fierce ↠ sweet pea [1] [✔]

|| TWENTY-NINE ||

Lauryn quickly excused herself to the restroom when she felt the moisture in her mouth increasing, knowing what it meant. Locking herself in a stall, she crouched by the toilet trying hard not to touch anything. There was no one else in there, but she tried to stay as quiet as possible just in case.

"So much for hydration," she breathed when she got a second, rubbing her forehead and sitting on the floor, her back against the wall to catch her breath. She couldn't believe a baby could do that much damage. The ladies room door opened, she tried to stay quiet but couldn't when she felt round two coming up her throat.

There was a knock on the stall door. "Uh, everything okay in there?"

"Yeah," she groaned with her head still over the bowl. She recognised the voice straight away, flushing the toiler after wiping her mouth.

Opening the door, she found Betty there buttoning her shirt back up. Betty's eyes widened. "Lauryn... are you drunk?"

"No," Lauryn shook her head, chuckling. "Just pregnant."

Her face blanching into horror, Betty blinked in disbelief. "Wait, what? Are you serious?"

"Yeah," Lauryn said as she washed her hands.

Betty stood behind her, and she could see her concern in the mirror. "Do you need anything?"

"I'm good," she assured. "This is normal."

"Maybe you should ask Sweet Pea to take you home."

"No, it's all right, I'll wait."

"You haven't had any alcohol, right?" Betty asked quietly after a short silence which she obviously had used to work her way around a decent way of wording the question.

"Jesus, Betty, do you think I'm a psycho?" Lauryn screwed her face up, turning on her heel to look Betty in the face sharply. "I've only had water, and lot's of it."

"I'm sorry, that was... wrong of me to ask."

"No, it's not your fault." Lauryn shook her head, repeating her sharp tone in her head. "I'm sorry, I just haven't felt good all evening."

"Do you need a minute?"

"Yeah, please, I'll be out in a sec."

"Okay, call if you need me, Lauryn."

Taking a second to study her, Lauryn then smiled slightly. "Thanks, Betty."

An urge to ask Sweet Pea to go home tugged at her gut as if it were the baby doing it themself, but Lauryn refused to spoil his fun. She sat up on the platform which the sinks were mounted into, nearest the window which was cracked open for the night air to seep through.

Inhaling, she looked at the night sky, settling her stomach when her phone buzzed, and there was a text from Sweet Pea asking where she'd gotten to. After making sure her lipstick hadn't spread below her lips, she exited the bathroom.

The crowd was still singing and chattering, and Lauryn had to push through a few Serpents to get to Sweet Pea who she could see because of his height. Flinching at the boisterousness of the drunks around her, she latched herself onto Sweet Pea's arm when she reached him.

"Hey, where were you?" he asked, having to yell over the music. "No one had seen you."

"Sorry. I needed a minute," she let out a breath, and he noticed how she was leaning downwards in discomfort. "I was in the bathroom."

Leading her over to the bar area which was less crowded, he tucked her hair behind her ears. "Half an hour in the bathroom? Did you throw up?"

"No, no," she shook her head. "I just got a little overwhelmed."