His Rose

Ch. 4

The rest of the day passed in a blur of fun filled with rides and snacks, the tension still present between Jace and me, but we managed to not snap at each other anymore. Sure, we ignored each other and just talked with Nolan and Elsie, but we managed to still have a ton of fun. Or they did; I was still caught up with my own thoughts most of the time.

We came home after dinner, all of us exhausted and ready for bed. And after my shower, I was out like a light, happy for the day to finally be over.

Light footsteps running down the hall woke me with a start. I checked the clock, sighing as the time read 3:37. Who was running through the halls at 3:37 in the morning?

I slid out of bed, frowning as I spotted the light to the hall bathroom on, the door ajar. Only Nolan and Elsie used that bathroom. Both Jace and I had our own bathrooms in our rooms. So why were one of those two up? And running on top of it?

I continued walking down the hall, finding Nolan hunched over the toilet. I frowned, concern coursing through me. He seemed fine yesterday. Why was he sick now?

"Nolan, what-" I didn't finish my question, Nolan once again emptying his guts into the toilet. I busied myself with filling the glass cup in the bathroom with water for when he was done vomiting, doing my best to ignore the gagging sounds. It was starting to make me not feel so good.

"Nolan, Junior, hey," I stated, concerned, crouching down beside him, trying to sound calm and not like I was worried beyond belief. At this point he was just dry heaving. He needed to settle himself down.

"Nolan, calm down. You have nothing else to throw up," I mumbled as I began rubbing comforting circles on his back, hoping it might help. He still continued dry heaving for a bit, but he settled down soon after, leaning back into my arm. He looked pale, his forehead coated with a bit of sweat. He closed his eyes, letting out a tired sigh.

"What's going on in here?" Jace yawned, swiping his disheveled bed hair out of his face. He spotted us down on the ground, a flat look on his face.

"Don't-"

"You didn't take Dramamine, did you?" Jace asked, cutting his brother off. Nolan glanced down at the ground. I leaned forward to flush the toilet, frowning at Nolan.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Nolan sighed, moving to lean against the wall.

"I forgot until we got there. And I didn't want to be the reason we had to leave just to get some for me," Nolan mumbled. I smiled at his thoughtfulness, but shook my head. He had his reasoning all off.

"I gladly would have come back here to make it more enjoyable, especially if I knew it would keep you from not getting sick," I replied, brushing my bangs out of my face.

"And avoid a day of sick Nolan," Jace muttered. I sent him a sharp – albeit tired – glare, hoping he'd shut up. Jace rolled his eyes, leaning against the counter. His movement had my eyes moving to glance at his bare chest - against my better judgment - before looking back at Nolan. I caught the hint of a smirk on his face before he yawned, resetting his tired, ill-looking expression. Asshole.

"All day?" Nolan huffed at my question, glaring at the marble floors before nodding.

"Yeah, it's like having a stomach bug." I nodded in understanding, shrugging.

"Then we can binge-watch Star Wars, no big deal," I replied. Nolan offered a weak smile.

"Call me if you need anything," Jace said. I shook my head.

"You have practice," I quipped, not turning to face him for fear of getting distracted again. Jace only grumbled something incomprehensible in response.