Page 12 of The Best Kind of Forever
It’s true, she would’ve gotten along great with Aeris. Aeris might be small in stature, but she commands the attention of the room like a big shot. Sherry valued authenticity in a person. She said it was something inherent, and she could sniff out an ingenuine disposition after just one interaction.
If you’d told me that some drunk chick at a bar would get me to open up about my mother, I would’ve never believed you. I never talk about her. Whenever I think about my mom, I think about the fact that she went the one place I couldn’t follow. It’s nice that, for once, I can acknowledge her without the subsequent grief that always follows.
“Your mother…I would’ve…She sounds—”
Aeris’ words are cut off by something, but I’m too distracted to notice that she’s come to a shaky halt. Once I note the lack of a small person by my side, I turn around and quickly sprint back to her, holding her by both her arms.
“What’s wrong? Why did you stop?” My heart and breath seem to be operating in the wrong rhythm.
She looks a lot paler than she did back at the bar. Her lips part, and the last thing I expect her to do is burp in my face. It seems to startle her, and I have to stifle a laugh.
“I’m so sorry,” she says in a rush, her lower lip quivering, her hands covering her face.
I gently move her hands away, using my index finger to lift her chin up. Her red-rimmed eyes are as large as discs, and they swim with water. “You’re fine. You’re okay. Do you want me to carry you the rest of the way?”
She shakes her head, hugging her arms around her midsection.
“It’s really no big deal. I think I can see your house from here.”
“I don’t…” I watch her throat work as she swallows, and then I hear her stomach emit a loud gurgle.
My tone is steeped with alarm. “Aeris, are you okay?”
That ivory pallor of hers has turned into a concerning shade of green.
Oh, shit.
I try to move her toward the bushes as quickly as I can without making her dizzy, but we barely make it a few steps before she throws up all over me.
STUCK BETWEEN A COCK AND A HARD PLACE
AERIS
I’ve officially hit rock bottom.
This is the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to me. Hayes should’ve left me at the bar to die.
I’m hunched over the bushes in the middle of the sidewalk, emptying the contents of my stomach from the last twenty-four hours. Hayes rubs soothing circles on my back, even holding my hair out of my face. Oncoming torrents of sweat drench my skin, and rivulets of half-digested food expel from me, splattering the patchy grass.
It takes me forever to finish retching, but when I do, I can barely even look at Hayes. His white shirt is a motley shade of brown, and it’s already starting to smell.
Worry teeters on the precipice of my hyperactive mind. “I’m so sorry. Oh my God. I can’t believe I just did that,” I cry, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. “I’ll buy you a new shirt, I promise—”
Concern rings in his voice. “Aeris, it’s okay. Now, I’m going to repeat what I asked you, okay?”
Once the nausea starts to subside and the dizziness becomes manageable, I nod obediently.
“Are you feeling fine, or do you need me to carry you the rest of the way?”
“I can walk.”
“Okay,” Hayes says, his fingers still placating me with their gentle eddying on my back.
Once we make it to my doorstep, Hayes idles behind me, like he’s a vampire that needs to be invited inside.
With the door still open, I gesture for him to come inside.
He doesn’t move.
