Chapter 26
901 Words
Emma closed her eyes as another wave of nausea shook her. She pulled her knees in tight to her chest and tried to remember to breathe.
“Emma?” Kat was in her bedroom doorway. “You need anything?”
Emma held out her hand and Kat came in right away. She sat down next to Emma’s bed, clutching her hand.
“It’s OK, Em. I’m right here.”
Emma nodded. “Talk to me.”
“Alright.” Kat stroked Emma’s sweaty hair back from her forehead. “So, I was at the hair salon yesterday, and Terrance came in an hour late. When Benny started shouting at him, Terrance went berserk. Like, we always knew the guy was wound up tight, right, but he lost it.”
“What did he do?” Emma asked, her voice raspy and rough.
“Started throwing around everything he could get his hands on… products and equipment, hair clips and shampoo bottles. Like, everything. He grabbed the hairdryer right out of my hand and threw it the length of the salon. The thing was, I was using it to dry a customer’s hair at the time, and it was roaring hot. He had to go to the hospital for second-degree burns on his hands.”
Emma laughed, then grimaced.
Kat saw the look on her face and reached for the bucket next to the bed; she got it in front of Emma’s mouth just in time. Emma vomited violently, then again. Kat sponged her burning face with cool water and gave her some ice chips to suck on. When Emma started to sob, Kat held her close and rocked her back and forth. There was nothing else to be done for Emma, so Kat did what she could.
Later, when Emma was finally sleeping, Kat called Liv.
“How is she?” Liv said.
“Way worse this time.” Kat glanced at the bedroom door. “Really sick, Liv. She’s been throwing up all day.”
Liv swore. “The round last time wasn’t anywhere near this bad.”
“Yeah, well, this chemo cycle is much more aggressive. We knew that.”
“Yeah.” Liv took a deep breath. “This damn photo shoot is almost done, and thank Christ for that. I’ll be back tomorrow morning, OK? I’ll take over for the rest of weekend, and you can go home and get some rest.”
“No problem.” Kat rubbed her eyes. “Get here when you can.”
**
Dean looked around The Cave, barely noticing the women gyrating on the dance floor or leaning up against the bar. He almost sighed aloud from sheer boredom.
“Hey, Dean? You alright, man?” Chris handed him a beer.
He looked at Chris. “Yeah. Fine. Thanks.”
“You’re not into it, are you?” Chris asked the question so quietly, Dean barely heard him over the music.
“No. Not really.”
“Where’s Emma tonight?” Jim said.
Dean scowled. “Why?”
Jim put his hands up in the international ‘I come in peace’ sign. “I’m just asking. No snark, I swear.”
Dean ran his hands through his hair. “Sorry. I’m just – I don’t know.” He sighed. “Anyway, she’s traveling this whole week. New York, mostly.”
“Again?” Dallas said. “Wasn’t she in LA last month for ten days?”
“Yeah.” Dean drank his beer. “Her job is pretty full-on.”
“So – you’re free tonight?” Chris asked tentatively. “Like, free and clear to pick up anyone you want? Emma said she had no problem with that, right?”
“Yeah. Yeah, she did.”
Dallas drank, his eyes on Dean. “You don’t look all that interested, man.”
“I’m not, really.”
The men exchanged glances, and Dean caught them.
“OK, what?” he said. “You think I’m getting too serious about Emma?”
“We have no idea.” Chris shook his head. “Are you?”
“f**k no.” Dean drank some more beer. “It’s just – I’m not interested in picking someone else up, even if Emma says it’s cool.”
“Like, you feel as if you’re cheating on her or something?” Jim asked.
“No. Not cheating, because she said it’s fine and besides, we aren’t together. More like, I’m not all that into the whole process of picking someone new up. The come-ons and the bullshit small-talk. Then having to get her to my place, then trying to figure out her body. Then getting her the hell out in the morning as quick as possible and trying not to hurt her feelings. It’s all just so much work and so f*****g boring.” He looked at them. “You know?”
They stared at him.
He sighed again. “I don’t know, guys. Maybe I’m just done with this, for now. I think I’m at the point that even if Emma wasn’t around, I’d still be done.”
“You think?” Dallas said.
“Yeah. Yeah, I do.” Dean stared around the bar, and all he saw was what he had been looking at every single weekend for the past two years. “I think I’m done.”
- Writer
