Can You Keep A Secret?

Chapter Eighty-Two

-Liv's POV-

"Heartburn, heartburn!" I yelped, jumping up and searching for a glass or water or something. The sick feeling had never launched into a full-on illness, but it had never left me, either. Mikey had finally forced me to eat something - Just plain rice, which shouldn't have been too disrupting - But the burning sensation was now steadily creeping its way up my throat.

Mikey looked startled, unsure of what to do, but Andy immediately leapt into action, racing into the kitchen to grab me a bottle of water. He was still a little bashful when handing it to me, looking down to avoid eye contact, but I gulped it down gratefully anyways, hoping that it was assuage some of the discomfort. It did, but only when I was drinking - The moment that I put it down, it started back up again.

"Shit," I said, pacing back and forth a little as I tried to think of ways to get rid of it.

"What helps heartburn?" Mikey asked, looking around the room for assistance.

"Tums!" Sophie called out. She was Blair's girlfriend, and usually good in such situations.

"Great. Does anyone have any?" After searching in her purse, Ginger came up empty handed.

"Sorry. It's not something that I usually think to buy," she explained. "It should probably go away with time," She said to me. I nodded, but I wished that it would go away now.

"I'll go out and get some, okay?" Mikey asked, leaning over to give me a quick kiss. "You stay here. I won't be long," He said, getting up and practically sprinting out of there. I couldn't help but smile - I was lucky to have such a caring boyfriend.

I sat criss-cross on his bunk, chugging the water bottle to keep myself sane, until it was empty and, along with the persistent burning sensation, my stomach ached as well - The weird sloshy sensation you get when you drink water too quickly. Hot tears of frustration pinpricked the corners of my eyes.

"What's wrong?" Andy was suddenly by my side - He always had this way of seeing right through me. I could never keep anything from him because he could sense that there was a problem even before I knew that there was. Too bad that it didn't work both ways.

"Oh, so you're finally talking to me again?" I asked, still a little bitter at his silence. I hadn't been able to pinpoint what possibly could've started it.

"Well, Mikey's gone, so-" He stopped himself, realizing that he'd revealed something that he hadn't meant to.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" I asked, immediately suspicious.

"Nothing," He said, trying to cover his tracks, but it was too late.

"No, it meant something. Tell me," I pleaded. He shook his head, refraining from using words once again.

"Come on. You're my best friend. You can talk to me," I pleaded, longing for the times before all of this mess, when the only thing that he would hide from me was what he got me for my birthday.

He let out an exaggerated sigh, admitting defeat because he knew that I wouldn't give up.

"Somebody thinks he has competition, is all. Just giving you guys some space." I arched my eyebrows, not sure if he was telling the truth or not.

"That's ridiculous. I would never think of you that way. You're my best friend," I said, putting extra emphasis on the word "friend."

"I know," He said, looking the slightest bit sad before quickly covering it up again. He shook his head as if erasing it from his mind. "But it's no big deal, honestly. Now, what's up with you?" He poked me playfully. I wasn't ready to change the topic so quickly, but I did, just for him.

"I'm just tired of feeling sick, is all."

"Aw, poor baby." He pulled me closer to him, putting his arm around my neck as I leaned into him. "Do you wanna go see a doctor or something?"

"No, I'm sure I'll be fine. It just sucks right now."

"I'm sure it does." And that was what Andy did best - He tried his best to make things better when he could, but when he couldn't, he simply rode out the suckage with me. Almost everything could be made at least a little better by having somebody you loved and cared about beside you.

We stayed in that position, him quietly supporting me while I leaned against him, until the door to the flat burst open and Mikey came back in.

"Heyyyy..." He said, his voice trailing off as he saw the two of us together. I sat up and Andy scrambled off of the bed. I was starting to think that there was some truth behind what he had said. Mikey seemed to consciously make the decision not to pursue investigating, and instead sat down where Andy had just been, handing me the container of Tums.

"Are you feeling any better?" He asked. I was - without me even noticing, the heartburn had faded away completely, but I took two of the colorful discs anyways, just in case it decided to make a return appearance.

"So, uhm, what did you two do while I was gone?" He asked, looking from me to Andy and then back again.

"We talked," I said, giving him an exasperated look. "A boy and a girl can do that, you know. Andy's my friend, but that's all he is to me. I love you."

"I know," He said, but in a way that told me he wasn't quite convinced.

"Mikey. You have to trust me when I saw that you're the only one." He turned to look me in the eyes.

"I trust you," He said. "I really do."

"Okay." I kissed him. "Stop worrying all of the time."

"But isn't that my job as your boyfriend?" He asked, eyes twinkling. I lightly knocked him upside the head.

"Your only job is to love me, you knob."

"Well, I'm covered on that part, then," He said, kissing me on the part of my neck where it tickled. I burst into a fit of giggles, and, just for the moment, forgot about everything that was wrong.