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“I talked to Amelia, and she feels that you need aweekoff.” I narrow my eyes at Mark as he puts his hands up in surrender. “Before you get pissy, she approached me. She said, and I quote, ‘She’s working too damn hard, and I can’t have one of my best performers dying from exhaustion.’ Amelia told me to make you take a full week off.”
“Great,” I grumble and throw up my hands. “Now everyone is gonna think I can’t hack it. Singers go through this shit all the time.”
“No one thinks you can’t fucking hack it,” Mark argues. “You’ve been going for months without a break.”
Kyle hands me a bottle of water, which I gulp down greedily. Before I know it, half the bottle is gone, making me realize just how thirsty I am. I move to sit on the loveseat that’s used as a prop for one of the showgirls and bury my face in my hands. The cushion next to me dips, and I peek through my hands to see Kyle next to me.
“Sorry Apple,” Kyle apologizes. “I shouldn’t push. I’m kinda tired myself. Might be a good idea for all of us to take a couple of days and regroup. Hell, might even make us sound better.”
I bump my shoulder into his. “No problem. I guess I’m more tired than I thought. I’m not normally this bitchy.”
Mark coughs to cover his chuckle, but he can’t contain the full belly laugh that escapes a second later. “Yeah, she only gets bitchy if you try to swipe her coffee,” he pushes out when he composes himself. “So basically, every morning.”
“I only get bitchy when I walk away for a second and mine’s been swiped by a giant asshole,” I snap. “You can make your own damn coffee.”
“Alright children, back to your corners,” Kyle jokes. “It’s Saturday… Well, Sunday now. How about we meet again next Saturday to practice?”
“Perfect. Ten in the morning, work?” I ask.
“Works for me. I’ll see ya then.” Kyle stands and offers me his hand to help me up. “Get some rest.”
After I settle my hand in his, Kyle yanks me to my feet and gives me a quick peck on the cheek before leaving.
I turn toward Mark. “So, where we going?”
“Let’s go pack a bag and sleep under the stars.”
“Sounds heavenly.”
Since it's two in the morning we both decide to go back to the room to take a nap before we leave on our little mini vacation. Mark wakes up refreshed but I'm still dragging as we each pack a bag and grab some snacks from the convenience store down the road before we head out of town. Mark does a search on his phone and finds a place we’ve never stayed at before, so we decide to make our way to Stone Mountain Campground. I let Mark drive, and I fall asleep before we even get to the end of the strip.
I’m not sure how long I sleep, but a violent coughing fit wakes me up. My throat is on fire, and my stomach is really queasy.
Mark looks over at me right before I yell, “Pull over!”
He pulls Stella to the side of the road just in time for me to push open the passenger door and slide down on my knees to the pavement. Tiny rocks dig into my flesh, but I ignore the pain as I puke my guts up. I’m still heaving by the time he gets out of the van and makes his way to me.
“What the fuck?” Mark grabs my hair as I vomit again. “Are you okay?”
“I feel like shit.”
When my body finally empties itself, I sit back on my ass and wipe my mouth on my sleeve. Mark rushes to grab a bottle of water out of the van before sitting next to me.
“Maybe we should go back to Vegas,” Mark says as he hands me the water.
“No,” I say and take a drink. “I think it’s just the flu. You were right. I just need some rest. I pushed myself too hard.”
“I think you need to see a doctor.”
“I don’t have insurance, and I’m not wasting any of our money for someone to tell me I’ve got the flu and that I need to rest.” I inhale through my nose and exhale through my mouth as I try to keep the water down. “We have to be close to Stone Mountain by now. I have some cold medicine in my bag. I’ll take some and lie down in the back.”
“Fine, but if you’re not better in a couple days, I’m dragging your ass to the nearest urgent clinic.”
“Deal,” I say, holding out my hand. “Now be a gentleman and help me up.”
“I literally just held your hair so you wouldn’t get fucking puke in it,” he mumbles but grips me under my arms to lift me. “Holy shit Apple, you’re burning up.”
“It’s hot, dumbass.” I groan when he gets me to my feet.
