Hearts Of Glass #AdultFiction

Chapter 46

SATURDAY - JULY 3, 1976

Pete woke up from a deep sleep, Sarah's thrashing beside him was the reason. He touched her arm, then whispered her name.

She moaned as she turned towards him and opened her eyes. She curled up next to him with a confused face, then jumped out of bed, holding her hand to her mouth. She barely made it to the bathroom, before she threw up. Holding onto the rim of the cold toilet bowl, she heaved until she thought she would collapse.

Pete rushed in, holding her hair back and rubbing her shoulders. Finally the heaves stopped and Sarah held her head in her hands. Pete grabbed a washcloth, rinsed it in cold water, and handed it to her.

"Are you alright, now?" He knelt beside her, smoothing her hair down.

"Yeah, I think so." Sarah rasped, her throat felt raw. "Can I have a sip of water?"

Pete looked around for a cup, but the bathroom wasn't completely unpacked yet. They had been in the apartment for two days, but Pete had to work part of the time and Sarah didn't get much of the unpacking done by herself. He ran into the kitchen and found one, filling it with cold water and bringing it to her.

"You were having a bad dream." Pete said softly. This was two nights in a row that Sarah had been restless in her sleep.

Sarah sat back on the floor, running the cool cloth over her face. "I'm feeling better now."

Pete helped her up, steadying her as she wobbled. "You sure you feel ok?"

"Yeah, I think I'll just go back to bed."

Pete watched her crawl back in bed and draw the covers up around her chin. She closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

He stared at her for awhile, then shook his head and went to make coffee. He had just poured a cup and was going out on the balcony, when he heard Sarah get up and run to the bathroom again.

He went in to repeat this morning, holding her hair as she dry heaved into the toilet.

 "Get that coffee out of here!" She moaned. "It smells terrible."

He looked at the cup that he had set on the vanity, "Sarah, it's just coffee."

"I know but it is really bothering me. I don't know why."

He took the cup into the kitchen and set it on the counter.

Sarah walked into the living room and curled up in a corner of the couch. "I don't know what's wrong. I just feel so....icky."

"Icky?" Pete asked. "What is icky?"

"It's almost like I have the flu but without the body aches. My stomach just feels queasy." She held her hand over her nose. "And the smell of that coffee is really bothering me."

She jumped up from the couch and went out on the balcony, pulling the sliding door part way closed.

Pete turned and dumped his cup and the whole pot of coffee down the drain. "It's gone, Sarah."

He went over to the sliding door and put his face through the opening. "It's gone, baby. If we leave this door open the smell will go out."

Sarah nodded her head, stepping to the very end of the railing. "I'll stay here for a few minutes."

Pete stood by her, looking out over the pool. It was after just after 10:00 and the chairs were filling up fast. "Well, now we know, if we want to go swimming on the weekend, we gotta get there early."

He turned to lean back on the railing and looked over at Sarah. "You didn't eat dinner last night. And if I remember right, you hardly touched your cheeseburger from lunch. Were you sick yesterday?"