Here to Win Rewrite (Walker Boys Sequel)

Chap. 26

I woke up with a raging headache.

I pressed my eyes closed for a few moments, letting out a soft groan.

And then my stomach rumbled, and I grabbed my trash can and leaned over, emptying my stomach.

I stumbled into the bathroom, my body aching and head throbbing.

I made it to my toilet before puking again.

After the first round ended, I slowly sunk to the floor, pressing my cheek against the cool tile.

I felt like my body was robbed of all energy, and I didn’t have it in me to go back out to my room to find my phone and call Maurice.

And then the puking started again.

It felt like it last hours instead of minutes, my throat burning the end.

My headache was worsening, so I pressed my cheek back to the cold tile.

This cycle continued until I had nothing left in my stomach, and then I just felt utterly miserable.

My head felt like it was going to explode out of my skull and my stomach was clenching every couple of minutes.

It was torture.

I looked up from the tile floor and at my digital clock next to my bed, squinting to try and see the time.

5:45 AM. I was 15 minutes late to practice, and I’d been on this torturous cycle for 45 minutes.

I stumbled to my feet, using my left hand to grasp the wall and my right hand to massage my temples as I stumbled back to my bed, which was where my phone was.

I crawled into bed and picked up my phone, leaning over the side of my bed as my stomach clenched.

But nothing came out.

I let out a shaky sigh, unlocking my phone and pulling up my Favorites list, Maurice’s name on there.

I pressed it and put him on speaker, too tired to press the phone to my ear.

“You better have a good excuse,” Maurice said, as he answered the phone. “You’re now over 20 minutes late to practice.”

“I’m sick,” I croaked.

There was a moment of silence.

“What kind of sick?” Maurice asked, carefully.

“The bad kind of sick,” I answered, pressing a cool pillow over my face.

My stomach clenched and I leaned over my bed, even though I knew nothing was going to come out.

“Who’s there with you?” Maurice demanded.

I didn’t answer, tasting bile in the back of my throat.

“I’m calling Eileen,” Maurice promised. “Have you eaten anything this morning?”

That one I managed to get a little laugh out at. “Opposite of eating Maurice,” I said.

That laugh was enough to stir my stomach, and this time something did come up.

I ended the call with Maurice so he didn’t have to hear me continuously emptying my stomach.

I heard my bedroom door open as I finished up.

“Oh honey,” I heard my mom say.

Thanks Eileen.

Her fingers brushed my forehead. “My poor baby.”