“I love pizza!” Jazzy chimes in excitedly.
“Only monsters or aliens don’t like pizza, Jazz,” Sammie tells her.
The night wasn’t a total disaster. Everyone ate pizza, chatted, and laughed. I was relieved once they all left, though. Towards the end of the night, I started to feel a headache coming on. I told Carlo I was going for a shower while he put Jazzy to bed. I’ve been sitting in here for twenty minutes, my stomach turning. I feel weak. Almost as if I try to stand, I won’t be able to do it.
I need to. I need to get up.
I reach over and turn off the tap, stopping the flow of the water. Then, holding on to the doorknob, I pull myself up on shaky legs. I manage to wrap a towel around myself and then fall to my knees by the toilet before the contents of my stomach decide to come back up.
The door opens but I don’t look at it. I can’t.
“Shit. Babe?” Carlo drops down next to me. His hands land on my face. “How long have you been feeling sick?”
“It just started,” I say before leaning back over the toilet.
“Fuck. It’s okay. You’re going to be okay,” he tells me before yelling into his phone. “Louie, I need the doc. She’s sick, vomiting and burning up. Find out what the fuck was in that soup!”
“W-what?” I wipe my mouth with the towel that’s still wrapped around me.
“The soup. You had a spoonful. I should have known. I’m so sorry,” Carlo says.
“What?” I repeat.
“I think the soup was poisoned. But it’s going to be okay. The doc is on his way. You’re going to be okay,” he repeats.
“I don’t feel good, Carlo.” I lean on his body, unable to support my own weight.
“I’ve got you. I love you, Antonia. Please, just don’t ever give up. Don’t give up on me,” he whispers as he closes his arms around my waist, and I feel myself being lifted.
My eyes are heavy, and I give in to sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Someone is going to pay for this. Whoever the fuck tried to poison me, and in turn poisoned my fucking wife, is going to wish for a quick death by the time I’m done with them.
I set Antonia down on the bed and sit next to her. She’s passed out. Her pulse is fast, but it’s there. “Come on, babe, wake up.” I shake her shoulders lightly, and she lets out a moan buther eyes don’t open. “Don’t go to sleep, Antonia. I can’t lose you again,” I tell her.
I don’t know how long I’m sitting here holding my wife while praying to a god I don’t believe in before Louie comes rushing through the door, Sammie and Emmanuel behind him.
“How is she?” Louie asks.
I look up at my best friend, and I can’t find any words.
“The doc is on his way,” Sammie says.
“The lab report says it’s hemlock. The doc knows,” Emmanuel adds. “She’s going to be okay.”
Louie walks into the bathroom, coming back with a wet washcloth he places over Antonia’s forehead. She’s still wrapped in only a towel. I would usually care if anyone else saw her like this. Right now, I just need her to be okay.
“I can’t lose her,” I tell Louie.
“You won’t,” he says.
Sammie clears his throat. “I’m going to take Jazzy to my place for the night. Lailani is there.”
“She’s already asleep,” I tell him. Although she’ll likely wake up screaming from one of her nightmares soon, and I’m not there to comfort her. She’s never woken up without me there. Not since coming to live with me.Fuck.“Someone needs to sit in her room. She’s going to wake up. She has nightmares, and she can’t wake up alone.”
“I’ll go.” Emmanuel walks out.
