AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ll be fine by this afternoon,” I said defiantly, despite the urge to burrow under my covers and fall into an everlasting slumber.
“Harper…”
“I’ll be fine.” I waved her off. “I just need to rest.”
Once I’d slept off what I could, I would hydrate, load myself up on probiotics, and hope for the best.
It was only for a couple of hours. I could do it. Then I could come home, crawl into bed, and sleep it off some more.
“Are you sure I can’t get you anything before I have to head to class?” Rory asked, sympathy bleeding into her expression.
“No, I’ll be okay. But thanks for checking in on me.”
“Of course. I was worried when you didn’t answer my texts.”
Leaning over, I grabbed my cell phone off the desk. Sure enough, I had a stream of texts from Rory and a missed call from my mom. “Sorry, I didn’t hear them.”
“Don’t be silly. You’re sick. You need to rest. Do you know what it was? Thatglutenedyou, I mean?”
“Would you believe me if I said my boss’s lame attempt at making the bar more Harper-friendly?”
“Your boss did this?” She gasped.
“Well, technically, I did it. He said he wanted me to test a couple of dishes for a new gluten-free range. I stupidly assumed that meant he’d taken extra precautions preparing and cooking the food. But my current physical state would suggest otherwise.”
“Were the dishes at least worth it?” A small, uncertain smile tugged at her lips.
“The buttermilk chicken was questionable, but the three-bean chili was so good I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah,” I groaned, clutching my stomach as a wave of pain rolled through me.
“Does heat help?”
“Not really.”
She checked her phone for the time and frowned. “I should—”
“Go, it’s fine. Really. It’s nothing I haven’t survived a hundred times before.”
“I’ll text you later.”
“Okay. And Rory?”
“Yeah?” She looked back over her shoulder.
“Thank you.”
“That’s what friends are for.”
Her words stayed with me long after the door clicked shut behind her.
I’d never had real girlfriends before. It was nice even if they had all bagged themselves a Lakers hockey player.
Jealousy isn’t a good look on you, Harper.
I grabbed the edge of the covers and sank back into the pile of pillows before opening Mom’s message.
