Believing Lies (27 page)

I giggled. “Yeah.”

He let out a low whistle. “Damn. I knew I shouldn’t have gone home during summer. I missed out.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Got any other cousins?”

Adam punched him in the shoulder lightly. “Don’t be a jerk.”

Drake laughed and switched the subject. “Are you going to the party at Zach’s Saturday?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you there.” This was the first I’d heard of it. Maybe Adam didn’t want me to go with him.

“Right on. Catch you later, man.” Drake said. He then looked at me and winked. “Once again, very, very nice to meet you, Sienna.”

I softly laughed and smiled. “You too.”

After he walked away, Adam took me by the hand, and we made our way out of the building.

“He seemed pretty nice. He winked at me, so he must have that same eye spasm condition you suffer from,” I teased playfully.

“He winked at you?” he asked, irritation in his voice.

“Before he left. What’s the big deal?”

He shook his head as if brushing away his thoughts. “No big deal. He’s a great friend and a decent guy.” It sounded as if he was telling himself that more than telling me.

“Why Adam Korbell, are you a little jealous?” I asked in a sing-song voice.

“Maybe.” He squeezed my hand. “So Princess, I think I need to sleep at your place tonight.”

“Do you? And why is that?” I tried to sound coy.

“Because last night I had no little spoon,” he said dramatically, clutching his hands over his heart.

I rolled my eyes. “You’re not funny. In fact, now you’re just beating a dead horse.”

He stopped walking and faced me. “Seriously. I want to sleep with you tonight.”

I raised my brow. “Define
sleep
.”

“Are you still feeling worn-out?”

“Nope,” I let my mouth pop around the word.

He flashed me a cocky grin. “In that case, I think you know the definition.”

I was going to give him a quick kiss, but as soon as I went on my tiptoes, my stomach growled obnoxiously.

“Easy tiger,” he joked.

“I like your idea, but can we make a pit stop for something to eat first?”

“Sure thing.”

We walked into the dining hall still holding hands, and I was probably exaggerating, but it felt like every girl in the room was staring at us. We got some burgers and sat at an empty table. It was only a few minutes before a few guys Adam knew came over and talked to him. Each time he introduced me as his girlfriend, and each time they seemed surprised. Everyone brought up Zach’s party, and I was slightly discouraged when Adam didn’t make any mention of including me. I pushed it to the backburner.
Get a grip. He doesn’t need to include you in everything he does
.

My stomach finally sated, we left to go back to my apartment. Even though it was only six o’clock, I was ready to
sleep
and then sleep.

***

I woke up abruptly. My room was still dark, and Adam was asleep next to me. For a second, I was confused as to what had caused me to wake up so suddenly, but then it hit me. And by hit me, I meant the worst nausea I’d ever experienced. With not a second to spare, I grabbed my small trash bin from next to my bed and vomited.

Needless to say, that woke Adam up. Most guys would’ve bolted or just froze. I wouldn’t have blamed him for doing either. However, he didn’t. He gathered my hair and pulled it out of my face with one hand and rubbed my back with his other. Even though I was “busy,” the gesture didn’t go unnoticed.

“Oh my God. I’m so sorry. That was so embarrassing,” I muttered out as soon as I finished.

He let go of my hair but continued to rub my back. “Nothing to apologize for, Princess. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I think so.” Nope, I’d spoken too soon. I bolted from the room on a mission to reach the bathroom toilet. Thankfully, I made it in time and was finished before Adam walked in.

“You don’t look okay.”
That’s an understatement
.

I went to the sink, swished some mouthwash, and then slumped to the floor. Adam dumped out the contents of my trashcan in the toilet and rinsed it in the bathtub.

I chuckled nervously, the nausea beginning to pass. “You are uncommonly unfazed by this. Why aren’t you grossed out?”

He looked at me with sincere compassion, kneeling down to my level. “You’re sick. It’s no big deal. I guess this kind of thing just doesn’t bother me anymore.”

“Anymore?”

“Come on, Princess. Let’s get you back to bed.” He scooped me up effortlessly and carried me back to my room. I held onto his neck and nuzzled into his chest. Just when I thought I had him figured out, he would show me a whole new side of him. And each time he did, I fell in love with him even more.

Adam tucked me in bed, pulling the covers up to my chin as if I was a child. “Do you want me to sleep in here or on the couch?” he asked softly, pushing a strand of my hair behind my ear.

“Couch, please. I don’t want to get you sick.” How selfish would it have been to tell him to stay with me knowing he could get sick?

He smiled and climbed into the bed. “I think that ship has already sailed.”

My stomach settled down enough to fall asleep in his arms. I didn’t wake up again until morning when Adam’s phone alarm went off at eight o’clock.

He stretched and untangled himself from me. “I’ve got class. Are you feeling better, or should I skip it?”

“Don’t skip it. I’m fine. Just a little under the weather.”

He looked skeptical. “Okay, if you’re sure. Text me if you need anything, and I’ll come back.”

I nodded. “I will. Thanks.”

He got out of bed, dressed, and kissed me on the forehead before leaving. I didn’t have any classes until two o’clock, so I went back to sleep. I wasn’t sure how long I was asleep before Sophie woke me. She was sitting next to me on my bed, holding toast and a glass of water.

“Hey, you.” She was using her mom voice. “I just got back from my class. Adam sent me a text that you were sick. How are you doing?”

I sat up and took a quick inventory of my body. All systems seemed to be back on track. “I feel fine now.”

“Eat this anyway.” She basically shoved the toast into my mouth.

I looked at my clock. It was already noon. “Wow. I need to get up and ready for class.”

“Take it easy. I stopped by Courtney’s this morning to see if she wanted to get a bite to eat before class, and she was super sick. You probably both have the same bug, or maybe you two got food poising from Mel’s Diner. The food may taste good, but the place is kind of a dive.”

“I guess. I’ll stop by and check on her later. Since I’m feeling much better now, hopefully she will be too.”

After several more reassurances on my part, Sophie finally left me so I could shower and get ready.

I sat through two back-to-back lectures, and my stomach cooperated the whole time. Afterwards, I headed to the dorms to see Courtney. When I knocked on her door, Cassie answered, looking like death. She immediately crawled back into her bed as I shut the door behind me. Courtney was curled up in her bed, snoring softly. Her skin was a funky shade of gray, and she was sweating. The entire room reeked.

I quietly asked Cassie, “Is she feeling any better? Are you sick too?”

Cassie remained laying down and looked close to tears. “She’s still pretty sick, but at least she’s, like, sleeping now. I think I’m getting it. I hate being sick,” she whimpered.

I felt really bad for them both. It wasn’t food poisoning since Cassie wasn’t with Courtney and me at Mel’s, so it appeared to be the stomach flu.

“I’m sorry, Cassie. If it makes you feel better, I had it, and I feel fine now.” I gave her a tiny smile. “At least it doesn’t seem to last too long.”

“I, like, so totally hope so,” she groaned.

Courtney started to stir. “I’m going to head out before I wake her,” I whispered to Cassie. “Tell her I stopped by, and call me if you need anything.”

She nodded. “Kay. Thanks, Sienna.”

I drove home and plopped down on the couch with a thud. Although I wasn’t feeling sick anymore, I was feeling worn-out again. My phone buzzed with an incoming text. I smiled when I saw it was from Adam. I loved that simply seeing his picture and name on my phone brought an instant smile to my face. I hoped that would never change.

ADAM: Feeling better?

ME: Yes. R U feeling ok? I hope I didn’t get you sick

ADAM: Not sick. Can I come over?

ME: If you want to risk it. I may be contagious

ADAM: I’ll take my chances. X

He showed up twenty minutes later, holding a large container of chicken noodle soup. Sophie was staying with Conner tonight, so we had the place to ourselves. We watched movies, snuggled up together on the couch, and took it easy.

***

At dawn, I woke to another case of horrible stomach sickness. It was almost an exact replay of the previous night, including Adam taking care of me in the same sweet manner. I didn’t have any Thursday classes, but he had an early class, which he skipped on my behalf. Even though he objected, I forced him to go to his ten o’clock class. I was starting to feel better again, and I already felt guilty that he’d skipped his first one.

Sophie got home around three o’clock, and by then my early morning sickness was a thing of the past. We went together to check on Courtney. Like me, she was also feeling better. Cassie still felt a little rough, but Courtney was taking care of her.

After our short visit, Sophie and I went to the drug store. I wanted to get some Gatorade because I was feeling a little dehydrated, and Sophie needed a few things too. I threw my Gatorade in the cart and also grabbed a new toothbrush. Sophie steered us down what I referred to as “the female aisle” where she grabbed two large boxes of condoms and tossed them in the cart.

I let out a laugh. “Think you got enough?”

“Laugh all you want, but one of them is for you.”

“Oh.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Did you think that I didn’t notice you used most of the ones in my bathroom?”

I giggled. “I’ve never bought condoms before. It feels a little naughty. Plus, the cashier will probably look at us like we’re tramps.”

“Hah. I couldn’t give a shit less about how the cashier will look at us.” She picked up a pregnancy test from the shelf and waved it in the air. “I’ll buy an entire truckload of condoms in front of the whole damn city if it means that I don’t have to buy a single one of these.”

“Agreed.” I grabbed the test out of her hand and put it back on the shelf.

She added a box of tampons to the cart. “I’m gonna need these in a couple days. Do you need a box?”

“Ummm . . .” The Jeopardy theme song started to play in my head. I furrowed my brow and began to count backwards.
I’ll take “Oh Shit. I’m Late” for $500, Alec
.

Sophie waved her hand in front of my unblinking eyes. “Hey. Snap out of it.” I blinked. “I asked if you needed a box?”

I shook my head so slightly that the movement was almost imperceptible. “We used a condom,” I muttered to myself. “This makes no sense.”

Sophie’s looked at me puzzled. “Um, okay . . . ?” Her eyes popped open. “Oh!” She paused before whispering, “How late are you?”

“If I’m right, a week . . . maybe a week and a half.” I started to panic, but I kept my voice low. “I’m
never
late. If anything, I’m sometimes early.” I started to slightly hyperventilate.

She gently shook my shoulders until I focused on her face and evened my breathing. “It’s probably nothing. Like you said, he used a condom.” She tossed a second box of tampons in the cart. “I’m sure you’ll be needing these any moment now.” She was playing it cool, but I could detect the uncertainty in her words. “But I guess it wouldn’t hurt to be sure,” she added quickly. She picked up the pregnancy test I had just put back on the shelf and placed it the cart.

Seeing tampons, condoms, and a pregnancy test next to each other caused me to let out a hysterical, high pitched laugh. An elderly lady gave me a dirty look and walked around us. I wanted to get out of this store as soon as possible. I regained my composure, and we made our way to the checkout. Thankfully, Sophie put everything on the counter and paid the teenage boy, who looked highly uncomfortable scanning our items.

On our short ride home, we both acted as if there wasn’t this giant question hanging in the air. However, as soon as we walked into our apartment, it turned awkward.

“I guess there’s no use procrastinating,” I said as I took the pink box out of the shopping bag.

Sophie automatically followed me into the bathroom. I handed her the box and sat on the toilet. She opened the package and handed me the white stick, while reading the directions aloud. As soon as I finished peeing on it, I put the little cap on, and set it on the counter. I pulled up my pants, and we both looked at the little drawings on the directions to see what to do now.

“Okay. According to this, one line means you’re safe and two lines means you’re in deep shit.” Sophie let out a small, uneasy giggle at her joke.

Reluctantly, I looked at the little window that held my fate.

One line.

The relief I felt looking at the single line permeated every pore of my body. “I’m safe,” I said, letting out the breath I’d been holding.

Sophie blew out the air between her lips. “I gotta say, you had me worried, Sienna. But if we really think about it though, we’re such morons. If you were prego, then that means you got knocked up the night you lost your V-card . . . while using a condom.” She shook her head and silently laughed. “Seriously? The odds of that happening are so slim that I can’t believe we even entertained the idea.”

I let out a snort of a laugh. “You’re right. Let’s never speak of this again.”

“Deal.”

I picked up the stick, and was going to throw it in the garbage, when my eyes caught something that hadn’t been there before.

A second line.

Fuck my life
.

Why are there two lines?

Two fucking lines!

I dropped the stick and sunk to the floor. This was a dream. I was going to wake up . . . Any minute now . . .
Dammit, Sienna. Wake up!

Sophie picked up the stick, looked at it, and sunk to the floor next to me. I ripped the directions out of her hand and started to re-read them frantically.