Through Pain We Survive

Chapter 28

Two hours later, Nate's phone rang. Without looking at the Caller ID, he answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey! It's Sara. How are you?"

"I'm okay. Been working. How are you?"

"I'm good. Hey, I want to cook for you guys tonight. How does pork chops sound?"

"Gwen doesn't like pork, so not a good idea."

"How about barbecue chicken?"

"That'll be good. Do you want us to make anything?"

"No, I'll make some salad and we can have some macaroni and cheese with it. How about that?"

"AJ doesn't like macaroni and cheese. Maybe some mashed potatoes?"

"Okay! Barbecue chicken, mashed potatoes and salad. Sounds great! I'll get everything prepped and be over there soon!"

"Great. See you soon." Nate hung up the phone and went to find AJ.

Knocking on the open office door, Nate got AJ's attention. "Hey."

"Hey, what's up?"

"Sara called and wanted to bring dinner over here to cook for all of us. Barbecue chicken, mashed potatoes, and salad. Sound alright to you?"

"Yeah, sure. Does she want us to make anything?"

"No. She said she'll prep everything then bring it here to cook. She'll probably be here in about 45 minutes or so."

"Okay. I still have some work to finish up, and I think Gwen is still sleeping, so she should have the entire downstairs to utilize by herself."

"Alright. I'll head down there when she's on her way so she's not alone."

"Sounds good man."

Nate left the room and headed back to his. He finished off what he was doing then turned his computer off.

Nate headed downstairs. Penelope bolted past him, racing him down. Shaking his head, he went to the living room.

When Sara arrived, they went into the kitchen to make dinner. Sara had already done most of the prep work, so Nate sat at the counter and talked to her while she was cooking.

AJ went into his and Gwen's room. He saw her still in bed, but awake.

"Hi beautiful."

She smiled and sat up. "Hey Baby."

"Are you feeling better?"

"Honestly? I'm still scared. But I know I can't stay hidden away."

"Hey, are you feeling up to dinner? Sara is downstairs with Nate and they're making barbecue chicken."

Gwen thought a moment. She was hesitant because it was Sara making the food, but her stomach won out.

"Alright. I'll play nice." She rose her eyebrow to him. He knew her feelings on Sara.

He smiled at her and kissed her. "I'm going to head downstairs, I'll see you when you're ready. Love you."

"Love you too." AJ walked out of the room, and Gwen grabbed her phone. Seeing the text from Becca, she called her.

"Hey, I saw your text. You okay?"

"Honestly? Not really. I'm confused."

"Anything I can help with?"

"I just need to talk something out. I think— I think I am in love with Nate."

Gwen smiled. She knew this was a long time coming. "Oh?"

Becca laughed. "Oh, quit that. I know you have been waiting for me to realize this. Our last conversation said so."

Gwen laughed. "Yeah, I could tell then. I just didn't want to put any feelings in your head you weren't ready for."

"Thanks for letting me figure it out on my own. But what do I do? He's dating Sara, they're doing better, from what he said, and I'm just... I'm here. Stuck watching him be happy with her."

Gwen sighed. She wished she could help Becca. All she can do is be supportive. "I believe it will all work out. Have faith. Sara is... cut from a different cloth. She will show her true colors soon enough, and then your time will come."

Becca sighed. "I don't know about that. I mean, it also depends on Nate too. Yeah, we've had some tense moments recently. But that could just be... ummm... it could just be because we've been friends for so long, we're comfortable with one another."

"Just trust yourself and trust Nate. What is meant to happen will." AJ poked his head around the corner and told her dinner was ready. "I'll call you later on. I'm being called to dinner. Just remember- have faith."

Becca sighed. "Okay, I will. Bye!"

"Bye!" Gwen got off the phone and followed AJ down the stairs.

Sitting at the table, the four of them ate their dinner with small talk between bites. Sara updated them about her job, and Nate and AJ told about their latest musical ideas. Gwen was relatively silent, with what all had happened to her that day, she was still in her head mostly.

"Gwen? You okay?" Sara asked.

Gwen cleared her throat. "Oh, yeah. Just a long day." Gwen looked back down to her food and ate a couple more bites.

"I was going through editing earlier, and I think we'll need a couple pickups. Gwen, will you be up for that?" AJ asked.

"Yeah, that's fine. I'm almost done here so we can go over those shots and then I'll get into costume."

After dinner, Nate and Sara went for a walk while AJ and Gwen went over the set list of shots they'd need to reshoot.

Gwen got into costume and they started in. There were only five shots they would need to redo, and none were of her face, so it was just arms or legs in the shot.

About an hour later they wrapped up. Gwen got changed for bed and AJ went into the office to work. Gwen got a book and went to their bedroom. While reading, her stomach started cramping. She also started feeling queasy. She ran to their bathroom just in time.

After brushing her teeth, she got back into bed. Weird. Wonder why I got sick. I hope I'm not coming down with something. She relaxed a bit more, then realized she was feeling warm. Reaching into her bedside drawer, she located the thermometer. 99.7. Great. I've probably caught the flu.

Another bout of nausea washed over her, and she rushed the bathroom again. Once she felt strong enough, she got a cloth to put around her neck and leaned against the wall. Summoning the strength to stand again, she went into the bedroom, sat on the bed. She tried laying down again, but could not get comfortable.

She rushed back into the bathroom feeling nauseous again.

"Hey, Honey, I— Gwen? Are you okay? What happened?" He came in to see her sitting on the floor in front of the toilet looking pale with her eyes closed.

Gwen shook her head. "I'm sick. Stay away. You don't need to get sick too."

"Oh, Honey." He crouched down beside her and felt her forehead. "You're burning up. Let's get you to bed."

AJ picked up Gwen and carried her to the bed. Laying her down, he stroked the side of her face.

"You should go. I don't want you sick too. I probably caught a bug."

"Honey, I'm staying right here." He kissed her forehead. Laying down next to her, he wrapped his arms around her and prayed she would feel better in the morning.