Family Comes First

Chapter 37: A Queasy Stomach

Jimmy woke to the blaring sound of his alarm clock. I had been lying in bed awake for the last couple of hours. My stomach was twisting in a knot, and bile was rising in the back of my throat. I would swallow hard, and I prayed that it would go away.

Jimmy kissed my cheek and rolled out of bed. I watched as he stretched his arms up over his head as he walked into the bathroom.

I rubbed my stomach, and my throat felt like it was starting to contract. I let out a deep breath and hoped that I was not getting sick. I may have caught something from being out in the cold yesterday. The flu was not something that I wanted to deal with right now.

At a slow pace, I swung my legs to the edge of the bed and sat. The bathroom door opened, and Jimmy came back into the room. I pushed myself so that I was standing, and my knees wobbled underneath me. My hand stayed on the bed to steady myself.

Jimmy was searching through the drawers but stopped to take a look at me. He raised an eyebrow, and I assumed my face looked flushed.

"Are you alright, Julie?" he asked.

"I'm okay." I took another step forward.

The last step was too much for my stomach. I had to put my hand over my mouth and run as fast as I could into the bathroom. Fear shot through me that I would not get to the bathroom in time and I would have to spend the day scrubbing the carpet.

I got on my knees in front of the toilet and I began throwing up. One hand was bracing myself on the seat, and my other hand was pathetically holding my hair back.

Jimmy ran in beside me and got down onto his knees. His hand moved the rest of my hair out of my face. I took in a sharp breath, and an awful taste filled my mouth.

"You're not okay," he said.

"No, I am," I said.

Talking caused my throat to constrict. I gagged and then continued to vomit.

"See?" Jimmy said. "You're sick."

I pulled away from the toilet and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. My shaky legs tried to support my weight as I stood up. Jimmy slid his arms around my back as he stood with me.

"I'll be fine," I told him.

"No," he said. "You're going to bed."

He slipped his other arm under my knees and pulled me into his arms. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and my stomach twisted with every step that he took. I pressed my face into his neck, and I took light rhythmic breaths to stop myself from being sick.

I let go of him when he placed me down on the bed. He pulled the blankets up over my body and tucked me in. He pressed his lips against my temple. My heavy eyelids closed. I listened as Jimmy moved around the room. The door closed, and then a couple of minutes later it opened again.

He kissed my cheek again and I forced my eyes to open. Jimmy had on his dirt-stained jeans and jacket. He was sitting on his heels, and his lips lifted into a faint smile when he saw me open my eyes.

"I've got to go now," he said. "I left you a glass of water on the nightstand. Also, I got you a bucket."

"A bucket?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "In case you feel sick and don't think that you can make it to the bathroom."

"That's lovely," I mumbled.

"I need you to stay in bed all day. I love you, so I need you to feel better."

He tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, and I let my eyes close again.