TORN

Chapter 13

The next morning, Zena woke up sweating and choking before Jacob came running to her room. "Babe, you okay?" She nodded as it hurt to talk, but a few seconds later she jumped up and ran to the bathroom, head pounding, to throw up. "Z, you sure you're okay?" Jacob asked walking into the bathroom finding his best friend draped over the toilet. He ran over and grabbed her hair before she puked again. She was too weak to move and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand to find blood. She quickly wiped it on some toilet paper, flushing it along with everything else. Great. I'm throwing up blood. Just great. Jacob carried Zena back to bed before dialing Thompson. "We have a problem," was all he said before hanging up the phone and running after her as she threw up nothing but saliva mixed with blood.

"What's wrong with her?" Thompson asked handing him the first aid kit and rushing to Zena's room only to find her in her underwear to cool down. I love Jacob because he always knows exactly what to do when I get sick. Hayden and Malichai just stared at their friend's curled up state when they got to the room. Why do I keep throwing up? Zena ran to the bathroom again slamming the door shut before hacking up saliva, blood, and something she couldn't describe when Jacob came in with the first aid kit.

"You need ice, and fast." Jacob felt her head and took her temperature from under her arm since she kept throwing up every minute. The thermometer read 110 degrees and she was drenched in so much sweat that she needed to change her clothes or lack thereof. Jacob got a pair of shorts and a tank top, along with some dry underwear and helped his best friend undress and redress, which was very embarrassing for her. "Let's get you back in bed. You ready?" Zena vomited once more before nodding and he laughed picking her up bridal style carrying her to bed.

"Jacob?" Zena whispered as it hurt to talk.

"Yeah, babe?" Jacob placed ice packs all over her body to the point where her body is barely visible.

"Thanks. For everything." Zena drifted off to sleep and he kissed her forehead before leaving the room followed by the boys.

"You really care about her don't you?" Hayden asked.

"I'm in love with her and she knows that. I don't know what game she tried to pull today but that doesn't change how I feel about her." Jacob stared at Zena's room with a frown. "I just hope she feels the same way about me."

"Has she ever been this bad?" Malichai asked concerned.

"Only once. It's funny actually because the last time she almost drowned and had to get sea kelp extracted from her throat as well." Jacob laughed. "I don't know what to do with her. She always pushes the boundaries and ends up getting hurt. I want to protect her with my life but sometimes she won't let me."

"Seems like you two are made for each other. You never thought about dating?" Stephan said.

"We talked about it but we don't want to ruin the friendship. Besides she was in a relationship all throughout high school and most of university and I was in a few summer flings, then work got in the way, so we didn't really have time to be in a relationship." The boys nodded.

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Three days later

"How is she?" Hayden asked hopefully.

"She's doing better, her fever is under control and she's not throwing up anymore. If she's back to herself by the end of the week, we're going out to celebrate," Jacob said and Hayden's smile was so big, it filled the entire room. Three more days passed and when Hayden went to check on his friend, he found her sitting up on the edge of the bed and rushed over crushing her in a hug.