Love & Lies

Chapter Nineteen

Her stomach was begging her to run to the bathroom, but after two trips to the bathroom in the past hour Jessie's aching body just could not move.   She stared at the ceiling of her bedroom with bleak, weary eyes.  As she listened to the light snores of Jordan to her right, she was so tempted to wake him to help her to the bathroom but thought against it.  Although she began to feel ill two days ago, Jessie thought it was indigestion like she had experienced from the hot dogs at the park with Jackson so she hid it from Jordan all through their date last night.  I really don't want to be in hospital and with my luck make my first bounce back into American media as a glorified hospital stay of rumors ranging from terminal illness to pregnancy, she thought irrationally as her unrealized fever set at 101.4.

Licking her lips, Jessie realized she really needed to get fluids into her system as those trips to the bathroom had to be causing her to take a trip down the path of dehydration.  She nearly staggered forward landing on her face as she first stood off the bed.  Not trusting her balance, Jessie held onto what she could until she reached a wall.  She glanced back at Jordan, who still lay sound asleep with his poofy hair sticking in all different directions, but such a quick turn of her head brought on the dizziness.  Jessie closed her eyes for a brief moment to regain composure.

When Jessie finally emerged from the hallway, she first noticed yesterday's clothes strewn over the couch as a reminder of last night.  She attempted a smile but was quickly overcome with nausea.  She shook her head in attempt to rid the awful feeling and made her way into the kitchen to manage a glass of water.

Opening her refrigerator to many vacant shelves, Jessie gasped when she realized Brendan was supposed to take her food shopping this morning and then much later the movies.  "Shit, what time is it?" she whispered.  "He's supposed to accompany me at eleven."

Just as Jessie saw from her stove that it was 8:45 in the morning, she remembered the fact that she canceled the moment her stomach was bothering her in case that she may need another day to shake whatever food was bothering her digestive track.  

She grabbed a small bottle of mineral water before closing the metal refrigerator door.  As the cold fluid slid down Jessie's dry, scratchy throat, she felt slight relief but knew she wasn't out of the woods.  But wait, I don't remember him texting me back, she thought to herself before feeling herself panic a bit.  Where's my phone?  

When Jessie couldn't spot it from the default spot she had for it in the kitchen, Jessie figured it was in the bedroom and began to head back when she felt a stronger dizzy spell consume her.  She grabbed her counter before leaning her body against the cabinets closing her eyes.  

To think a week ago we were coming home from apple picking and of course after smooth sailing, I have to get sick, she thought to herself dramatically not realizing the fever was talking.  However, one rational part of that thought was the fact that her stalker was being good on his or her promise.  

Suddenly, Jessie began to hear hushed voices which caused her for the first time to feel her forehead.  "Great, I'm hallucinating," she said aloud.  

When the sound of keys met the knob of her door from outside, however, Jessie knew she had to be delirious as who else could have had the key.  However, the sound and physical showing of the knob turning was too real.  A rush of adrenaline gave Jessie temporary strength as she came to terms with the fact that her stalker had lied and was finally going to present him or herself after impossibly getting a copy of her keys.

As the door opened, Jessie's eyes widened in surprise much like the two people who remained in the doorway.  "You scared the fucking shit out of us!" Jenny nearly screamed.