Free Rain by Christie Cote Page A

to drag you out the door,” I defended.
    “Mmhmm. Well, I told you I would visit,” he said, going back to my question.
    “I didn’t expect you to though,” I answered quietly as I ran my fingers through my tangled hair. I could only imagine what it looked like.
    “I don’t say I’m going to do something unless I mean it,” he said seriously while he locked eyes with mine.
    My heart stopped—or maybe just skipped. I wasn’t really sure, but Kyle had surprised me once again. I’d thought he was just another guy who didn’t think before he spoke when I first met him, but he kept surprising me, and here he was. He was a puzzle that I couldn’t figure out.
    “Well aren’t you the surprise,” I teased.
    “Good.” He winked and broke the eye contact to pull over a nearby chair.
    “Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” I asked as he sat down and leaned back in the chair.
    “If I were sleeping, then I wouldn’t be here. Unless I sleepwalked and drove, and that wouldn’t be good… So no, I shouldn’t be sleeping.” He sounded quite serious.
    I arched an eyebrow at him. I really didn’t know what to make of him. No obligations, yet here he was after I’d kept him up all night. “Okay… You are weird,” I told him.
    All of a sudden, heat swept over me and my smile was gone. Nausea rolled through me, and I looked at Kyle in horror. Oh no. I am not throwing up in front of him.
    “What?” he asked, standing up, but I was already jumping off of the bed in record time and making a run for it to the bathroom.
    Luckily, I was no longer hooked up to an IV. No, no, no, no, no!
    “Taylor?” Kyle’s concerned voice came after me as I shut the bathroom door.
    Sinking to the cool, tiled floor in front of the toilet, I tried to convince myself not to throw up. Everything I had eaten made a reverse dash out of me and into the toilet instead. Maybe the burger hadn’t been such a good idea.
    The door opened, but I couldn’t move. I was acutely aware of Kyle coming behind me, but I couldn’t do a damn thing about it. My hair was hanging loose around my face, some sticking to my cheeks. Kyle began to gently gather it and pull it away from my face just in time for another round of vomit. This was officially my new most embarrassing moment. Ever.
    “Should I get a nurse or your parents?” he asked.
    I shook my head no, too afraid to try to talk. I did not need anyone else seeing me like this. When I felt like I could get a word out I whispered, “Water.”
    Really needing water, I was also hoping to get him out of the room for at least a minute. He hesitated before tugging the hair elastic off of my wrist and tying back my hair that he had gathered in his hands. It was impressive how gentle he was and how he managed not to pull any of my hair while he did this. It was like he did this on a daily basis. Who was this guy? Stranger certainly still fit him, that was for sure.
    He left, and I flushed the toilet, not wanting to see the contents of it anymore. He returned faster than I’d expected and handed me a glass of water. Once I accepted the water, he moved to the sink and turned the water on, placing a washcloth underneath it. I brought the plastic cup to my mouth and took in some of the cool water but did not swallow it. I swished it around in my mouth before spitting it out into the toilet. Raising the cup to my lips once more, this time I actually took a drink. The cold liquid slid down my throat easily, fortunately bringing a little relief.
    Kyle handed me the wet washcloth, and I gratefully accepted.
    “Thank you,” I rasped, cringing at the sound of my voice.
    “No problem.” His voice came out smooth, and I disliked how he could always do that at this particular moment.
    Bringing the washcloth to my face, I closed my eyes and wiped it. Cleaning my face made me feel a lot better. I still felt gross, but being able to clean my face helped a lot. The nausea subsided for the time being, and I hoped it stayed