Page 101 of Unspoken Hearts
I walk over to her, touching her face again and pursing my lips. “You’re not hot. Do you feel okay?”
“Yeah,” she lets out, falling onto the couch. Delly hands her a glass of water. “I don’t know what happened. I was eating, and then—” Her hand covers her mouth, and I brace myself to run again. Laynie shakes her head, swallowing. “I’ll be fine.”
My eyes meet Delly’s over the top of the bench, and she can see how concerned I am. “Why don’t you try sleeping? That helps me when I feel sick.” Laynie looks at me, and I nod. “Go if you want. I can finish cleaning on my own.”
“I’m so sorry.” I can tell she means it.
I walk over and get on my knees again, holding onto her cold hands. “Don’t be. If you’re sick, we can do this another night. I’d rather you rest up.”
“Okay, thanks,” she murmurs. She gets up again and disappears into her bedroom.
Delly looks at me, and I give her a twisted smile. “I’ll stay with her tonight, just in case.”
“Do you want me to stay, too?”
I shrug. “It’s up to you, but I can handle her on my own. Hopefully she just sleeps now.”
“Okay, but text me if anything happens and I’ll be here.”
“Thanks.”
I hug Delly goodbye, and go back to cleaning up everything in the kitchen. I try to finish watching the movie when I hear Laynie again. Rushing into her bathroom, I find her in the same position, only dry wrenching this time. I hold her and rub her back until she sits up, resting her head against mine.
Feeling like a dead weight, I help Laynie into bed again. Grabbing some water and medicine, I leave it on her bedside and make sure her door is slightly ajar in case she’s up again.
I pull out my phone.
Grayson answers my call within a few rings. “Missing me at girls' night, aren’t you?” he says smugly.
I roll my eyes before telling him about Laynie.
“Is she okay?” I hear the panic in his tone.
“Yes, she’s fine. She’s sleeping now, but I’m going to stay here with her for the night in case she needs me.”
“Does she need any medicine?” I hear him scrambling.
“No, I have it.”
“Does it sound like food poisoning? A stomach bug?”
My mouth opens but nothing comes out. I shake my head. “Maybe food poisoning. She’s not feverish, though.”
“Sounds like it.” I hear Holden’s voice through the speaker.
That makes my pulse settle a fraction. “You think?”
“Yeah. Aspen had it recently from fish,” Holden says.
“Okay, so what do I do then?”
Holden takes a few seconds to think. “Water, cold compress and sleep. It’ll wear off eventually, but you just have to let it pass.”
“Did you eat the same thing, M?” Grayson’s voice is back on the phone.
“Yeah, both Delly and I did, but only Laynie is sick.”
“Hmm,” he hums a little distantly. “Maybe it was her lunch?”
