Mr stomach ached as it gurgled continuously. I tried to hide the loud noise as I sat at the dinner table with my entire family. I guess my stomach decided it was a great idea to make the loudest noise possible while eating with my family.
I moved the food around my plate, avoiding eye contact. I hoped no one could hear my stomach, but I knew they all could listen to me.
"Maeve sweetie, why aren't you eating? Do you not like the food I made." I finally looked at my mother and struggled to find a logical answer.
"No, your food is great, Mom. I just don't feel well. I feel like if I eat this, I'm going to throw up." It's more like if I eat this, I'll make myself throw up.
What are you even saying? You know you'll never take it that far. You're just going to eat a little less, lose a few pounds, and then eat normally.
"Okay, love, well, how about you just try some for me and see how you feel, hm?" I wanted to scream at her, 'Why do you care? You haven't even noticed it for the last few weeks, and suddenly now you're concerned?' But I held my breath, deciding that the best choice was to just take a small bite of the food.
As soon as I swallowed the food, I craved more. I wanted to shove all the food into my mouth and never feel hungry again. I decided against it and just took another small bite.
Suddenly, my stomach lurched, and I ran to the bathroom. I threw up what was left of the two bites of dinner and the water I'd drank earlier.
I heaved until there wasn't anything left in my stomach, which wasn't a lot to start with.
"Maeve, what's going on?" I felt my mother's warm hand on my back, and I flinched. I put my hands on my thighs and realized for the first time how cold my hands really were. They were long and lanky and cold to the touch.
"I need you to talk to me, sweetie." I was about to open my mouth and tell her everything I'd been feeling, but then I saw him.
I staggered away from my spot on the floor and hid in the corner of the bathroom. I shook violently as my brain worked a million miles a minute.
What was Pierce O'Neil doing in my house?
"Who's here?" I said so lowly that I wasn't even sure I had said it. "Johnny's teammates, why? Do you not want them here? If you want it to be us, then I can cancel the party I had planned,"
"No, it's fine. I'm just going to go to my room," I uttered as I stood on shaky legs. I was about to leave the bathroom before I hesitated.
I couldn't be here right now. Not with him here. Not in the room where he did it.
I sprinted out of the hallway, almost running into half his teammates before I got to the back door. I yanked it open and ran into the night. I heard someone calling my name, but I couldn't listen to them. I had already passed out.
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I awoke to someone stroking my hair softly. I tried to focus on their soft hands and no one, the pounding headache I was on the receiving end of.
I opened my eyes and saw steel blue eyes staring back at me. "Pa?" I asked croakily, only now noticing how sore my throat was.
"Hey, Maeve, how are you feeling?" I shrugged, not really knowing how to answer that. "What time is it?" My eyes were feeling droopy, and I wondered if Gibs had accidentally slipped me something. He was always doing something like that.
"It's 11:30. You gave us quite a fright when you were passed out for so long. We would take you to the A&E if you weren't awake by midnight."
I slowly nodded, feeling my eyelids get heavier and heavier.
"Maeve, I'm leaving so you can get some rest, okay?"
I suddenly remembered that Pierce could still be in my house, and a cold sweat appeared on my back.
"No!" I yelled, and my cheeks immediately flamed in embarrassment. "I just. I don't want to be alone. Can you stay with me?" Patrick's ears turned pink, and he opened his mouth twice before responding.
"Are you sure you don't want me to get your brother or mom?" I shook my head and waited for him to make his next move.
He ran a hand through his hair before cursing lowly, then walked over to my bed. I stiffly scooted over, and he kicked his shoes off. I lifted the covers up, and he climbed in. We both turned opposite ways, and he turned off the lamp that was on my side locker.
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I opened my eyes softly and felt something solid under my head, and something heavy lay over my shoulder. I sighed softly and dug my head deeper into this mysterious object.
I don't ever remember my bed being this warm.
My eyes snapped open as memories from last night flooded my brain
Patrick Feely. Throwing up. Pierce O'Neil. Passing out. Patrick Feely.
I tried to move but couldn't with the heavy weight on me. My brain is just now registering that weight as Patrick's arm.
"What. The. Fuck." My eyes snapped up to my brother, who stood in the doorway of my room. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't even hear him come in.
I heard a low groan before Patrick moved slightly and pulled me tighter into him. Not the time, Pa. I thought as I watched Johnny's glare harden. I slightly poked Patrick, hoping he would wake up so I wouldn't have to deal with Johnny's wrath alone.
He opened his eyes and looked down at me with a soft smile. My heart would've melted if it wasn't for the panic clawing at my chest. Everyone on the rugby team knew not to mess with me, and now, one of Johnny's best friends had just been caught in the same bed as me. It was completely innocent, but to Johnny, it might not look like it.
I pointed at the doorway, and Patrick slowly turned his head. When he saw Johnny, he groaned and buried his head into my shoulder.
"Aw fuck, Maeve, we're screwed," Patrick muttered as he did a double take towards Johnny and then groaned and put his head back into my shoulder.
"Oh, fuck is right. I'm going to beat the hell out of ye!" Johnny yelled, the vein on his forehead bulging out in anger.
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Hey guys, I just wanted to make a quick note. I hope you are all enjoying the book so far, but I just want to apologize for the distance between each chapter. I will definitely post more on the weekends, but unfortunately, during school days, I have so much going on and often can't find time to publish a new chapter every day. I'm working on editing a chapter every day, but posting one every day is a bit difficult. I hope you all understand!!
