"Mrs. McDonough!" I call. I hear footsteps, and Connor's in the doorway.
"She's making dinner, so she sent me up here. What's up?" he asks.
"Um, just ask her if your father knows about me," I lie. Well, about my real identity.
"I'm pretty sure he knows that you're here, but I'll ask anyways," he says, and he disappears.
I start to unpack my things, and I put the bag Agent Freeman gave me in under the bed. I start to hang up my leather jackets in the closet (I have six. Yes, I have a problem) and I put my combat boots on the ground. I then line up my sneakers, and then I take out the fashion boots that I have. My style varies. I love shopping, but I also hate it. I don't like shopping for very girly things, but I'll shop at places like Forever 21.
"Wow, you have more sneakers than I do," Connor says, making me jump and hit my head on the shelf.
"Ow!" I cry out.
"I'm sorry!" he exclaims. I stand up and rub the back of my head.
"It's fine. Does he know?" I ask.
"She said that he knows you're here, but he doesn't know about you," he tells me. I nod and sit on my bed. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just really tired. I haven't been able to sleep for a couple of days," I admit, which is true. The stress of this mission has been keeping me awake at night.
"Well, maybe you'll get some sleep tonight. Where have you been the last couple of days?" he asks, sitting in the desk chair. Ooh, it spins and rolls. Mrs. McDonough is the best.
"I've been sleeping at my old house before the movers came to empty it and put in new furniture for the family that moved in. She left the house to the bank, so they sold it," I explain.
"That sucks. At least you have all of your stuff here," he says.
"Yeah," I mumble.
"Connor, Emily! Dinner's ready!" Mrs. McDonough calls up the stairs. We both get up and walk descend the steps without saying anything else to him.
I sit down, and Toby sits next to me. Riley and Connor sit across from us, and Mr. and Mrs. McDonough sit on the ends of the table. I look down at my food and feel my stomach turn when I smell it. Cooked wine. I can't stand the smell, and sometimes I throw up if it's strong enough.
"Are you okay Emily? You look a little pale," Riley comments.
I shoot out of my seat and run to the bathroom. I lift the toilet seat and throw up, emptying my stomach of everything I've eaten in the past twenty-four hours. Somebody holds back my hair as I continue to puke. Once I'm done, I flush the toilet and turn around to face Connor.
"Are you okay?" he asks. I nod my head and walk back into the diningroom.
"Sweetie, are you okay?" Mrs. McDonough asks. I nod.
"Yeah," I say.
"Are you a vegetarian?" she asks.
"No, it's not that-"
"Oh God, you aren't pregnant, are you?" Mr. McDonough asks.
"No! Absolutely not!" I say quickly. "I just get sick at the smell of cooked wine, that's all."
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Mrs. McDonough apologizes.
"It's fine, you didn't know. Do you mind if I go to bed? I'm not feeling very well," I say. They nod, and I go upstairs.
I change into sweatpants and a sports bra before going into the bathroom and pulling my hair into a messy bun. I use the bathroom, and there's a knock on the door.
"Just a second!" I call out. I flush and wash my hands before opening the door to reveal Toby. His eyes widen as he looks away, his face flushing.
"So-sorry. I-I just wanted to ch-check up on you," he stutters.
"Toby, you've seen girls in bikinis, which is less than what I'm wearing. I think you can handle seeing me in a sports bra and sweatpants," I say. He looks back at me.
"Anyways, how are you feeling?" he asks.
"Okay, I guess. I mean, it will take a few hours to get the taste of stomach acid out of my mouth, but other than that, I feel better," I tell him, placing my clothes that I wore earlier in the hamper across the room.
"Good. Well, goodnight," he says, and he starts to walk out.
"Wait," I call. He stops in the doorway and turns around. I walk up to him and hug him. His hands are placed on my back, warming it up a little.
"Thank you for caring," I say, pulling back. He looks down at me and smiles.
"No problem," he whispers.
I kiss his cheek. "Goodnight, Toby."
