Accessory: The Scarab Beetle Series: #4 (The Academy) (17 page)

I turned my head away again, pushing at him. “Don’t,” I said.

He ignored me, pressing the cool cloth to my forehead. It chilled me, soothing some of the nausea. “Seasick?” he asked quietly.

“Maybe,” I said.

“What’s wrong?”

I breathed in slowly, swallowing. “Nausea,” I said. “And cramping.”

A blond eyebrow went up. “Where are you cramping?”

“In my gut.”

He dipped the cloth into the water in the cup and then touched it to my cheek, tracing it. “Is it your period?” he asked. “Was the nausea aggravating it?”

“No,” I said, aggravated more by him bringing it up. Like he needed to know anything.

“Pumpkin spice, you’re going to have to tell someone. Either you tell me how you’re dying and I could possibly help, or you just die. Tell me.”

“No,” I said. “My period was two weeks ago. So that shouldn’t be it, unless it’s just early or being weird. The cramping is just dull and achy now. I’m just trying not to move. Not easy when I’m not sure about the nausea and if I’m going to be sick.”

He harrumphed. “Let’s try to get rid of the nausea, then.” He picked up my hand and had me take the washcloth. “Hold this to your forehead or neck or wherever. Cool yourself off.”

I did, pressing it to the back of my neck. It did give relief as it cooled my skin.

He got up again, going to the sink. He dug through a drawer, and found a first aid kit. He dug through it, found a small packet and left the kit on the counter before returning to me. He shook it and then tore it in half, dropping a pill into his palm. “I need you to swallow this,” he said.

“I can’t swallow anything right now.”

He edged closer, and held the pill between two fingers. “Kayli. Sweetie. This little pill is going to take all that nausea away. Now do you want to try to swallow it, or do you want to lay on the floor all day?”

“Uh...lay on the floor,” I said, although weakly. I reached up, taking the pill from him.

He wedged himself to where he was behind me in the small space. He held my shoulders, holding me up, and brought me the little cup for water. I threw the pill into my mouth, and sipped at the water until I could swallow it. Drinking some water helped, too. It cooled off the inside of my body.

“It’s going to take a few minutes to work,” he said. He sat back on his butt, drawing one of his knees up close to his chest. “We’ll just wait here until you’re feeling better.”

“I can’t believe this,” I said. I put the wet cloth flat over my face. How embarrassing.

“It’s going to make you sleepy, though,” he said. “I probably should have just given you a half, but I want it to work fast.” He touched my knee, warming it. “You’ll be up in no time, sweetie.”

“Don’t you dare tell Doyle.”

“I’m afraid Doyle already knows. He’s listening, remember?”

I couldn’t believe this. Doyle had said as much but for some reason I’d assumed Avery and Blake had been listening to me in particular and Doyle was just the operator. I adjusted my T-shirt down, intending to cover my body up, but not liking how it warmed my chilled stomach. Any warmth or touch seemed to make the nausea worse. “He can’t see me, can he?”

“No,” he said. His hand moved from my knee, and he captured my wrist. He held it while he moved my shirt back up to close to where it had been. “So if this is more comfortable for you, just stay right there.”

I sighed into the cloth. It had warmed a bit, so I flipped it over to the cooler side, dropping it against my face, covering my eyes and mouth. “I can’t run a team if I’m going to get seasick.”

“I’m not totally sure if you’re seasick,” he said. “Cramping isn’t really part of it. But we’ll deal with the symptoms right now. It might just be stress and you’re still recovering from that poison in your system. The most important thing is preventing from it coming back. I don’t want you being too stressed right now, not when we’re just getting started. Take it easy and just enjoy the cruise and listen, maybe watch what you eat for a while. It could be you’ve run into something your body doesn’t like.”

“If you tell me to go on a diet, I’ll kill you.”

He chuckled. “Maybe not yet. Maybe we’ll just keep track of what you’re eating for a while. If the symptoms come back--”

Suddenly, the quiet bathroom turned to chaos as the boys arrived. With a groan, I pressed the washcloth to my face, just trying not to be sick. I should have told Blake to go away once he’d passed me the pill.

There was a slam, and then a shout. “What the hell are you doing here, Coaltar?”

“Back off, Henshaw,” Blake said, loud but still calm.

Realizing someone was probably going to get hurt, I ripped the washcloth off my face, seeing Brandon holding Blake lifted up by the shoulders pressing him roughly against the wall by the sink. Anger reddened Brandon’s already sunburned cheeks, his mouth in a snarl. “What are you...following her now? You stalking her?”

“Learned it from you,” Blake said with a smirk.

I sucked in a breath, waves of nausea overcoming me thanks to the heavy tension in the room. I lifted my head, trying to cover myself with the shirt. I needed to stop him. The cramping increased. “Brandon!” I cried out. “Let him go.”

Brandon pulled back on Blake, only to slam him against the wall again. Items shook on the counters, and there was a loud crack, like he might have broken one of the tiles. “I asked you a question,” he yelled in Blake’s face.

“Brandon!” I yelled. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Raven stood in the doorway, hands balled into fists. He was still shirtless, his shoulders as wide as the doorway. I thought he was going to launch himself at Blake if Brandon gave him enough room. “Raven, get Brandon to stop.”

Raven didn’t move, only glared at Blake, his fists pushed into his thighs.

“Let me handle this, Kayli,” Brandon barked at me. He shook Blake. “I’ve told you to stay away from her.”

Blake shook his head, swaying it. He focused on the mirror rather than Brandon. He wasn’t fighting him. “Kayli isn’t feeling well,” he said coolly. “Do you want to fight with me, or do you want to ask her why she’s sick?”

“Don’t tell me what to do!” Brandon growled.

“Raven!” I cried out, forcing myself to sit up against the tile wall. Raven snapped his attention to me. “Get Brandon off of Blake. Stop this.”

Raven lunged at Brandon, grabbing his arms and pulling Brandon back with him toward the door.

Brandon resisted at first, but he couldn’t hold on to Blake and push back against Raven. He eventually let go of Blake.

Blake slid down and backed off to the opposite door, staying in the door frame. He looked at me. “You okay?”

Brandon made another lunge at Blake, but Raven held onto his shoulders this time, and Brandon couldn’t move beyond a short step. “Don’t talk to her!”

“Just go, Blake,” I said, waving him off. I had to admire his guts. Brandon was about to murder him and he was making sure I wasn’t really dying before leaving.

He nodded shortly, and without looking at the others, walked through the adjoining bedroom and was gone.

The nausea was bad now, but at least I wasn’t puking. I swallowed and rested my head against the tile. This was the worst disaster ever.

Brandon fell to his knees next to me, looking over my body. “What did he do to you?”

“Nothing!” I cried, and then felt another wave washing over me. The cramping was gone, but it had left a really dull soreness in my gut. I just needed to get over the desire to puke. “I was seasick or something.”

“So you’re half naked on the floor and he’s all over you? How’d he get in here anyway?”

“God, Brandon!” I said, picking up the washcloth and throwing it at him. “You’re such an ass.”

The washcloth landed on his chest, on the same red shirt he’d been wearing the night before. He grabbed it and pulled it from his body. “What did I do?”

“Why did you tell him to stay away from me?” I asked. “You forgot to mention that part.”

“He’s dangerous, Kayli,” he said, his voice growing stronger. “He shouldn’t even be here.”

“No,” I said, pointing at his face. “He’s the one who was here first. When you and the others wouldn’t talk to Ethan about his issues, guess who was available and willing?”

Brandon growled. “You didn’t tell us that.”

“I had a feeling after I learned that you all were blocking my phone calls that...” I groaned, swallowed and stopped talking altogether. The yelling and tension was making it worse.

Raven came forward again and tugged Brandon’s shoulder. “Get away from her,” he said in a low voice.

Brandon’s face contorted and he slapped at Raven’s arm. “I’m not hurting her. I want to know what’s going on.”

“Not while she’s dying.”

“She’s not dying!” Brandon barked at him. “She’s just seasick.”

“I’m not arguing with you right now,” I said, glaring at the toilet. I fought back angry tears. The tension, being sick, and embarrassed beyond belief, was finally getting to me. “Raven, can you get him out of the bathroom?”

“You’re sick,” he said.

“I’m fine,” I said. “I’ve taken some medicine. Just get him out of here. I need a few minutes for it to work. And don’t talk to Axel. I was going to tell him this morning myself.”

“You should have done it before,” Brandon said.

I glared at Brandon. “I will talk to him, and if you dare go to him right now while I’m down and unable to say anything, I swear to god I’ll never talk to you again. Go talk to Corey. I told him when he boarded what was going on.”

“You mean he knew? Why didn’t he say anything?”

“Go ask him,” I said. “I can’t argue with you right now. It’s unfair if you make me try.”

Raven tugged at Brandon’s arm. He was unusually calm at this point. I’d expected him to be the first to get angry, and instead, while he seemed tense, he wasn’t exploding. I’d be forever grateful for that. “Get out.”

“We can’t leave her alone,” Brandon said.

“Go back,” Raven said. “I’ll stay with her.”

I could tolerate him, especially how calm he was. “Raven can stay,” I said.

Slowly, Brandon pulled himself away. He paced the bathroom for a moment and then pointed to me down on the ground. “Fine,” he said. “I’m going to go find Corey, but when you’re done talking to Axel, I need to know what’s going on.” He stormed out, slamming the bedroom door as he left.

I let out a long breath, grateful to have a moment. The tension dropped immediately.

Raven stood by the sink. He started toward me and then seemed to reconsider and backed up against the sink again. “How do I fix you?”

“Just let the medicine work.”

He grunted. “My fault,” he said. “Axel warned us not to get you too excited so you overdo things. I...shouldn’t have...this morning.”

“That’s not what made me sick,” I said. “The first time I got up, I thought I was going to be sick and it seemed to go away when I laid back down again. I thought it was gone and then when I got up again...”

Raven frowned but nodded. “Sorry.”

“Not your fault.”

He crossed his arms over his bare chest, causing the muscles in his biceps to bulk up. I wasn’t sure he believed me but I didn’t think he was going to argue with me on it.

I rocked my head against the tile. “I’m...sorry I didn’t tell you about Blake. I did tell Corey. He said I should talk to Axel before anyone else. I didn’t want a fight.”

Raven breathed in deeply and then let it out between his lips, causing the muscles in his stomach to flex. He didn’t sport a six pack, he simply wasn’t built for it. But there were some amazing lines to his chest and at his waist above his jeans. “I don’t want to fight with my little thief.”

I smiled at this, and patted the spot on the floor next to me. “Thanks for handling Brandon.”

He crossed the room, lowering himself down carefully next to me. He knelt there, his brown eyes softening. “I don’t like him,” he said. “Coaltar.”

“He’s not that bad. Corey likes him.”

He became quiet, considering this. “I should talk to him, too.”

“Stay here until I can get up?” I asked. “And then I’ll go talk to Axel and you can go find Corey. Make sure those two don’t get into a fight.”

He nodded. “I should...I should find clothes. And then your clothes. For when you’re ready. Do you want a shower? Do you want me to help?”

If he coddled me any more, I was going to melt right there. I lightly punched him in the arm. “I think I should just stick with getting dressed. I need to get to Axel before Brandon does anything stupid.”

He smirked, reached out and very, very gently, punched at my shoulder. “
Ja shozhu po tebe s uma. Ja ne mogu zhit' bez tebja
.”

“What’s that mean?”

“You’re crazy, crazy girl,” he said. He leaned in, kissed my forehead and then got up, getting ready for the day.

PROMISES FOR AXEL

I
t only took another twenty minutes before the nausea subsided and I was able to move. The medicine did leave me sleepy and light-headed, though. Not good. Not something I wanted when I had so much work to do. I needed to get familiar with the ship. I needed to go over the rosters. With the delays the boys had caused by not allowing me to talk to Ethan before now, we were really short on time. Like it or not, we’d have to rely on Blake a lot, or we’d be lost.

Corey did remember to pack a little something for me: a pair of jeans, two of my tank tops, and the pair of capri pants Kevin once bought me but that I didn’t particularly like. No underwear. One ratty bra in desperate need of replacing. Did I not have any clean underwear that he could have grabbed? I hadn’t done laundry in a while.

So I went without underwear or a bra, put on the jeans and a tank top that was snug and would hold up my breasts enough to work as well as a bra, and then plucked one of Corey’s T-shirts from the bag to wear over it. I used Raven’s kit to comb my brown hair free of tangles and used his deodorant. I smelled like a boy, but I needed to get going.

Raven changed into a nicer pair of jeans, but this time he put on a loose, long-sleeve brown shirt that hid the tattoos. He left the piercings out for the day, and combed his hair until he resembled an intense but rather normal-looking man rather than a bulldozing fierce bear.