LA Baby ♡ Manhattan Dreams Sequel

15. Worry

The next morning I'm not feeling any better. I had gotten at best two or three hours of sleep between running to the bathroom and now, I was lying in bed wishing I were dead rather than deal with this illness for another second. "Hey" Riley whispers, walking back into our room wearing the soft pink hoodie and sweatpants that she left in only twenty minutes ago to run to the store to get me anything that would curb my nausea. "Feeling any better?" she asks, closing the door and placing the bag onto my nightstand.

"I feel like death" I reply honestly, closing my eyes as another wave of nausea rushes over me. I breathe deeply, inhaling and exhaling slowly until it passes and reopen my eyes to find my best friend looking down at me with concern.

"I'm sorry Peaches" she sighs, sitting on the edge of my bed and placing her hand on my back. "I'm sure it'll pass soon. Food poisoning is usually a twenty-four hour thing" she assures me, rubbing soothing lines into my back.

"I hope so" I sigh, glancing up at the clock. Class was supposed to start in less than twenty minutes and while it was clear that I wasn't going, it didn't mean that my best friend was going to miss it. I look over to Riley and offer her a kind smile. "You should get going. You're gonna be late and the last thing I want is Miss Laine to get angry at you because you were here with me."

She shakes her head, kicking off her shoes. "If you think I'm leaving you here then you're insane. You can barely get out of bed. Whose gonna make sure you stay hydrated" she asks, lying back in the bed behind me. "I'm your best friend, and for all intents and purposes when my uncle isn't around, I'm your person so just close your eyes and try to get some rest. I'll be here when you wake up."

I want to argue, our classes are important and she shouldn't be skipping them to play nurse but at the same time, it's been a long time since we spent a day together and I miss my best friend. So, if staying here to keep an eye on me will help her feel better then who am I to argue?

"Goodnight Riles" I reply instead and she hums back a response I don't coherently understand as I'm already drifting back off to sleep.

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I wake up and Riley is still in our room but no longer in my bed. Instead, she's sitting crisscross on her bed with a textbook propped open beside her, clearly working on homework. I sit up slowly, ecstatic when the room doesn't immediately start spinning and smile at the glass of water awaiting me. I reach out and take slow sips; which is a hard task when you're mouth is as dry as a desert and it tastes as if the water in this glass is the first beverage I've had in decades. "Morning sunshine" Riley smiles, noticing that I'm awake. "Sleep well?"

I look at the clock. It was well past noon. "Apparently" I reply, sitting up and bracing myself before I try to stand.

"You look better. I actually recognize your skin tone as your own and not that of a ghost" she comments. I allow a soft chuckle to escapes my lips. "I suppose we should start monitoring the food in the mini fridge, huh?"

I look up at her and actually laugh this time. "That would probably be for the best" I agree, finally standing up. "I think I'm gonna go and attempt to take a shower" I tell her. I honestly just felt disgusting after spending the entirety of last night throwing up and I needed to erase every last memory of it, starting with a shower and ending with a deep clean of my room.

"Okay. Take your cell in case you need me to come and help you." I nod, despite knowing I'll be fine and turn to grab my things before leaving the room.

I head straight for the bathroom and push open the door, finding a freshman dazedly attempting to hold a conversation with an upperclassman and I smile. I remember not too long ago I was that dazed freshman with Josh. Oh how times have changed since then.