Before Sunday

Five

11:14 PM

As we sit there, the fog that clouds my mind begins to fade, my stomach settles, surrendering itself to a peaceful treaty between body and brain. The dizziness leaves and I'll I'm left with is a sore abdomen, thirst and confusion.

I feel like I've been sick for months and my body, although better, remains weak. I move to stand, and Jax lets go of my hair, placing his hands under my arms to hoist me upright.

"Thank you." There's a large bottle of mouthwash near the sink and I gratefully rinse my mouth with water before swishing a shot of Listerine around in my mouth until my cheeks burn. I lean forward, inspecting my reflection for any signs that I'd been sick but there are none. I look exhausted by otherwise okay.

There's a knock at the door.

"Just a minute please." How long have I've been here? Ten minutes? Fifteen?

"Mouse," Xavier's voice comes through the crack of the door, "I thought I told you not to move."

"I'm not feeling well. I didn't want to be sick outside in front of everyone."

There is a long pause.

"Are you okay now?"

"Yeah? Can you give me like five more minutes? I'll meet you outside."

"I'm sending a search party if you take any longer. I don't want to take my eyes off of you if there is some creep trying to stalk you."

Jax rolls his eyes dramatically.

"Five minutes, X. I promise I'll be out in five minutes."

I strain but can hear Xavier's footfalls as he makes his retreat.

Jackson tilts his head to the side as a slow, lazy smile spreads across his face. He's positively adorable when he smiles. He points to himself. "Am I that creep to which Xavier refers?"

I laugh. "Afraid so."

"Wow. I've barely said two words to the guy. Talk about a rush judgment."

"I might have told him you were at my dorm this morning."

Understanding flashes across his face. "You're not making this easy on me. Is that why you didn't kick me out when I came to you just now? Xavier told you he didn't know me?"

I was too weak to kick him out but he doesn't need to know that so I nod. "Yes, that's why." Now that all was said and done, I'm glad I didn't kick him out. I'm glad he held my hair and rubbed my back. Jax may be looney tunes but he's decent company; kind and caring, and he isn't exactly hard on the eyes.

I lower my voice as if Xavier is still standing outside of the door. "Look. X is on a warpath. He thinks you're a threat. Some madman trying to hurt me."

"He wouldn't think that if you didn't tell him I was." Jackson looks at me directly, his eyes issuing an invite into his soul. He's offended at the suggestion that he might be trying to hurt me. "I would never hurt you, Lola. I'd die first."

"Maybe that's true but it's also beside the point. Trust me, you need to steer clear of him for a while."

"Impossible," Jax says.

"Hypocrite! You literally said nothing was impossible less than 30 minutes ago. What happened to that?"

"I did say that but I cannot stay away from Xavier."

"Why not?"

"Not unless you do."

"Stay away from Xavier?"