on her hip.
“Is that so?” I tease.
Somehow, I didn’t think Elaine could possibly know. She’s too good, too pure to tolerate something like this, so I always assumed she lived in ignorant bliss. But why would she lie now if she doesn’t know?
