Page 49 of Never To Suffer

CHAPTER 22

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MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE

I flushthe toilet and move to the sink, washing my hands before I scoop water into my mouth and over my face. They should offer me a seat in here for the rest of the flight, considering we’re only halfway there and I’ve already emptied my guts twice. I don’t even want to imagine what this would have been like if we’d taken a commercial flight instead of the company jet.

When I get back to my seat, Dad and one of his people are going through a contract while his assistant types up notes and emails as they go. Part of me thinks that’s contributing to the air sickness, but that sounds too stupid to say out loud. I head toward the back, grabbing a bottle of water on the way to the couch I’ve been occupying since we got in the air. My phone vibrates.

Beetle

How’s the flight? You’re almost there, right?

Xander: Nope. And if I hurl again, it’s going to be intestines.

Beetle

Did you take that stuff I got for you?

I swear under my breath and grab my backpack, digging through the pouch of stuff Dani makes up when I go on these trips. She used to do herbal remedies, but when I almost ended up detained for drug smuggling, she got the hint to only send commercially available stuff. About a dozen types of tea, those cheese crackers I like, candied ginger, and some over-the-counter meds. I pop open the tube and take the recommended dose before I chew on a couple pieces of ginger. If they don’t help, at least it gives me something to throw up.

Forgot, but just took some.

Beetle

The tea with the purple tags will help, too.

Okay. I miss you.

Beetle

We miss you, too!

Is it weird I’m already saying ‘we’?

Is it weird if I say no, because it kind of feels right for once?

Beetle

It does, huh? Speaking of, how’s the guy you were going to tell me all about?

I send her the screen shot from our chat after I got on the plane. A list of affirmations, a link to a new fantasy book he bought me, and he called mebabyat least three times. Reading over it again, and knowing Dani’s reading it too, hasthe butterflies trying to drunkenly flap around in my desolate hellscape of a stomach.

Beetle

You know, maybe four…also feels right. I’m glad someone else finally told you you’re fucking worth it.

I smile and open the photos from earlier, flipping back and forth between the ones of Skylar and Dani, and to the one of Theo and me. Could this work? The four of us? Should I even consider that possibility with a guy I’ve just met? Are we asking for too much? Asking for this to implode by adding another to the mix?

This will hurt so much if it doesn’t work. Either of them.

A small part of me hoped a few hours into the flight, Theo would fade away and become another notch in my bedpost. Instead, we’ve been texting, exchanging pictures, and even talking about how much I hate traveling. I haven’t said anything yet, but I want to ask him out, on a date. Between trips to the bathroom, I’ve been looking up restaurants, knowing this trip will get me a decent paycheck. Dani won’t mind if I take enough out of it for a date.

Skylar. Theo. They’re both too right to be wrong. But the newness of both of them could have us all so turned around they drive us over the cliff and into stupid mistakes we’ll regret later, because I barely know Theo, and who knows what version of Skylar we’re getting. I didn’t bring Skylar up to Theo yet, either. How could I?

Hey, I think I like you and all, but there’s this guy I’ve been craving for years, and he’s railing my girlfriend so she’s bringing him home. Cool, huh?

It’s crazy, but so are we. It’s also something I can’t do much about clear across the ocean. I curl up in my hoodie Dani wears more than I do, and a shirt from Theo’s closet, letting their scents come together and carry me off to sleep. Hopefully, I can stay asleep this time.

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