Page 26 of Brandishing Beginnings

I sighed. I had a feeling I was coming down with the something when I woke up that morning, aching all over. Stress had a way of knocking you down though. “Can we go? My head’s killing me.”

“Yeah, of course.” Hunter immediately stood up and I handed him my keys. He had ridden down for the funeral with our friends, so he could easily drive me back to the dorms. He reached out and grabbed my hand, helping me to my feet.

I swayed, unsteady as my vision swam around me. “Wait,” I murmured, gripping his hand. I blinked as my vision went blurry and an aura arched across my eyesight. “Fuck. There’s an aura.” I gripped Hunters hand tighter and slowly sat back down.

“Migraine. We need to get you somewhere dark and quiet,” Hunter said.

“Maya, you good?” Karma asked, from where she was seated next to me. Cool hands reached out and cupped her forehead. “Fuck, girl. You’re burning up.”

“My head’s killing me,” I mumbled, unable to talk loudly. I needed to get out of the restaurant, it was too loud, everything was too loud.

“Come on, let’s get you outside,” Hunter said. He lifted me into his arms, bridal style, and carried me to the door.

Karma scrambled next to us, stopping to say good bye to Kara. Hunter kept moving though, so I only heard Karma say, “Hey girl. We’re gonna go. Maya’s not feeling well.”

By the time Hunter got me outside the restaurant, my stomach was rolling as the nausea settled in. I fucking hated migraines. It had been a long time since I had one, and I’d completely missed the warning signs. Now here I was, unable to see, about to puke my guts up with a pounding head, when I should have been making sure my friend was OK in the aftermath of her mother’s funeral.

“Babe, I’m gonna set you down to unlock the car, OK?” Hunter’s voice was soft and gentle.

I moaned softly, unable to speak. The cool air was working wonders on my blazing skin, but my stomach still rolled. Once Hunter set me down, I immediately squatted down and put my hands on my head. The thought of getting into a moving vehicle and then having to drive for two fucking hours back to the dorms made me queasy.

“Maya, are you OK?” Kara’s voice was soft.

I could only groan. I was going to puke, and soon. Movement behind Kara caught her eye, Marcos, Jason, and Nico had walked out of the restaurant. I moaned and squeezed my eyes shut. I did NOT want them to see me like this.

Karma nudged Kara out of the way and pressed a cool wad of paper towels to my forehead. “Have you taken anything yet?”

“No.” I barely got the word out before her stomach clenched hard and I was expelling my breakfast all over the pavement—Karma and Kara jumping back to avoid being hit. I hadn’t eaten that morning though, so all I threw up was water and coffee. Someone pulled my hair out of the way as my stomach revolted again.

“What’s going on?” my voice was soft and accented, coming from close behind her, as if he was the one holding her hair back.

“She’s got a migraine and fever, said she wasn’t feeling well this morning,” Karma answered.

Tissues and a water bottle were pushed into my hands, and I gratefully wiped my lips and nose before I rinsed out my mouth and spat on the ground again. I reached for another tissue andmopped up my tears and makeup the best I could without a mirror.

“Thanks,” I murmured. I looked up to find Hunter squatting down next to me. “I’m OK.”

“Did that help?” Hunter asked.

“My head’s still killing me, but not as bad. Can we go?”

“Of course.” He nodded and slowly stood up. He reached down and gently helped me to my feet.

I groaned softly as my head swam with the altitude change. Swaying on my feet, someone’s hand landed on my back, between my shoulder blades, to steady me. Looking over my shoulder, I found Marcos there, with a concerned expression on his handsome face. Still annoyed with him, I turned back to Kara and forced a smile on my face, though it was more of a grimace. “Sorry girl. We’re gonna head back to the dorms.”

“No worries at all,” Kara immediately said. “Are you sure you feel up to the drive? You can always go back to my place.”

I shook my head. “I’m OK, promise. I just really want my bed right now.”

“I’ll ride with you guys,” Karma said, glancing at Hunter.

I could feel Jason and Nico’s eyes on me, as I moved away from Marcos. “I’ll text you later,” I said to Kara.

“Sounds good. I hope you feel better.”

Ignoring everyone else, I climbed into the backseat of my Honda Civic and closed the door. Hunter and Karma said their goodbyesto our friends, before they too got in the car. Thankfully, I had already planned on going back to the dorms after the funeral, so my car was packed with my stuff. I grabbed my pillow and arranged the backseat so I could lay down across the bench.

Karma passed me a hoodie from the front seat and I used it as a blanket as Hunter started to pull out of the parking spot. Curling up in the back seat, I closed my eyes and was quickly dead to the world for the drive back to the dorms.

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