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I couldn’t figure out his meaning and didn’t care to ask at the moment. I pushed at his arm. “Just give me some air. And stand back.” He was taking up what little bit of room there was in the bathroom.
“I’ll go get medicine,” he said. “I’ll go get...go...get...” He grunted and then went for the door, found his jeans and tugged them on. “Don’t move,” he said.
“No problem,” I said. The cramping had eased a bit, still bad but not as acute as before. When it wasn’t cramping, the nausea became worse. Maybe I was seasick. Was this what happened when you got seasick? This was horrible.
Raven bolted out the door, leaving it wide open. Did he put anything else on besides jeans?
After a minute, I realized the door was still open. Avery or the crew could have just waltzed right in, with me on the floor in my underwear.
Maybe I’d puke on myself, too. That’d show Axel and everyone else that I should be in charge.
I kept my shirt bunched up around my breasts. The cooler air on my stomach seemed to soothe the nausea as I breathed slowly. I considered just puking to get it over with, but didn’t exactly want to encourage it along. Any little movement and I was afraid the cramping would get worse.
A figure came into the room. I’d thought it was Brandon at first. My eyes were blurry and focused on the toilet. “Don’t get any closer,” I moaned.
A jean-clad leg came near and stopped close to my head. A body knelt. “Sugar dumpling,” cooed a steady, concerned Southern Charleston accent. “You’re as green as a gourd.”
I fluttered my eyes, opening them wider, to spy an upside down face of Blake. His blond hair hung around his head. A black cord with a small black box attached to it dangled from around his neck.
They were listening. It bugged me that he knew to come down here and I couldn’t really fight with him on this at the moment. I wondered how much he might have heard, if he listened while I talked to Raven earlier. I wasn’t so sure I’d like that to continue.
I waved him off. “Go away,” I said. “You shouldn’t be here. If they come back...”
“You’re in no position to be left alone,” he said as he moved away from me but not very far. I turned my head to watch as he ran some water into a tiny cup from the sink and wet a washcloth from the pile of towels. He brought these over and knelt beside me. He aimed the washcloth at my face.
I turned my head away again, pushing at him. “Don’t,” I said.
He ignored me, pressing the cool cloth to my forehead. It chilled me, soothing some of the nausea. “Seasick?” he asked quietly.
“Maybe,” I said.
“What’s wrong?”
I breathed in slowly, swallowing. “Nausea,” I said. “And cramping.”
A blond eyebrow went up. “Where are you cramping?”
“In my gut.”
He dipped the cloth into the water in the cup and then touched it to my cheek, tracing it. “Is it your period?” he asked. “Was the nausea aggravating it?”
“No,” I said, aggravated more by him bringing it up. Like he needed to know anything.
“Pumpkin spice, you’re going to have to tell someone. Either you tell me how you’re dying and I could possibly help, or you just die. Tell me.”
“No,” I said. “My period was two weeks ago. So that shouldn’t be it, unless it’s just early or being weird. The cramping is just dull and achy now. I’m just trying not to move. Not easy when I’m not sure about the nausea and if I’m going to be sick.”
He harrumphed. “Let’s try to get rid of the nausea, then.” He picked up my hand and had me take the washcloth. “Hold this to your forehead or neck or wherever. Cool yourself off.”
I did, pressing it to the back of my neck. It did give relief as it cooled my skin.
He got up again, going to the sink. He dug through a drawer, and found a first aid kit. He dug through it, found a small packet and left the kit on the counter before returning to me. He shook it and then tore it in half, dropping a pill into his palm. “I need you to swallow this,” he said.
“I can’t swallow anything right now.”
He edged closer, and held the pill between two fingers. “Kayli. Sweetie. This little pill is going to take all that nausea away. Now do you want to try to swallow it, or do you want to lay on the floor all day?”
“Uh...lay on the floor,” I said, although weakly. I reached up, taking the pill from him.
He wedged himself to where he was behind me in the small space. He held my shoulders, holding me up, and brought me the little cup for water. I threw the pill into my mouth, and sipped at the water until I could swallow it. Drinking some water helped, too. It cooled off the inside of my body.
“It’s going to take a few minutes to work,” he said. He sat back on his butt, drawing one of his knees up close to his chest. “We’ll just wait here until you’re feeling better.”
“I can’t believe this,” I said. I put the wet cloth flat over my face. How embarrassing.
“It’s going to make you sleepy, though,” he said. “I probably should have just given you a half, but I want it to work fast.” He touched my knee, warming it. “You’ll be up in no time, sweetie.”
“Don’t you dare tell Doyle.”
“I’m afraid Doyle already knows. He’s listening, remember?”
I couldn’t believe this. Doyle had said as much but for some reason I’d assumed Avery and Blake had been listening to me in particular and Doyle was just the operator. I adjusted my T-shirt down, intending to cover my body up, but not liking how it warmed my chilled stomach. Any warmth or touch seemed to make the nausea worse. “He can’t see me, can he?”
“No,” he said. His hand moved from my knee, and he captured my wrist. He held it while he moved my shirt back up to close to where it had been. “So if this is more comfortable for you, just stay right there.”
I sighed into the cloth. It had warmed a bit, so I flipped it over to the cooler side, dropping it against my face, covering my eyes and mouth. “I can’t run a team if I’m going to get seasick.”
“I’m not totally sure if you’re seasick,” he said. “Cramping isn’t really part of it. But we’ll deal with the symptoms right now. It might just be stress and you’re still recovering from that poison in your system. The most important thing is preventing from it coming back. I don’t want you being too stressed right now, not when we’re just getting started. Take it easy and just enjoy the cruise and listen, maybe watch what you eat for a while. It could be you’ve run into something your body doesn’t like.”
/> “If you tell me to go on a diet, I’ll kill you.”
He chuckled. “Maybe not yet. Maybe we’ll just keep track of what you’re eating for a while. If the symptoms come back--”
Suddenly, the quiet bathroom turned to chaos as the boys arrived. With a groan, I pressed the washcloth to my face, just trying not to be sick. I should have told Blake to go away once he’d passed me the pill.
There was a slam, and then a shout. “What the hell are you doing here, Coaltar?”
“Back off, Henshaw,” Blake said, loud but still calm.
Realizing someone was probably going to get hurt, I ripped the washcloth off my face, seeing Brandon holding Blake lifted up by the shoulders pressing him roughly against the wall by the sink. Anger reddened Brandon’s already sunburned cheeks, his mouth in a snarl. “What are you...following her now? You stalking her?”
“Learned it from you,” Blake said with a smirk.
I sucked in a breath, waves of nausea overcoming me thanks to the heavy tension in the room. I lifted my head, trying to cover myself with the shirt. I needed to stop him. The cramping increased. “Brandon!” I cried out. “Let him go.”
Brandon pulled back on Blake, only to slam him against the wall again. Items shook on the counters, and there was a loud crack, like he might have broken one of the tiles. “I asked you a question,” he yelled in Blake’s face.
“Brandon!” I yelled. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Raven stood in the doorway, hands balled into fists. He was still shirtless, his shoulders as wide as the doorway. I thought he was going to launch himself at Blake if Brandon gave him enough room. “Raven, get Brandon to stop.”
Raven didn’t move, only glared at Blake, his fists pushed into his thighs.
“Let me handle this, Kayli,” Brandon barked at me. He shook Blake. “I’ve told you to stay away from her.”
Blake shook his head, swaying it. He focused on the mirror rather than Brandon. He wasn’t fighting him. “Kayli isn’t feeling well,” he said coolly. “Do you want to fight with me, or do you want to ask her why she’s sick?”
