Stomach emptied for the moment, I sat back and leaned my head against the coolness of the bathtub. My eyes closed of their own volition, the exhaustion weighing heavily on even that part of my poor abused body.

I heard the bathroom door open and barely got my eyes open before I heard Emma’s no-nonsense voice barking orders to me and…Chloe? I think that’s who was standing behind her. What was she wanting me to do? Get dressed? Pshaw. Yeah, right.

Half an hour later found me sulking in the passenger seat of Emma’s car, taking turns glaring at Emma who was driving, and Chloe, who was sitting in the backseat. I had my arms wrapped tight around my bathroom trashcan which, thankfully, I hadn’t had to use yet.

“Glare at me all you want, you little asshat. You’re going to the doctor and that’s that,” Emma said firmly.

I growled at her. She rolled her eyes. And kept driving my unhappy ass to the doctor.

Two hours later, prescriptions in hand and silence reigning, we pulled into my driveway. Home sweet home! Thankfully, the shot the doctor gave me helped immensely with the nausea, and the prescription should help keep it away.

Emma wanted to stay but I wouldn’t let her, and after she finally left, Chloe kept watching me like I was about to pass out on her until I finally shooed her away, too. She left me and went to the store to relieve my mom. Everyone else was gone, too, so I blessedly had the house to myself. It felt nice to be able to relax without throwing up every five minutes, and I took full advantage and scarfed down a few crackers with some 7Up. Yeah, it’s not gourmet, but it’s more than I’d been able to actually keep down in a while and it tasted pretty fuckin’ good to me. And yes, that warranted the strong wording. Trust me.

I managed to sleep for most of the day until Chloe came back. I looked at my phone and saw that Emma had texted me, as did Brandon, Jackson, my mom, and my Nanny had called three times.

I sighed and started texting everyone back, waiting to call my Nanny until I was done.

“Minnie’s pool hall, eight ball speaking!”

Yep. That’s my Nanny. Cantankerous and crazy. Bodes well for me in my old age, huh?

“Hey, Nanny. What are you doing?” I asked her.

“Oh, Allie-girl! How are you feeling?” she asked me.

“Alright. How are you guys doing? I saw you called three times; sorry it took me a while to call you back, but I actually got to sleep today.”

I heard her yelling at my Poppy to turn the damn t.v. down before she answered me. “I only called that many times ‘cause I was checking on you. We’re fine. I suppose. That damn no good doctor said he wants to have my eyes checked for glaucoma. I don’t have no damn glaucoma, and if I did, I told him I wanted some of that wacky weed to smoke. You think he’ll give it to me?” She cackled for a second, breaking off on a cough.

I sighed. “Nanny, you know he isn’t going to give you anything like that, and you don’t need it anyway. You’re loopier than loopy as is!”

“And you’re gonna be just like me when you grow up. You know it and I know it. Now, if we can just get your momma up to par, we’d be good,” she grumbled.

“What’s wrong with Mom?” I asked.

“Well, nothing’s wrong with her…she just says that I’m on her nerves. I can’t help it if she says she’ll be here to get me and it takes twenty minutes. She lives ten minutes away, so what’s the hold up? You know I gotta get home and take my pills.” She harrumphed. “Damn kids anyway. Carry ‘em your body for nine goddamn long months and they give you nothing but hemorrhoids and heartache.”

I rolled my eyes, thankful she couldn’t see me ‘cause it would have gotten me slapped. “Alright, Nanny, I’m gonna go lay down again, while I can. I’ll check back in with you soon, okay?”

“Okay, Allie-girl. I love you!” she crooned in her gravelly voice.

“Love you, too, Nanny. Bye.”

I hung up the phone on a rueful laugh and settled myself onto the couch in the living room with a fresh glass of 7Up and a few crackers. Maybe if I managed not to be sick again for a while, I’d move up to chicken noodle soup. Or maybe a Big Mac. That sounded pretty good, too.

I was half asleep on the couch watching the end of some sappy, sobby Lifetime movie when Chloe came back home. I blinked at the clock, astonished to see that it was almost seven. I grabbed my phone and looked at it to see if I’d missed any more calls; nothing.

I sat up as Chloe walked toward me, her hand automatically reaching for my forehead.

“I don’t have a fever. Haven’t even been sick since the doctor gave me that shot,” I told her.

“Good. Then we won’t have to drag you back to the doctor again,” she said smartly. “Have you heard from my brother? I thought he’d be home by now.”

I shook my head. “He texted earlier, said he had to go to Cincy to handle some paperwork.”

“Well, he’ll be home soon, then. Brandon?” she asked.

“He texted, too, said he was working late. Why?”

She shrugged. “Just wondered if I needed to fix dinner or whatever. Did you eat?”

I rolled my eyes at her and sighed. “Yes, mother, I did. Some 7Up and some crackers.”

She smacked my thigh lightly and scolded, “Don’t you roll your eyes at me, young lady!”

We both laughed,

but I could see the relief plain as day in her face. I guess I scared her being so sick like that.

“You know, Chloe, I haven’t really had a chance to thank you for everything you’ve done while I’ve been sick. So thanks…you know, for taking care of me and my store. And…well, just everything.”

She nodded and smiled at me. “It’s okay. Actually, I should be the one thanking you for opening your home to me and giving me a job. I know I’ve said it before, but I still don’t think I’ve said it enough. You really have made me feel like I’m family.”

“You are,” I said simply.

She smiled at me and we spoke about lighter things for a while before I started to feel sick again. I groaned and she jumped up, running out of the room. She came back almost immediately with an ice cold glass of water and my nausea pill, but she still pushed my little trashcan closer to me, just in case.

Miraculously, I staved off the sickness long enough for the pill to kick in and by the time Brandon walked in the door, I was feeling a little bit more like myself.

He came toward me, a look of surprise sweeping across his face. “Holy shit! You’re up off the bathroom floor…and you look alive!” he said, grinning.

I crossed my arms and pretended to glare at him, giving up and laughing with him as he leaned in and kissed my forehead.

Chloe asked Brandon, “Did you get something to eat?”

He nodded. “Yeah, Emma picked up some food from Griff’s for us since we were booked solid, and still had walk-ins. Luckily they were all for piercing, because we’ve been so crazy busy that we’ve had to stop doing walk in tattoos. Need an appointment for ink, now.”

“Look at you, big, bad, busy tattoo-man,” I said, teasingly.

Now it was his turn to pretend to glare at me but it didn’t last long. Instead, he kissed me on the forehead again and went to change. He came back shortly wearing basketball shorts and nothing else. Sick or not, that still made my pulse pick up and my body flush with heat.