Sound of Heartache ("Sound of" Book 2) (7 page)

CHAPTER TWELVE

Brent waited impatiently at the San Diego airport baggage claim area. He’d gotten there ridiculously early idiotically hoping that Aimee’s plane would be early. His heart was beating rapidly at the thought of seeing her again after five long weeks without her. He hadn’t told her how he felt before she left, instead choosing to wait until after the holidays. He was crazy about her and after listening to her sweet voice almost daily but not being able to touch her, he was dying to get her home and back into his arms. He deeply regretted not letting her in to his thoughts before she left for her parent’s house.

Aimee’s dark head finally came through the entrance to the baggage claim and Brent watched as she scanned through the crowd looking for him. Once her eyes came around his way, he lifted up his arm in a wave and she spotted him immediately. She smiled halfheartedly at him. The smile caused Brent’s stomach to light up with nerves. Aimee’s smile was always wide and natural and the one she was wearing was a weak parody of her real one. He wondered suddenly if maybe she had met someone while she was home.

His nerves took a sharp dive as he began walking toward her. Brent had to force his own smile to remain in place while replaying the last five weeks in his head. He hadn’t noticed anything off in their conversations, but it had been a few days since they’d spoken. The last time they spoke, Aimee was getting ready to go on an impromptu hiking trip with her parents. It had been an overnighter and by the time she returned, Brent was busy rehearsing with his new band.

“
Hey,” she said softly when she reached him. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. Her lips were unusually dry and he felt her tremble. Brent pulled her tightly into his arms and deepened the kiss. He was frantic to stake his claim, to reestablish their connection.

“
Hey, baby,” he said, letting her up for air. He gently propelled her forward toward the conveyor so they could collect her bags. They were just beginning to come down the chute and Brent wanted to grab them on the first rotation. Whatever was going on needed to be fixed and the airport wasn’t the place to have any kind of serious conversation. He watched Aimee’s face carefully and was not reassured by her wan expression. He struggled to define how Aimee looked and if he didn’t know her better, he’d say she looked utterly defeated.

“
Do you mind if I sit down over there?” She waved her arm in the general direction of a bank of benches. He could see beads of sweat forming along her brow and realized Aimee was sick. He felt a whoosh of relief pulse through his body. He squeezed her gently, running his hand along the back of her head.

“
Go. Sit. I’ve got this. Black and white polk dots, right?” She nodded listlessly and he watched with a concerned eye as she slowly shuffled herself over to the benches. He wondered if she had overdone it on her hike, or maybe she had picked up a bug. He knew San Francisco was a huge tourist destination and God only knew what kind of germs were hanging out there.

As he waited for Aimee’s bags to drop down the chute, he couldn’t help but feel pleased with how he had spent his winter break. Yeah, he would’ve loved to spend it with Aimee, but he spent it doing the next best thing. He and Eric had gotten together with the singer and guitarist who’d helped lay out the drunk guys picking on Aimee. Jack and Jacob had been true to their word about wanting to take things to the next level and the four of them were busy working on turning two duos into a band.

It was amazing to Brent how quickly they were gelling together. He knew next to nothing about Jack other than knowing Jack had grown up locally. When the four of them were together, they didn’t talk about parents or school or women. They focused on music and that was fine with Brent. Jacob had decided he was more interested in playing bass guitar so Brent took over the lead guitar position. Eric was learning to flow with the rhythms Jack and Jacob already had established and he was picking it up quickly. Brent knew they had a damn good sound and he almost felt giddy at what their future might hold. Jack had an incredible drive to succeed and Brent was reasonably certain his drive coupled with the group’s talent would make them unstoppable.

Spying Aimee’s bags, he bent down and yanked them off the conveyor. When he had seen her packing them before leaving, he thought the bags were cute and fit her personality. She was a little bit funky and retro and he didn’t feel the least bit self-conscious as he wheeled the heavy bags over to her. Hell, they could be flaming pink with flying elephants on them and he would still gladly ferry them over to her. He knew he was totally whipped for her and he didn’t care one single bit. Aimee would never use something like that against him. She looked up at him and offered a small smile.

“
You really are the best,” she told him quietly. Despite the relatively cool weather, Aimee had taken off her sweater and sat on the bench in her cami and capri pants. Brent gently wound up the heavy mass of her hair in his hand and lifted it off her neck. He could see damp tendrils sticking to her neck. She closed her eyes briefly and sighed.

“
C’mon. Let’s get you home. I can tell you’re not feeling well and I want to get you feeling better.” It didn’t seem like it was possible, but Aimee’s face lost even more color. Truly worried about her, Brent shouldered one of her bags and wrapped his arm around her. His plans for a more physical reunion would have to wait. Clearly Aimee was in no shape to play sex games.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Aimee was happy to see Brent after five weeks at home with her parents but she felt awful. She was exhausted and had been fighting off the flu for the last couple of weeks at home. The hiking trip her parents took her on nearly wiped her out. They hadn’t listened to her protests and insisted she was well enough to come along with them. They treated her like a recalcitrant child.

“
Thanks again for picking me up,” she said. Her voice was listless and she winced. She had seen the worried look on Brent’s face and wasn’t sure what thoughts were running through his head.

“
Don’t be silly. I haven’t seen you in weeks. It’s not like I would be anywhere else.” He told her, giving her a sideways glance. Aimee appreciated Brent’s refusal to get drawn into drama. There was enough of it in her family with some to spare and she enjoyed being away from them so she could call her own shots.

“
I haven’t felt well for a couple of weeks. The flu I think. I shouldn’t have gone hiking,” she admitted.

“
Why did you go?” He asked her. She could hear the censure in his voice and knew she should have tried to work harder to get her parents to listen to her.

“
My parents,” she told him tiredly. He sighed, but didn’t say anything else as he pulled into the parking lot of his apartment complex. He helped her up the stairs and led her directly into his room.

She gave a small wave to Eric, who was sitting on the couch eating something unidentifiable. He waved back, his mouth stuffed full of food. Honestly Aimee had no idea where he put the calories he consumed. He was always eating but his form stayed lean and muscular.

Aimee sagged onto the freshly made bed and closed her eyes. She felt her shoes being tugged off, and she stretched a little to make it easier on Brent.

“
Thank you,” she murmured. “I hope I’m better when class starts in two days.” Honestly, she was a little nervous that she wouldn’t be. She wasn’t worried about the classes. They were still mostly entry-level classes and she was pretty sure she could breeze through them. She was more worried about being able to stay upright for the entire day.

“
If you aren’t, we’ll figure it out. Do you want to plan to stay here a couple of days?” He asked her. She nodded. She didn’t want to go back to her place when Brent was here and taking care of her so sweetly.

“
Just being with you helps me feel better,” she admitted. She knew it sounded corny, but it was true. She loved being with Brent and his place felt like home to her.

Her body was just starting to relax into sleep when a wave of nausea hit her. She swallowed repeatedly and tried to regain her equilibrium. The wave hit her again and she bolted upright in the bed. She didn’t think she was going to be able to make it to the bathroom in time. She clapped her hand over her mouth and ran for it.

She bent over the toilet and heaved and heaved. Brent was behind her and she felt him scoop back her hair so that it wouldn’t trail into the toilet. Without looking up, she flushed and then heaved again.

“
Here man.” Eric was in the doorway, holding something out for Brent. Aimee sighed as a cool rag pressed up against the nape of her neck. It felt heavenly and she hadn’t even realized she was overheated.

“
Thanks Eric,” Aimee choked out. Having the guys see her like this was humiliating in the extreme but there wasn’t anything she could do about it.

“
Anything for you babydoll,” Eric told her, sounding uncharacteristically solemn. As Aimee’s stomach continued to churn, she berated herself for making these two men worry about her.

“
I’m so sorry you guys,” she mumbled miserably. Her forehead rested on her forearm and her whole body leaned against the toilet.

Brent murmured nonsensical words and kept rubbing her back. The cool tile felt wonderful beneath her sweaty body and she began to relax. After several minutes, Aimee was finally able to straighten up from her crouch and she immediately grabbed her toothbrush. Her mouth felt completely gross and she wanted to die from humiliation. She hated getting sick in front of other people.

Brent led her back into his bedroom and she lay back on the bed. For the moment, her stomach was calm. She felt the bed dip and her eyes fluttered open. Eric was sitting next to her wearing a concerned look. Brent stood behind him wearing a very similar expression.

“
How long have you felt this bad?” Eric asked bluntly.

“
This is the first time I’ve thrown up. But I’ve felt pretty bad for a couple of weeks now. I just want it to be over with.” Aimee’s voice was raw from dry heaving and it burned to talk.

“
Drink this.” Eric shoved a Sprite her way and she gratefully took a sip. The bubbles tickled her nose and the syrupy sweetness calmed her stomach.

“
I don’t like this.” He told her. “It worries me when people get sick.” Aimee was surprised. Eric was a pretty carefree guy and didn’t seem to ever worry about anything.

“
If I’m not feeling better after the first day of school, I’ll go to the doctor. I promise.” Aimee handed the Sprite back to Eric and let her eyes slide closed. She felt Eric’s weight lift off the bed and as she drifted toward sleep, she heard the low tones of Eric and Brent talking by the door.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Brent sat in the kitchen with his head in his hands. Aimee had been asleep for at least a couple of hours and Eric had taken off without a word. He was sick with worry and the two people he would normally lean on were currently unavailable. One thing was certain, he agreed with Eric. He didn’t like that Aimee hadn’t felt well for a couple of weeks. He knew people their age weren’t immune from serious diseases like cancer and leukemia. These things weren’t reserved just for older people and it scared him to think she might be well and truly sick. Brent knew he was probably overreacting but he was rattled to see Aimee so ill.

His head lifted from his hands when the front door opened quietly. Eric came inside and closed the door behind him softly. Seeing Eric’s solemn face was a relief because it meant he wasn’t alone in his worry. Brent looked questioningly at Eric. He held a plastic bag that appeared to be filled to the brim. Walking over to where Brent sat, he dropped the bag on the table.

“
What’d you get?” He asked Eric quietly. He didn’t wait for Eric’s response before he started rooting through the bag.

He pulled out a large box of saltines and set them on the table. Next he pulled out a six pack of very small Sprite cans. He looked them over; he’d never seen midget cans before. He set them down next to the box of saltines. He reached into the bag and pulled out a two-pack pregnancy test. It bobbled in his hands and feel back into the bag. He looked disbelievingly at Eric.

“
The hell?” He said. He wasn’t sure if he was angry or stunned that Eric thought to bring home pregnancy tests for Aimee.

“
Let’s just rule it out man. With the rate you two were going at it after midterms, it’s a possibility.” Brent swallowed hard, a knot settling in his gut. He hadn’t even considered pregnancy. He and Aimee were always so careful. They both had so many plans to set into motion before they ever even considered walking down that path.

“
How am I supposed to ask her to do this?” He rasped out. Christ, he was suddenly so scared he felt like a little kid hiding from the monsters in the closet. He knew wanted babies with Aimee. Someday far in the future. Not right now. But Eric was right, he and Aimee had been together a lot once the ice was broken.

“
Just tell her you want to rule it out. Don’t make it a bigger deal than it needs to be. And if it turns out positive, don’t lose your shit.” Brent was grateful for the wise words and support. He had no idea how Eric even knew what to say in this situation, but he was eternally appreciative nonetheless.