Chapter Six

Kat turned over, and then wished that she hadn’t. Her head pounded so hard, she wondered if someone had taken to it with a pair of steel-toed boots. She clutched her temples and groaned. The sound reverberated in her skull and made her headache worse. It also seemed to echo all the way down to her stomach, causing it to tilt sharply to one side.

Oh, fuck. I’m going to throw up.

Every movement hurt like hell, but she had to get to the bathroom. Forcing her feet to the floor, she got up, swaying and unsteady. That was when she realized that she was in her own bedroom, and she stared around her, totally confused.

What the ever-loving Christ? How did I get here?

Her stomach lurched again, and she lost all interest in how she got home. All that mattered right this second was puking somewhere other than her bedroom floor. Stumbling and fumbling, she managed to wrench the door open. It hit the wall, and she winced as the sound knifed through her head.

Kat leaned heavily on the living room wall for support, and gathered her strength for the trek to the bathroom. It was a mere ten feet away, but somehow the distance and difficulty looked as insurmountable as Everest.

“Well, good morning.”

She gasped and spun, immediately losing her balance. Strong hands caught her shoulders, and Kat suddenly found herself staring up into the liquid gold eyes of Jim Alden. He was fully-clothed and smelled of coffee.

Wow. He looks pissed off.

She opened her mouth to answer, thought better of it, clamped her mouth shut again. Jim seemed to know what was happening, though, because he just sighed and practically carried her to the bathroom.

“Here you go,” he said. “Come on out when you’re done venting your stomach contents.” He shut the door behind him, and Kat flung herself at the toilet.

Kat wasn’t too sure how much time had passed, but she knew from the pain in her knees that she’d been down on the floor for a while. She was startled when a gentle hand touched the back of her neck, and she glanced up to see Jim standing there with a glass of water. He still looked furious, but she saw a faint gleam of compassion in those incredible eyes now.

She took the water, her hand shaking wildly. “Thanks.”

“Sure.” He paused. “How are you?”

“Urgh.”

“Yeah, well. That’s what happens when you go on a four-day bender.” His husky voice was hard again. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

Kat closed her eyes. “Not now, Jim. Please.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Is this a bad time?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, you’ve had a goddamn week to talk to me or your friends, and you’ve spent it avoiding our calls and drinking your face off in a biker bar. What the hell’s wrong with you?”

Kat didn’t answer.

“Don’t think I’m letting this go,” he said. “I don’t go home until you answer every single one of my questions. We clear?”

Mutely, she nodded, eyes still closed.

“You done puking?”

She shook her head.

“Fine. Let me know when you’re ready to come out. I’ll help you.”

She heard him walk out again, heard the door shut. And she leaned back over the toilet, wondering how the hell she still had anything left to bring up.

Maybe I’ll throw up some internal organs? ‘Cause that’s what it feels like. God help me.

Weak, dizzy, exhausted, Kat lay down on the cool tiles of the bathroom floor. She couldn’t seem to stop shivering, and she didn’t have the energy to call Jim, so she just stayed down there, eyes closed. Wishing she could die.

****

Ten minutes later, Jim stood outside the door, listening. Nothing.

He knocked. “Kat?”

No response.

He opened the door and sighed again. She was passed out cold on the floor, her small body curled up and in on itself. Her hands were tightly clenched, her whole frame shaking.

Goddammit, Kat. Why’d you do this to yourself?

Jim picked her up off the floor, and carried her back to her room. He deposited her on the bed, and as he took a step back, her eyes flew open. She gasped.

“Kat?”

She stared at him, and he was taken aback at the look of fear in her eyes.

“Hey,” he said, alarmed. “You OK?”

“I – I…” She swallowed hard. “I don’t know.”

Jim studied her. “You ready to talk to me?”

“I… no.”

“Your decision, sweetheart. But I don’t leave until you do, remember.”

She turned over to face the wall, buried her head under the covers. He shook his head.

“You can’t avoid this conversation forever, Kat, try as you might. You get that, right?”

No answer. He left her alone, but kept the door a bit open.

Kat stared at the wall in front of her, tears blurring it.

I can’t tell him, not about any of it. I just have to go. But how the hell am I going to get out of here when he’s between me and the door?

Too sick to think anymore, too tired to care much about anything, Kat let her body just collapse into sleep.