“Yes, baby?”
Nina bore a hole into the side of his face.
“You’re not listening to me.”
“I am,” he nodded.
“I don’t want to die,” she admitted. “I just don’t want to be here.” She was sharing her deepest thoughts with him, and he wished he could be the man she needed in the moment, but he was drowning too. The real question was, could they save each other?
“Where you wanna go?” he asked her. Depending on where she wanted to venture off to, he would tag along.
She let out a hollow breath.
“Far.”
A tear slipped down her temple and into her hair.
“So far that none of this will affect me.”
Jio rubbed a hand over his face, exhaustion creeping in from all directions now. He needed to rest.
“You gotta stop wanting to run away. Life is going to always come with some bullshit, baby.”
He didn’t expect his comment to fuck her up, but she broke, again.
Her body folded in on itself, sobs ripping through her chest so violently that it looked like it hurt.
Jio moved without thinking to comfort his love. He pulled her into him, and instantly, she clung to his shirt. Nina knew that the only thing keeping her from falling apart was him.
“I ruined everything,” she cried.
“Nah.” He shook his head. “You didn’t mess nothing up. Don’t let them trick you into thinking that bullshit either.”
“Yes, I did!” she sobbed. “I ruined everything. I can kiss my future goodbye.”
“I can’t breathe,” Nina gasped dramatically.
“Relax,” he coaxed her. “Slow down baby. Inhale… and exhale.” He rubbed small circles into the small of her back.
Her body rejected his advice. The anxiety of what her life could look like if her family cut her off frightened her deeply.
She pulled away suddenly and stumbled off the bed.
“Babe, where you going?”
She barely made it two steps before a violent gag seized her throat. Jio had just started to swing his legs over the side of the bed when she doubled over and vomited. Chunks of her last meal splattered across the hardwood floor.
He was at her side in an instant, gathering her hair into one hand and rubbing slow circles against her back with the other as another wave overtook her. Her body convulsed with each heave until there was nothing left to bring up. Tears blurred her vision and streamed freely down her cheeks as she gasped for air between retches.
This was what stress looked like.
When it was finally over, sweat clung to every inch of her skin. Her legs trembled beneath her, and every ounce of strength had been wrung from her. She was emptied; mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically.
After a hot shower, he helped her back to bed and laid a cold towel across her forehead.
“You good?” he asked.
She nodded weakly, eyes already closing.
