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“Bon voyage, then, and I’ll see you in the morning.”
With that, Nox watched Nelson get in his Continental and drive off, then armed the security system before heading to the study to top off his drink. Nox had no concerns for himself, as far as the rest of his evening was concerned. He was feeling drowsy and relaxed thanks to a full belly and several fingers of good Irish whiskey. He decided to pour himself a few more before heading upstairs, looking forward to a long, hot soak in the tub to melt away what was left of his terrible day.
“Who knows… I might be able to find a little joy while I’m in there,” Nox murmured as he recalled how dashing Nelson had looked earlier.
Eleven
The awful gnawing feeling began as soon as Nelson started the Continental and put the car in drive. It was a burn in his gut that made his stomach sour so he had popped two antacids and hoped for the best. But he was nauseous and his head was pounding when he pulled into his spot at his apartment complex twenty minutes later.
He leaned forward and looked up at his building through the windshield, momentarily disoriented by the sound of drums. The car grew hot and he was flushed and dizzy and he could smell smoke and juniper.
Come back to me, Uaithne.
“This has to stop!” He squeezed his eyes shut, ignoring the heat thrumming in his veins and the anxious hunger building in his core. The need to rush back to Nox and make sure he was safe and content was immense. “I’ll make sure he’s okay and then I’ll be fine,” he told himself, taking out his phone and finding Nox’s number.
He hit send and listened as it rang several times. He pulled his phone away from his ear and checked to make sure he had dialed the correct number. “Why aren’t you answering?” He put the phone back to his ear and his heart rate accelerated as he waited for Nox to answer.
“Nelson?” Nox sounded wary when he finally picked up.
Nelson didn’t understand why he was so relieved or excited to hear his voice. “Everything okay?” He asked quickly.
“Everything’s fine… You just left. I haven’t even made it upstairs yet, but I was thinking about taking a bath myself.”
“Good. That sounds…” Safe? “Good. Just wanted to make sure everything’s okay. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”
“Sounds like a plan. Talk to you in the morning. Goodnight, Nelson.”
“Night, Nox,” he said, then hung up.
Nelson stared at his phone in his hand and forced out a long slow breath. The pounding in his head and his veins hadn’t subsided. His hands were sweating as he shut off the car, then gathered his tea and his coat. He hadn’t seen his apartment since Friday morning, but Nelson felt like he’d aged decades as he rode the elevator up to the sixth floor and turned toward his door.
Come back to me, Uaithne.
The hand holding the key was shaking as Nelson pushed it into the lock and let himself in. He stretched his neck and gave his head a shake, but still heard Nox’s voice ringing in his ears.
“Tea,” he told himself, recalling Nox’s promise that it would be just the thing.
Nelson left his keys on the kitchen counter, heading to his bedroom to deposit the day’s suit on the dry cleaning pile. After that, he looked up directions for making tea on his phone.
Not having a kettle was only a minor setback, but Nelson didn’t have a strainer so he added two heaping spoons of the loose mix to a mug of water and microwaved it for sixty seconds. The directions said to let the mixture steep for five minutes so Nelson used the time to take a hot shower and change into a fresh T-shirt and boxers. It wasn’t exactly as Nox had prescribed, but Nelson got as close as he was capable because he was desperate.
The water hadn’t been hot enough and Nelson was shivering when he got out, despite the red welts on his skin and the steam that had filled the bathroom. All he could hear was pounding as he thought of Nox and wondered if he was alright and if it was a mistake to leave him alone. Nelson’s heartbeat slammed in his ears, matching the dull, but persistent thump of the drums.
Nelson’s head ached and the sour knot in his stomach hurt; he was so anxious as he padded back into the kitchen for the tea. He didn’t have honey or sugar so Nelson sipped it plain, ignoring the bits of herbs that hadn’t settled to the bottom as he gulped it down. The tea was mildly bitter and floral, as Nox had warned, but it was pleasantly lemony and peppery as well. Nelson decided it was fine.
His stomach on the other hand… “No!” He choked out, locking his jaw and hanging onto his stomach when it threatened to reject. He breathed through his nose until the wave of dizzy queasiness passed, telling himself that Nox wasn’t in any danger and to give the tea a chance to kick in. “I’ll check on him while I’m waiting.”
Nelson set his phone on the counter and hunkered over it. He tapped at the screen and waited through several rings while his blood pressure skyrocketed. Finally, Nox answered. “Hey! Everything okay, Nelson?” He asked loudly, sounding breathless.
“Are you okay? It took a long time for you to answer.”
“I was just stepping into the tub and almost didn’t answer, but I had a feeling it was you.”
“Right. Your bath. I took a shower and drank my tea.”
“Great!” Nox stated, then cleared his throat. “Now, go lay down and give it some time to work. Maybe read something relaxing,” he suggested.
Nelson looked around him and frowned. He had many books. They were about all he had in his apartment, aside from a sofa, a bed, and a stool in the kitchen. Nelson installed a new shelf whenever he ran out of space and they had filled the walls and the hallway to his bedroom, but very few of his books were what he’d consider relaxing.
