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“Can you get me some ibuprofen and a bottle of water?” I whisper, not wanting to jostle any part of me by trying to do it myself. “And my phone.”
Theo’s big, warm whiskey eyes skim over me. “At least let me help you to bed. Come on. You can’t stay here.”
“Yes, I can.” I tuck my legs up so I’m in the fetal position. “Please. Just some ibuprofen, water, and my phone.”
* * *
“Carys, I need you to wake up for me.” The soft voice sounds familiar, but I refuse to open my eyes. “Carys.”
When I ignore the voice for a second time, she sounds annoyed. “Pick her up and put her in her bed, babe. Theo, can you get me a bowl or trash can in case she gets sick again?”
I’m gently lifted from the ground, forcing me to finally open my eyes. “Ford?” I croak. My voice is strained and hoarse from heaving for so long. “What are you doing here?”
“Theo answered the phone when Sinclair called. He told him you were sick. Coop called me to see if Jessie could swing by.” The giant of a man tucks me in bed, then drags my comforter over me and hands me a bottle of water. “Drink. You need to replenish your fluids.”
Jessie scans a thermometer over my head, then sticks it back in a bag at the foot of my bed. She touches two of her fingers to my pulse and stands quietly for a minute. I assume she’s counting my heart rate.
“Okay, I need you to take two of these.” She hands me two small white pills that I swallow with a sip of water, all the while praying they don’t come right back up.
Theo places a trash can next to my bed and looks at me with that same look of worry from earlier. “What can I do for you, CC?”
“I need you guys to give us ladies a few minutes of privacy, please.” Jessie looks from Ford to Theo, then makes a shooing motion with her hands. “And shut the door behind you.”
“Thanks,” I whisper.
“No problem. You don’t need an audience when you don’t feel good. And I need to ask you a few questions that aren’t anyone else’s business but yours.” She sits down next to me on the bed and runs her fingers softly through my hair. “Are you pregnant, Carys?”
I swing my head her way so quickly, I think I might hurl again. “What? No. I had my period last week. And every month since Cooper left. Definitely not pregnant.” Sweet baby Jesus, no. We don’t even have our own shit together yet. We cannot add a baby to this messed-up mix.
“Okay. Thank God. Not that you and Cooper wouldn’t make beautiful babies, but girl... this life takes a hell of a lot out of you. And I want you two to have more time together before you start having to worry about a third.”
“Me too.” I take a small sip of my water, hoping it stays down.
“Next uncomfortable question. Are you taking any drugs? Prescribed, over the counter, or recreational?” Jessie seems so calm as she asks these questions, although I’m feeling anything but calm.
“No. Well, none other than birth control. I have PCOS, and the pill helps with everything.” I think I’d be squirming if I felt like I could move without throwing up. Not exactly conversations you have with a new friend.
“Cooper told Ford you were going to the doctor soon because you’ve been sick a lot lately.”
“Yeah. I’ve been really tired too. And this has got to be the third or fourth fever I’ve had since July.” I pull the blanket up higher and feel the weight of sleep already tugging me under. “My appointment is Friday.”
I know Jessie says something else, but I’m already asleep before it registers.
There’snothing like calling your girl and having her roommate answer and tell you she’s sick... again. Carys has been sick a handful of times since I left her at Dad and Katherine’s last summer. And I’ve had to bug the hell out of her to finally get her to schedule a doctor’s appointment.
My girl is stubborn.
I may have threatened to tell Murphy so he could torture her. She gave in after that. Now I’m sitting here on the other side of the country, waiting for my team leader to call me back and let me know how she’s doing.
This fucking sucks. I shouldn’t be here. I should be home with Carys.
With my team.
Instead, I’ve got at least two more months before I’m done. And that’s two months too damn long. My phone rings in my hand, and I swipe to answer as soon as I see it's Jessie.
“Jess, what’s going on?”
“Good to hear your voice, Coop. How are you holding up over there?”
