Chapter 335

Nina

The moment the nausea hit me, I knew something was off. It wasn’t just a twinge of discomfort, either. It was a mad dash to the bathroom to keep myself from making a mess all over the entire house.

When I finally leaned over the toilet, emptying whatever remnants were in my stomach, I felt fragile and weak, like I was hanging on by a thread.

What was this awful stomach bug? And why had it been plaguing me for so long?

“Great timing, Nina,” I muttered to myself as I rinsed my mouth and splashed a little cold water on my face. The cold shock momentarily gave me a tiny burst of energy, but as I looked in the mirror, I couldn't deny the pallor of my skin and the unmistakable drowsiness in my eyes.

I looked like I was half-dead.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed from the living room and brought me back to reality. I recognized Enzo’s ringtone—our song—and my heart did a little flip.

Forcing myself to put on a facade of normalcy, I managed to stumble out of the bathroom and sink down onto the couch where my uneaten takeout food lay in front of me before I took a shuddering breath and picked up the phone.

“Hey,” I said, pasting a smile on my face as though Enzo was right here, looking at me. In an odd way, it made me feel a little better.

Enzo’s voice echoed back to me, a source of comfort when I really needed it. “Hey, gorgeous,” he said, and I could hear the sound of rustling in the background as he was likely rifling around in his suitcase. “Made it to the hotel. Wanted to check in.”

The sound of his voice brought me comfort in knowing that he had at least made it safely to the hotel. “I’m glad you made it,” I said, leaning my head back on the couch and swallowing. “How was the flight?”

Enzo chuckled. “You wouldn’t believe it. The flight attendant confused me with someone wealthy and accidentally bumped me up to first class. The guy was pretty pissed when he found me in his seat. It was a whole ordeal.”

I laughed, picturing Enzo dealing with an angry diva over an airplane seat; Enzo, in all of his levelheaded glory, probably smirked throughout the whole thing. “That’s funny,” I said, reveling in the normalcy of our conversation despite my roiling stomach.

“Right? But wait, there’s more. The guy sitting next to me, halfway into the flight, fell asleep and drooled all over my shoulder.”

“Ew, gross!”

“Tell me about it. And the taxi driver wouldn’t shut up, kept going on about how the city has changed and ‘kids these days’. But hey, the hotel room is perfect. I wish you could be here.”

I could hear the excitement in his voice, tinged with the exhaustion of a long day. But even then, something inside me twisted even more, a wrenching feeling that had little to do with my sickness and more with the distance that was suddenly so palpable between us.

“It sounds like you had quite the adventure. So, what’s your plan now?”

“I’m beat, but Tim insisted on taking me out for dinner, so I’ll be heading out again soon,” he said. “What about you? Been missing me much, or glad to have me gone for once?”

As Enzo spoke, I felt my stomach do a flip again. But I couldn’t bring myself to tell him the truth about how I felt. Not when he sounded so excited. It would only ruin his first night out.

“Of course I’m missing you. But I just ordered some food. Watching some scary movies now,” I half-lied, my eyes involuntarily drifting to the bathroom door.

“Scary movies? Don’t spook yourself too much. That house gets creepy when it’s empty.”

I laughed. “That’s the goal. So I have a good excuse to make you come back early.”

He chuckled, but then his tone suddenly turned serious. “Are you sure you’re okay, Nina? You sound a bit...off.”

I sighed, a little annoyed by his persistent worry but also baffled by his ability to read me. “I’m fine, Enzo. Really. Just focus on your trip and quit worrying about me so much.”

“If you say so,” he replied, but I could sense the reluctance and restrained anxiety in his tone.

“I do. Now go get some dinner, and enjoy your night.”

“Alright. I love you, Nina.”

“I love you too, Enzo. Goodnight.”

We hung up, and I was alone again in the silence of our empty home. I sank onto the couch, clutching my stomach as another wave of nausea hit me. In front of me, my food lay uneaten and cold and not the least bit appetizing. On the TV, the protagonist of the horror movie was paused just as the killer was coming up behind her.

And here I was, feeling as though the killer had already plunged his knife into my belly.

“It’s just a stomach flu,” I reassured myself. “It’ll pass.”

…

I was drifting in and out of a feverish sleep, haunted by the surreal landscapes of my dreams, when a sharp pain in my stomach pulled me back to reality. This wasn’t just nausea anymore; this was something more intense, something that sent alarm bells ringing in my head.

Grimacing, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up, only to be met with a staggering wave of dizziness. I gripped the bedside table for support, my knuckles turning white from the strain.

“What the hell is happening to me?” I muttered.

My wolf, usually quiet unless provoked, growled low in my mind. “You need to see a doctor, Nina. This isn’t normal.”

“I know it’s not normal,” I snapped out loud as I stumbled toward the kitchen. “But it’s three in the morning. What doctor is even available right now?”

“Hospitals are open all the time,” she retorted. “You need to get checked out.”

I fumbled through the medicine cabinet, my hands shaking as I searched for some over-the-counter relief. When my fingers finally clasped around a bottle of antacid, I nearly cried out in victory. But as I twisted the cap off, my vision blurred, and for a second, I thought I was going to pass out.

“Nina,” my wolf persisted, “don’t be silly. This is serious.”

I looked at the clock. 3:47 AM. “Let me at least wait for the sun to come up,” I said, as though trying to talk myself out of the reality of the situation. “And if I still feel like this, then I’ll go.”

“You’re being stubborn and foolish,” she argued, but I ignored her, recapping the bottle and leaving it on the counter.

The walk back to the living room felt like a marathon. Every step was like fighting a losing battle against my body’s cries for help. I couldn’t go back to bed; the thought of lying flat made my stomach churn even more. Instead, I lay down on the couch, clutching a throw pillow against my abdomen as if that could somehow contain the pain ripping through my stomach.

But the longer I laid there, the more the darkness of the room seemed to close in on me from all sides. My wolf was silent now, but I could still feel her concern. It was as if she were sitting beside me, ears pricked, eyes alert, watching for any sign of danger.

“Fine,” I finally said aloud. “I’ll go.”

“It’s about time,” she replied.

Gathering every ounce of strength I had left, I managed to sit up. My head was still spinning, but I clenched my teeth and pushed through it. I got dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, grimacing with each movement. My fingers fumbled with the zipper, but I got it up eventually.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I muttered, grabbing my keys from the bowl by the door.

“You’re doing the right thing.”

I stepped outside, the early morning air crisp and cold against my face. It helped clear my head a little and gave me that last push I needed to get into the truck. As I turned the key in the ignition, I felt the vehicle roar to life.

“Alright,” I whispered to myself, gripping the steering wheel as if it were the only thing that could keep me tethered to reality. “Let’s go.”