pain. Nothing actually threatens to come up.
“Have you been up all night?” I croak. My tongue feels as if it’s coated in fur. Weird.
Dean stretches and yawns. “No. We took turns watching you. Do you feel as bad as you look?”
“God, I hope not.” I reach up and rake my hands through my hair, and comb it straight with my fingers. I grimace from the constant pounding in my head.
“Hangovers suck,” he says in an unsympathetic voice and ambles into the kitchen. I follow him to the refrigerator and take out some orange juice. My stomach complains at the sight of it, but I really need something to wash away the gross feeling on my tongue.
“Should I stick with water?” I ask.
“It’s up to you. Either way, take these.” He slaps a couple of aspirin into my hand. I swallow them and chase them with the juice. My stomach’s not happy, but I think the aspirin will stay down. I rest my elbows in the counter and grind the heel of my hands into my temples to counteract the relentless pain behind my eyes.
Dean pops some bread into the toaster. When he pushes down the lever, the noise reverberates through my skull.
“Hazel’s asleep and Troy had to work, but he told me we can stay as long as we want.”
“Remind me to thank him,” I mumble as I rest my head on the cold countertop, close my eyes, and wish for the pain to stop.
“How are you feeling?” Hazel asks entering the kitchen and fetching a glass from the cupboard.
I slide over to make some room. “I hope we didn’t wake you.”
“Nah, it was this little guy,” Hazel says as she rubs her stomach. She looks up and laughs. “You look worse than I do.”
“Thanks,” I groan. “I feel stupid.” Hazel grins at me until I ask, “What?”
Hazel pours herself some juice, sniffs it, frowns, and then pushes it away. “It’s kinda silly, but it’s nice to know you’re not so perfect after all.”
I look to see if she’s joking and immediately regret moving. “No one has ever accused me of being perfect before.”
Dean hands each of us a slice of dry toast. Hazel cautiously takes a bite. “You know what I mean. You and Andi make everything you do look effortless and easy. It’s enough to give a girl a complex.”
I frown and stare at the toast, unsure if I should dare eating it. “Well, Andi is probably as close to perfect as you can get, but me—not a chance.” I force myself to take a bite of the toast which tastes bland. But that’s probably all my stomach can handle right now, so I eat it, chasing it down with juice.
Hazel stands, pushes her hands into the small if her back and stretches. “I’m going to shower and change, but you two are welcome to stay. A bit of sleep will do you both some good.”
I clean up after myself and take Hazel up on her offer. Just getting through breakfast was hard enough. There’s no way I could get through a day at work. I flop down on the couch, close my eyes, and pray for sleep until it finally comes.
Chapter 8
I wake in the early afternoon, and I’m the only one in the house. I don’t feel great, but at least the pain in my head has dulled to a more manageable level. I wish I could say the same for my embarrassment. I enter the kitchen and down some more aspirin and water. Hazel has left me a note asking me to lock up when I leave. Feeling as though I’ve overstayed my welcome, I return to the dorms to shower and change.
After I’m clean, I have no idea what to do with myself. I’m a little hungry but the dining hall is in between lunch and dinner service. I consider checking on the zoo animals, but think my stomach’s too weak to handle the stench just yet. I finally decide to visit Molly and Jake at their base lab. I’m in no mood to stare at a computer screen, but I should at least let Jake and Molly knows I’m alive, and then confirm that Ryan has taken care of the zoo animals.
Ryan’s the only one in the lab. “Elliot needed Molly and Jake to clean up
“Have you been up all night?” I croak. My tongue feels as if it’s coated in fur. Weird.
Dean stretches and yawns. “No. We took turns watching you. Do you feel as bad as you look?”
“God, I hope not.” I reach up and rake my hands through my hair, and comb it straight with my fingers. I grimace from the constant pounding in my head.
“Hangovers suck,” he says in an unsympathetic voice and ambles into the kitchen. I follow him to the refrigerator and take out some orange juice. My stomach complains at the sight of it, but I really need something to wash away the gross feeling on my tongue.
“Should I stick with water?” I ask.
“It’s up to you. Either way, take these.” He slaps a couple of aspirin into my hand. I swallow them and chase them with the juice. My stomach’s not happy, but I think the aspirin will stay down. I rest my elbows in the counter and grind the heel of my hands into my temples to counteract the relentless pain behind my eyes.
Dean pops some bread into the toaster. When he pushes down the lever, the noise reverberates through my skull.
“Hazel’s asleep and Troy had to work, but he told me we can stay as long as we want.”
“Remind me to thank him,” I mumble as I rest my head on the cold countertop, close my eyes, and wish for the pain to stop.
“How are you feeling?” Hazel asks entering the kitchen and fetching a glass from the cupboard.
I slide over to make some room. “I hope we didn’t wake you.”
“Nah, it was this little guy,” Hazel says as she rubs her stomach. She looks up and laughs. “You look worse than I do.”
“Thanks,” I groan. “I feel stupid.” Hazel grins at me until I ask, “What?”
Hazel pours herself some juice, sniffs it, frowns, and then pushes it away. “It’s kinda silly, but it’s nice to know you’re not so perfect after all.”
I look to see if she’s joking and immediately regret moving. “No one has ever accused me of being perfect before.”
Dean hands each of us a slice of dry toast. Hazel cautiously takes a bite. “You know what I mean. You and Andi make everything you do look effortless and easy. It’s enough to give a girl a complex.”
I frown and stare at the toast, unsure if I should dare eating it. “Well, Andi is probably as close to perfect as you can get, but me—not a chance.” I force myself to take a bite of the toast which tastes bland. But that’s probably all my stomach can handle right now, so I eat it, chasing it down with juice.
Hazel stands, pushes her hands into the small if her back and stretches. “I’m going to shower and change, but you two are welcome to stay. A bit of sleep will do you both some good.”
I clean up after myself and take Hazel up on her offer. Just getting through breakfast was hard enough. There’s no way I could get through a day at work. I flop down on the couch, close my eyes, and pray for sleep until it finally comes.
Chapter 8
I wake in the early afternoon, and I’m the only one in the house. I don’t feel great, but at least the pain in my head has dulled to a more manageable level. I wish I could say the same for my embarrassment. I enter the kitchen and down some more aspirin and water. Hazel has left me a note asking me to lock up when I leave. Feeling as though I’ve overstayed my welcome, I return to the dorms to shower and change.
After I’m clean, I have no idea what to do with myself. I’m a little hungry but the dining hall is in between lunch and dinner service. I consider checking on the zoo animals, but think my stomach’s too weak to handle the stench just yet. I finally decide to visit Molly and Jake at their base lab. I’m in no mood to stare at a computer screen, but I should at least let Jake and Molly knows I’m alive, and then confirm that Ryan has taken care of the zoo animals.
Ryan’s the only one in the lab. “Elliot needed Molly and Jake to clean up
Similar Books
