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She leaned back in the pillows sucking in a breath as a burst of pain bloomed at her temples. She swallowed hard, trying to ignore it as a residual symptom. She refocused her energy, wondering how Grant’s work was going. She considered sending a text, but as she shifted to reach for her phone, a wave of nausea swept over her.

She squeezed her eyes closed with a moan.

“Juju?” Alicia asked.

She pressed a hand to her forehead. “I’m okay.”

“You sure?” Kyle asked.

She tried to nod, but the movement took away any relief she’d felt after eating. Her stomach rebelled, twisting with a sharp pain. Nausea rolled over her in waves as she broke out into a cold sweat.

She opened her eyes to find worried faces staring back at her. Before she could offer them any reassurance, she clamped a hand over her mouth and rushed into the bathroom.

Alicia followed, twisting her hair into a makeshift ponytail with her fingers as she emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

She wiped at her mouth with a shaky hand before she flicked away a tear that had fallen.

“Easy, sis. You okay?”

Julia swallowed hard as she started to nod before she turned it into a shake of her head and hovered over the toilet again. She slouched back onto her rear, appreciating the cool tiles below her as she sucked in deep breaths.

“Okay, better,” she said.

“Not by much,” Alicia said. “You’re still pale.”

Julia attempted a weak smile. “I just…I think if I lie down,” she whispered.

“Okay, let’s get you back into bed.” Alicia rose and wrapped her fingers around Julia’s arm.

“Oh, wait, wait. Before I climb into bed, I just…want to brush my teeth.”

“Seriously?” Alicia asked.

“Yes, seriously. I want this disgusting taste out of my mouth,” Julia said with a wince.

“All right,” Alicia said as she tugged Julia to stand.

She leaned against the marble countertop, her knees weak. She squeezed toothpaste onto the toothbrush and swished it around in her mouth with a mechanical motion.

When she’d finished, Alicia helped her back to bed amidst a sea of concerned faces.

“I don’t like this, Julia,” Kyle said.

“Noted,” she answered with a sigh as she crawled into bed. “Let me just get some sleep, and we’ll see how I am in the morning, okay?”

“Something wrong?” Grant’s voice asked. She twisted to find him tugging his tie from around his neck as he hovered in the door.

“No,” she said when Sierra launched into an explanation as she scrambled from the bed.

“Daddy, thank goodness you’re here! Julia is sick. And she’s getting worse.”

“I’m not getting worse,” Julia insisted. “I just…the food didn’t agree with me. Maybe it was too much.”

“It wasn’t too much,” Kyle said. “She’s sick. Something’s not right.”

“People get sick, Kyle. I just need some rest.” Pain shot through her stomach again, and she slid her eyes closed.

“Julia,” Grant said as he pushed past Alicia to take her hand, “maybe we should take this more seriously.”