You And Me Against The World | ✅

Chapter 29

I wake up to the smell of toast and oat meal. I open my eyes and realize I'm still on the couch. I hear noises from the kitchen and manage to lift myself up without getting a major headache while doing so. I fully expect to see Tobias there but instead I see my mom. I must be dreaming or hallucinating. Why would my mom be here?

"Mom?" I ask and realize how raspy my voice sounds.

"Sweetheart, you're up," she says smiling. She comes to my side and kisses my forehead, no doubt to check on my temperature.

"What are you doing here? Where's Tobias?" I ask confused.

"He had to go to work and asked me if I wanted to come over. I almost had to kick him out. He didn't want to leave at all. I had to promise him I would call him the moment you get up and every time you or I need something," she says.

"Sounds like him. What time is it?" I ask.

"It's almost eleven. I thought of waking you up, but you looked so peaceful that I couldn't. How do you feel?"

"My throat hurts, my back hurts, my head hurts a little less than yesterday. Basically, every cell in my body hurts," I summarize.

"My poor baby," my mom says. "Do you want to eat something?" she asks.

"Some toast. I'm not really hungry," I say. "Could you help me get up?" She stands up and holds her arms out for me to grab her. I stand on my own two feet, but they feel like jelly beneath me.

"Where do you want to go?" she asks.

"The bathroom." She helps me to the bathroom and leaves me to myself. I look in the mirror and realize I look like shit. I'm pale and sweaty, my eyes are bloodshot and my hair sticks to my head as if a giant dog licked it. I'm disgusted with myself. I look for a wash cloth to wash the sweat away. I manage to clean myself up a little when a powerful wave of nausea hits me. I barely manage to kneel in front of the toilet when I start emptying my stomach. My mom must have heard me because she comes in and kneels down right next to me rubbing a soothing hand up and down my back. She holds my hair to avoid it getting all dirty and I'm thankful Tobias called her. The pain in my upper body is almost unbearable and when I'm finally done vomiting I sit down with my back turned to the toilet. My mom flushes the foul-smelling content of my stomach down the drain and takes the wash cloth to wipe my face with it. When I'm certain I won't vomit again I get up with mom's help and brush my teeth. I manage to get back on the couch and lie back down, the toast I wanted minutes ago long forgotten.

I fall asleep almost instantly when my head hits the pillow. When I wake up again Tobias sits on the floor in front of the couch his back slightly turned toward me and holding my right hand in his left. He is talking to someone but I can't understand a word. I blink a few times before I can keep my eyes open and recognize both my parents who are sitting on the adjacent loveseat. None of them seems to have noticed that I'm up. I suddenly feel a lot lighter, like I'm flying. I try to sit up and expect a headache or a wave of nausea to hit me, but to my surprise I'm just fine. I try to get up and realize I don't feel any pain or fatigue as I might have expected. I try talking to them but none of them seems to register that I'm not only awake, but also standing in the middle of the room. I look toward my mom and wave my hand in front of her, but she doesn't react. Neither does my father. What's wrong with them? Why do they ignore me? I turn toward Tobias and want to call his name when I see myself still lying on the couch. Shit. I've projected myself.

"How about you come here tomorrow?" Tobias asks. "I know you invited us to your home, but given that Tris is sick I think it would be best if you would come eat here. I will cook," he proudly says.