Page 36 of Fall With Me
I moan, holding my stomach.
“Chloe? Are you okay?”
“There’s a reason I hike in Park City and not in the canyons.”
“Uhhh…I hate to state the obvious here, but if you don’t like this drive, why are we considering it as an option?”
“Because it sounds fun and perfect for fall.” Bile shoots to the back of my throat. We’re close to our destination, but I’m not sure I’m going to make it. I moan again. “I’m carsick. Pull over.”
“There’s no shoulder on this stretch.” Dawson’s eyes dart from me to the road. “As soon as I can, I will.”
Closing my eyes, I continue the slow breaths that do nothing to ease my nausea.
My elbow gets knocked off the middle console. I crack an eye open. Dawson points inside the console.
“Can I help?” What exactly I think I can do is beyond me.
“There’s a blue vomit bag, like the kind at the hospital, in there. I bought them for our road trip home in July in case Finn needed it.”
Bless this man for being a prepared father. I sort through papers, napkins, straws, car chargers, sunglasses, and a few other odds and ends. At the very bottom, I find the item I so desperately need. And just in time too.
The second my hot hands get a hold of the blessed plastic, my stomach heaves. My nose runs and tears gather in my eyes. Another wave hits and this time, puke comes out. The smell is overpowering, to the point it makes me vomit again.
“Hang on, Chlo. There’s a parking lot ahead.”
My answer is stomach bile joining the other nasty contents in the blue bag. Tears and snot stream down my face. My limbs shake, my throat burns, a nasty taste coats my tongue, and all I want is to crawl in a hole at the earth’s core and never come out again. I can’t believe I barfed in front of Dawson.
Humiliation stings my cheeks.
Dawson stops in the parking lot, throws the car in park, rolls the windows down, then jumps out of the car like it’s on fire.
He may want to burn it after this. The stench is awful.
Grabbing the napkins from the console, I swipe at my face.
Dawson throws my door open, helping me get out of the car. The fresh air feels amazing on my skin. “I’m incredibly sorry and super embarrassed. Any chance we can pretend this didn’t happen?”
Dawson’s hand rubs circles on my back. “Unfortunately, it’s seared into my memory. But trust me, this isn’t the first or last time I’ll deal with a puking person. At least you got it in the bag, unlike Finn.”
“That’s why your car looks brand new? Finn threw up on your drive to Utah?”
He nods. “I try to keep it clean, but yeah, we found out that long drives and Finn don’t get along so well.”
And lucky for me, I got to be the one to remind him of that. “Your idea to skip this as an option has merit.” I search for a garbage can but don’t see one anywhere.
“Can I get you your water bottle and some gum?”
I throw a hand over my mouth. How bad does my breath smell? “Yep,” I squeak. It’s a good thing this isn’t a date and I’m not trying to get a kiss at the end of the night.
Dawson grabs my reusable bottle and thrusts it at me. I take a swig, swish it around my mouth, then spit in some nearby bushes. Ugh. Puking is nasty.
“Do you see a trash can anywhere?” I’m so done holding the blue bag.
Dawson searches the parking lot like I did. He shakes his head. “No, but I have a few empty grocery bags in my trunk. We can put it in there until we find a dumpster.”
Dawson must be a boy scout. Prepared for anything and everything. “Dawson?”
“Yeah?” he asks, popping his trunk.
