CHAPTER FIFTEEN
KIM
My stomach felt like a pit of angry eels. Maybe that three-day-old tuna salad sandwich I had for lunch hadn't been the best idea. I thought that tuna salad held for longer than that. I usually put pickle juice in mine. Wasn't that supposed to preserve it for longer? Perhaps it was the eggs going bad. The eggs I used had been about to expire. Whatever the case, I was catching hell for eating that sandwich, and I wasn't sure how much longer it would be before it made a reappearance.
Thinking I should flush it out of me before power vomiting took over, I sneaked out of the classroom and headed to the bathroom. Even after offering my stomach contents to the porcelain Goddess, I didn't feel much better. Not to mention that wasn't the only end it was coming out of. Son of a bitch, I gave myself food poisoning. This was not going to get better anytime soon.
With a groan, I submitted defeat, scooping up my backpack and heading out to my car. Hopefully, I could make it home before another round of nausea or the squirts hit me. I was all caught up in my last class, so missing it wouldn't kill me.
My foot pushed the pedal to the metal as I tried to get home as quickly as possible. It was only a short distance from the college to the condo, but I didn't trust my body to last even five minutes without the tuna craps hitting me again.
When I pulled into the condo parking lot, I noticed that a red Mazda Miata was sitting outside along with a bunch of work trucks. It wasn't until I got close enough to see the stickers on the bumper that I realized it was Tammy's. My mind couldn't figure out why she would be visiting Dominick when she knew I wasn't there. Maybe she had planned to surprise me?
I made a mad dash to the front door, only to be stopped outside by the sound of raised voices within. Tammy was practically yelling at Dominick, telling him that we weren't right together. He growled back to her that it wasn't for her to decide. Oh, no, this was bad.
I shoved my key into the keyhole before figuring out that the door wasn't locked. Then I stepped inside, ignoring my churning bowels to throw myself between the man I loved and the woman who was my sister.
“Kim,” they both said at the same time, obviously shocked to see me.
“Stop fighting.” I furrowed my brows at them as if I was talking down to two children. They were both sitting on the edge of the loveseats, their bodies rigid.
“We're not fighting,” Dominick said, trying to look calm.
“I can't bless this marriage.” Tammy shook her head, emotionally frazzled.
“Why not?” I asked, my heart sinking, a new sickness taking over me.
“You two aren't right for each other. You're just too stupid and blind to see it,” she insisted.
“Tammy,” I sighed. “I told you already, you don't have to like it, you just have to accept it.”
“I can't accept it. No, I won't accept it,” she told me with a huff, standing, her arms wrapped protectively around herself. “I'm sorry, Kim, but if you're going to marry him, then I won't be at the wedding. It would be a waste of my time.” Tammy stomped past me.
I turned to watch her leave, and when the door shut behind her, all I could do was run to the bathroom with tears streaming down my face. Dominick followed, but I slammed the door before he could get in, locking it behind myself, and pulling my pants and underwear down to sit on the toilet and cry. How embarrassing and miserable. I was depressed and sick.
“Kim, are you alright?” Dominick asked on the other side of the door.
The horrid sound my body made in reply told him otherwise.
“I'm sick. I'll be out in a second,” I called back to him.
I sighed as I heard his footsteps walking towards the living room, and my stomach gurgled in approval. This was going to take awhile. The suffering of my body and mind collided as I stayed in the bathroom, sobbing and thinking and shitting. What a combination. Tammy had sounded pissed, and I couldn't help but wonder what all they had talked about before I arrived. She had been sneaky. This obviously was planned. Come over to speak to Dominick while I wasn't home and try to convince him not to marry me. I was sure that was what she had in mind. What a bitch. Could my sister really be so selfish and petty as to go behind my back? I truly couldn't understand why she hated the idea of our relationship. Her fears were understandable, but this was going too far.
Finally, my body settled and I was able to emerge from the bathroom with a shameful look on my face. You'd think that after living with Dominick for a year, it wouldn't bother us to be sick around each other. Maybe it was the circumstances that made me feel so bad about it.
“You guys fought,” I said stupidly as I rounded the corner with my arms wrapped around myself as if I was trying to keep the sickness at bay.
“You lied to me about her approving,” he replied, his voice tense.
“I didn't lie to you. I thought she had approved of it, or at least accepted it.”
“That doesn't appear to be the case.”
I sat down gingerly across from him, not wanting to be too close in case the bubbles in my stomach decided to turn to gas. What I left in the bathroom required large amounts of Febreze to cover up. The last thing I wanted to do was gas Dominick when he was already upset, not that he would have really cared. We farted around each other all the time. It was proof of our comfort together. Still, it didn't seem quite appropriate at the moment.
“What was she saying to you?” I asked.
“What wasn't she saying to me is a better question,” he sighed.
“Probably all the same things she said to me when I went over to her place.”
“Probably. It doesn't matter though. We're going to get married. That is, if you still want to marry me.” Dominick gave me a sad look, as if he half expected me to say no.
“Of course, I still want to marry you. We have a long engagement. A year. That should give her time to come around. She has to come around,” I sniffled.
“What if she doesn't?”
I shrugged. “She'll come around.”
Dominick pressed his lips together, not satisfied with my answer, but he didn't ask me any further questions. To my horror, he crossed the space between us and sat next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder to rub it affectionately.
“Sick,” I murmured.
“I don't care. Part of loving someone is taking care of them, and part of taking care of them is being close to them.”
I swooned slightly from his words, resting my head on his shoulder. He was right for me, whether Tammy liked it or not. No man would ever be better for me. I had to make her see that. I just had to.