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I didn’t miss the way her gaze held on Freddie most of the time. I didn’t blame her; he was gorgeous, but he also didn’t notice her. He wasn’t a snob, just the opposite, actually.
So it just meant she hadn’t been in his thoughts yet. My stomach clenched. I hope she never is.
Wow. That was quite a thought.
Freddie is mine. I rubbed at my eyes, as if I could scrub away the realization. What am I supposed to do with that? They were all mine, at least in my head. It wasn’t going to be so easy to leave them again.
I gritted my teeth. Unless they are really assholes, because then I’ll find a way.
My eyes were starting to drift closed, despite my jealousy. I blinked fast, full of food and comfortable, apparently.
“Hey.” Truett picked me up from behind, and I shrieked. “That wine went right to your head. You’re almost asleep. I’m going to put you to bed.”
Charlie and Oliver grinned at each other. Freddie stared at us with longing in his eyes. “We all will,” he said.
My lips curled into a smile as I imagined it. If they all wanted to take me to bed, that was fine by me. I giggled at how ridiculous it felt to be carried around. I could hear their footsteps behind us on the stairs, which was almost like thunder, which also amused me. I finally stopped giggling when Truett set me down on the bed.
He asked, “Can you dress yourself for bed?”
“I can.” I didn’t want him to change my clothes for me, that was for sure. “Thank you for dinner.”
Oliver leaned over me on the bed. “If you want to sleep in your clothes, you can. There’s no rule that says you have to change if you’re tired. The beautiful thing about self-determination. Also, don’t thank us for dinner. This is your house. Eat all the food you want, but tomorrow, we’ll give you half a glass of wine.”
I giggled again. That sounded like a good idea.
I closed my eyes.
Sometime later, I woke up. Moonlight streaked through the opened window shades, but that wasn’t what woke me. My stomach hurt.
I rolled over. It almost felt like when I got my period, but much, much worse. My stomach cramped, and I jumped out of the bed to run for the bathroom. Oh, boy. I will never drink wine again, I swear it, not if it did this to me.
I puked, which was my least favorite thing in the world to do. I puked and puked and puked. It went on for hours. After a time, I decided it couldn’t possibly be the wine. If I had my herbs, perhaps I could’ve done something, but I didn’t. They were…being brought to me.
Strong hands gripped me from behind. I didn’t know who it was, but I stopped him from lifting me up. I had to be over the toilet. It wasn’t over yet. I could feel it. My stomach still rebelled from whatever had made me sick.
Next to me, Freddie squatted. “I came to check on you. I’m glad I did. What is making you this sick?”
He was pale, and his hand stayed on my back. I didn’t know, but I was in no state to explain. Across my vision, I could see the creature, the red one with horns from my ritual. His face kept appearing before me.
“You’re asleep, and you don’t know it. Surely there can’t be anything left for you to throw up. Come on.” Freddie picked me up and carried me over to the bed.
I tried to speak and finally found my words. “He’s watching me.”
“No one is watching you. You’re just sick.”
I lifted my head slightly as he lay down next to me, drawing me against him. “Is it because that thing bit me?”
“I’ve been bitten by them a lot. It’s not that. You’re just sick. We’ll figure it out tomorrow.”
Okay. That sounded good. I closed my eyes. Darkness took over, and I was glad for Freddie’s strong hold.
I wasn’t sure how long I slept, but the nausea came back. Almost unable to walk, I made it back to the toilet.
“Not possible.” Freddie knelt next to me. “There can’t be anything left. It can’t be…” His voice trailed off, and he was out of the room a second later.
Maybe it is better if he doesn’t see…
Chapter Fourteen
