Page 48 of Uxpectedly Ever After

"You need to go home," she says for at least the tenth time since I clocked in. "You look like death again, and not in a sexy vampire way."

"I'm fine," I lie, even as I grip the edge of the bar to keep from swaying. "Just need to make it through the rush."

But my body has other plans. One moment I'm reaching for a bottle of tequila, and the next, the entire world tilts sideways. A cold sweat breaks out across my forehead, my vision tunnels, and I realize with distant horror that I'm about to pass out.

Navy grabs me by the elbow before I hit the ground and somehow I manage to get my feet back under me. The bottle isn’t so lucky and it smashes to the floor. I don’t even have enoughenergy to care that everyone’s staring. "Nope. That's it. Office. Now."

She practically drags me to the back since I can barely hold myself up, and when we get there, she shoves me in Theo's office chair. I lean forward and put my head between my knees while black and silver spots pop in front of my eyes. The room is spinning so fast there’s a good chance I’ll throw up from the vertigo alone.

If I had anything in my system to throw up.

"I'm calling Banks," she says, already pulling out her phone.

"Don't you dare.” I try to sound intimidating or commanding or whatever, but it comes out as almost a whisper which isn’t helping my case. "He'll just worry."

“Heshouldworry. You’re not okay.”

“I’m fine. I just need a minute.”

Navy ignores me, putting her phone up to her ear. You know it’s bad when she’s making an actual phone call instead of texting. "Hey, you need to come get her. She’s being a stubborn ass and refusing to go home but she almost passed out.” My best friend glares at me. “It was scary and she looks like she’s two seconds away from death. Okay. Yeah. Hurry."

The next twenty minutes pass in a blur of nausea and dizziness and I’m pretty sure I lose consciousness a few times. My forehead rests on Theo’s desk, and I vaguely register Navy forcing me to sip water. It sloshes in my stomach in a gross way, and I doubt it’ll stay down.

There’s the sound of concerned voices around me but I’m too weak and exhausted to care or try to figure out what they’re saying. It all feels like it's happening underwater until a new voice breaks through the haze.

"Clover." Banks is suddenly there, kneeling in front of me, his hands cupping my face and lifting my head so I can look at him but my eyes roll around in my skull and the water starts creepingup the back of my throat. A cold sweat breaks out across my forehead and down my back but I try to give him a smile. I don’t think it works because the fear in his eyes is so intense it hurts to look at him. "Jesus Christ, baby."

"I'm fine," I mumble, though it's obviously the biggest lie I've ever told. "Just need a minute."

"Fuck that." He scoops me up like I weigh nothing, cradling me against his chest. He’s strong, but I’ve also lost a ton of weight. All I know is I’m glad he’s got me, because I don’t think I could walk out of here even if my life depended on it. "I'm taking you to the ER. We’re done doing this your way."

I want to protest, to insist that I can walk, that I don't need to be carried out of my own bar like some fainting damsel. But I'm so tired and sick and dizzy that all I can do is press my face into his neck and breathe in the comforting smell of him. It’s the only thing that’s calmed my stomach in hours.

"It's okay," he whispers against my hair, his voice steadier than his racing heartbeat under my ear. "I've got you."

Half an hour later, we're sitting in Dr. Walker's office instead of the ER after he agreed to meet us when Banks texted him. Since I hate hospitals, this is so much better. As much as I don’t want to admit it, the IV fluids they’ve got me hooked up to are already making me feel more human-like and less like a cave troll.

The room isn’t spinning anymore so I’m calling it a win.

"Hyperemesis gravidarum," Dr. Walker confirms as he walks into the room, looking at my chart with a concerned frown. "It's severe morning sickness that can lead to dehydration and weight loss if left untreated. You've lost five pounds since your last visit, which is concerning at this stage of pregnancy. And do we need to talk about how bad you let the dehydration get before you called me?"

I shift my eyes away because I’m feeling guilty as hell. I didn’t want to admit my failure as a mother, so I made everything worse by not asking for help. And in the end, it wasn’t even me who made the call, it was Banks.

I blink back tears as I glance up at him. He’s going to be such a good dad.

Banks's hand tightens around mine. "What do we do?" The fear in his voice makes me feel even more like a failure than I already do.

"We'll start a different, stronger medication to control the nausea," Dr. Walker explains. "And I strongly recommend reducing your work hours, especially time spent on your feet. Rest is crucial right now, as is staying hydrated."

"What?” The shitty thing about having a little more energy is now I’ve got the ability to panic. And sure enough, I start to go into panic mode thinking about everything I’m going to fall behind on and whether or not I’ll ever be able to make it all up. "But I can't—the bar needs me, and I have finals coming up, and—"

"Clover." Dr. Walker's voice is gentle but firm. "I understand you have responsibilities, but right now, your primary responsibility is to yourself and your baby. Your body is telling you it needs rest."

I slump back against the exam table, defeated. Banks's thumb traces circles on the back of my hand, and focusing on that is the only thing keeping me from bursting into tears.

Dr. Walker asks us to stop by his office once the nurse removes my IV and gives me the all-clear. We follow her down the hallway to a fancy office with a desk buried under all kinds of books and paperwork. Honestly, it’s kind of a mess.

The view is spectacular, though. And the leather couch in here looks overstuffed and soft and I’m tempted to lay down and take a nap. All my muscles ache like the day after that time Itried Pilates, and every time I blink it gets harder to open my eyes.

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