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When I’m able to run my fingers through her hair without snagging, I grab washcloths and help wash her back, arms, and legs. Everything on her front and her ass is on her to handle.
After the water is off, I wrap her in a towel and sit her on the toilet so I can work on drying her hair.
“I’m going to throw up.”
I help her to her knees and open the lid to the toilet so she can vomit. And she does. She has nothing in her stomach, so it’s mostly dry heaves. I pray she doesn’t get diarrhea while throwing up, forcing us to go through this whole process again.
“You’re doing good. I’ll be right back.” I run to the kitchen and fill a large cup with cold water from the faucet. When I return, her eyes are bloodshot, and the capillaries under her eyes are broken from all the dry heaving.
“Chug this.”
“I can’t.”
“Yes you can. Hold your breath and chug. It will give you something to throw up so you’re not gagging. Cold water feels a lot better coming up than anything else.”
She takes my advice and gulps. She hands me the empty cup, and I refill it. Within a couple seconds, she’s throwing up all the water. I hold back the clean, wet hair from her neck. I’ll be surprised if her hair ever dries, she hasn’t stopped sweating.
“Thanks,” she says, spitting into the toilet.
We go through a couple more rounds, and I make sure the glass stays full and rub her back as she heaves. When her bout of nausea wanes, she sits on the floor and leans against the bathtub.
“So, you’re my brother’s neighbor, then?”
“It would appear so.”
“Are you fucking him?”
“No.”
“Do you want to fuck him?”
“No.” Not one hundred percent true. I wouldn’t mind taking that dick for a spin, but I loathe the person it’s attached to.
“Then why are you helping me?”
“Because I didn’t want you to die. And I didn’t want you to shit or barf in my hallway.”
We stare at each other for a minute and then both chuckle a little. She must feel a bit better.
“’K’.” She pauses. “I think I’m done throwing up for now.”
I hold out a clean set of pajamas. “Put these on. Let me get you a toothbrush.” I’ll be impressed if she actually brushes her teeth, I’m sure every tooth aches.
The taste in her mouth must be pretty bad, because she does it. She’s tender with her gums but brushes every inch of her mouth. Under her tongue, over her tongue, the roof of her mouth, inside her cheeks. It’s probably been a while. Poor kid. As she cleans, she begins shivering, and her cold sweat intensifies.
We spend the next four to five hours switching between hot sweats, cold sweats, chills, vomiting, and diarrhea. She’s being put through hell, and her body is barely holding it together. I’ve had to do a load of laundry since we’ve gone through so many changes of clothes and towels. She’s fighting it, and I want to hope that this time will be the last, but the only reason she’s detoxing is because she hasn’t been able to buy anything. I don’t know if that’s because she’s pawned her phone and can’t reach her dealer, or if she’s out of money.
“Think you could sleep?”
“Not really.” Kyle used to detox all night. He was exhausted, but the insomnia was no joke. “But could I lay down and rest?”
“Yeah, let me get the bed ready.” The guest bedroom doesn’t have any furniture, so she’ll have to rest in mine.
I grab extra sheets for my bed, in case we have any bodily fluids go rogue. As I add the sheets, all I want to do is climb into the bed myself. The birds are chirping outside, and the sun is coming up. It’ll be a while before I can fall asleep again. She stands around my room while I get it ready. I was hoping she would have stayed in the bathroom so I could move the money from under my bed, but I can’t get it out now without her seeing my hiding spot. I usher her into the bed so she can stretch out, then I go back to the bathroom and start cleaning. Once everything sparkles again—and doesn’t smell like death—I change my clothes.
Now that there’s finally a lull, I need to get a hold of Rhys. If it were my sister, I’d want to know. Unfortunately, I don’t have his number. Because I deleted it and threw away his note. Like an idiot.
When I walk back into the bedroom to ask Anna for his number, I’m stunned to see her sleeping. At least her eyes are closed. I can’t wake her, that would be cruel. She needs rest. I’ll have to reach out to Lonan.
