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“It feels a lot better now.” Resting her cheek on his shoulder, she asked, “Could you carry me back to bed?”
“Of course.” Quinn scooped her up without a smidgeon of protest. When he turned her my way, I hurried out of the doorway to let them through.
Q
uinn met my gaze as he passed. I knew there was something in my expression that made him blink in confusion. Maybe it was the sympathy he didn’t see because I was too busy silently screaming at her to just tell him everything already. Maybe it how solemn I was, and he’d just figured out something was seriously wrong. Or maybe he just wanted me to leave.
That one I could do.
Because I couldn’t stand there and watch her lie to him. She obviously liked him taking care of her; she cuddled into him like a content kitten and closed her eyes with a small sigh as he tenderly tucked her into the sheets. So, why didn’t she just tell him?
“I’m going to set your nausea tablets here on top of the nightstand,” I said.
“Thanks,” Cora murmured weakly, and Quinn once again glanced at me, his gaze penetrating something so deep inside me I felt stripped bare.
A strange fear clutched me as a pale, stone-faced Zoey walked stiffly from Cora’s room. She looked...I don’t know. She looked shell-shocked. And Cora looked like death warmed over with bags under her eyes and her face flushed as if she did have a fever.
Something wasn’t right. And it was not the flu.
I sat next to Cora on her mattress and let her curl up with her head in my lap. Stroking her hair, I watched her close her eyes and breathe deeply, trying to fall asleep.
“Are you pregnant?” I finally asked.
Her eyes fluttered open and she scowled at me. “Why do guys always automatically assume a girl’s pregnant as soon as she upchucks?”
Okay, so she wasn’t pregnant. “Bulimia?” I asked next.
She sighed as if already exhausted by my interrogation. Then she closed her eyes without answering me.
I continued to sift my fingers through her hair. “I know this isn’t just the flu, Cora. You’ve continuously lost weight for as long as I’ve known you. Every day, you seem to get more fatigued. This is something so much more than a common cold.”
Keeping her eyes closed, she refused to answer me.
“You’re beautiful to me,” I tried again, “exactly how you are. Please don’t think you have to lose weight...for any reason.” I ran my finger down the center of her spine, feeling each dip and bump in her vertebrae.
Her lashes flickered open before she looked up at me. “I’m not bulimic,” was all she said.
I ground my teeth. “Then what are you?”
Again, she refused to answer, just stared at me as if I was an idiot for even bothering to ask. I didn’t understand what was going on, and I hated this. Couldn’t she see I only wanted to help her?
“Zoey knows,” I finally said. Why would she tell Zoey, and not me?
She sniffed and glanced away, pushing my hand off her head. “So you’re going to go hound Zoey until she gives up all my secrets?”
“No. I shouldn’t have to learn anything about my girlfriend from her roommate. I want you to tell me.” When she remained mute, I gnashed my teeth. “Why don’t you trust me?” I whispered, aching from the pit of my being.
“Trust?” She rolled her eyes. “Baby, this isn’t about trust. It’s about privacy. Why do you feel you have to know everything about me?”
Sucker punched right in the stomach, I pulled back and shook my head. “I don’t…” My tongue felt twisted in my mouth. I was going to start stuttering any second, so I glanced away and concentrated on breathing through my nose.
“Can’t you just be here for me and let me have my privacy?”
Silently, I nodded.
So, I sat there, just being with her, and I gave her privacy, even though it gutted a part of me. I stroked her hair, and stayed quiet so I wouldn’t irritate her with questions.
As soon as she fell asleep, I eased her head off my thigh and settled it gently on a pillow. She looked exhausted, though I knew she’d been getting enough sleep. Frustration, anger, and hurt raged through me, dueling for supremacy.
