Ack.’ Casey drew a shuddery breath when the heaving finally subsided. She put down the toilet lid and rested her head on it. The coolness of the porcelain was soothing, but what she really needed was a long sleep or a hot shower. After the lift doors had closed behind her, she had stared at herself in that gilded mirror for some time. A strange dizziness had settled in her head, and her stomach had started lurching. Casey had remained transfixed on the spot until she belatedly recognised the symptoms for what they were. With only seconds to spare, she had managed to locate and enter her room, where she had been marooned in the bathroom ever since. And, at last, the nausea passed. Casey continued to focus on her breathing to steady her nerves. That was what had brought on this attack of the hurls. Nerves. It wasn’t food poisoning or a bug, she was sure of it. All morning her stomach had been roiling uneasily, but when she had left Alex behind, matters had reached fever pitch. It was her nerves.
