She screamed and screamed and fought. “Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” Elijah said, moving away as she howled. “I—I can’t breathe. I’m going to be sick.” Caelyn jumped off the bed, feeling certain that she was about to die. Something horrible was happening to her—a stroke, heart attack—maybe a brain aneurism. Whatever it was, she needed to run from it. Into the bathroom she went, shutting the door and falling to her knees beside the toilet bowl. She sat there feeling like everything was about to come up—all of that Chinese food that she’d picked at, the beer, everything. But at the last second, her stomach calmed and she sat back on her heels, breathing heavily. There was a knock at the door. “Hey, are you all right in there?” His voice sounded deeply concerned. “I’m okay,” she said. “Can I come in?” She hesitated. Part of her wanted him to come in and say that he wasn’t upset with her for ruining what had been happening between them—but another part of her was scared that she would see disgust in his eyes.
