Page 38 of Left on Read

“What did y’all do, leave her up there?” I ask no one in particular, since I can’t see them either. Shit. I can’t see anything. This burgeoning migraine is literally blinding me. I don’t think it’s ever happened that fast.

“She wanted to go again.” I think Luke shrugs. All I can make out is the hazy silhouette of his shape moving its shoulders up and down.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Hayes asks. He’d dropped my hand at some point, and I’m only noticing now because he uses that same hand to grip my shoulder and turn me to face him. Either his hands are alarmingly cool or my skin is overheating. Probably the latter. I can feel the migraine fever setting in.

Sensory overload. That’s what this is.

Someone walks past us with a chili cheese dog, and I feel my stomach pitch. I must’ve gagged or winced or something because Hayes’s eyes widen, and Piper steps toward me.

“Okay, let’s get you to the bathroom,” she says, taking overHayes’s grip on my shoulder and steering me away. She keeps close, which I’m grateful for because the black spots in my vision are fully taking over.

I don’t even know where the bathroom is, but I hear Piper mutter a fewexcuse me‘s, and then we’re in a too-dark, overly cool space. The atmosphere is admittedly calmer, even though it very much smells like a county-fair bathroom. All I can see are the brick walls meeting the tile floors, and I sink down until the grime collecting in the grout gets all over the bottom of my shoes and the back of my pants.

“Here.” Piper hands me a wet paper towel that’s mercifully cool, and I flip my hair up to lay it on the back of my neck. It helps some, but I think only prescription-grade pharmaceuticals can save me now. Migraines are the kind of thing you have to nip in the bud early, while they’re still barely growing out of the ground. You can’t wait until now, when they’re fully bloomed, to do something about it. I know better than that, and yet here I am, squatting on the disgusting floor of a poorly ventilated and questionably cleaned bathroom.

“What’s going on?” Piper asks. “I’ve never seen you like this.”

I see her white sneakers step into my narrow field of view. They’re probably getting all grungy walking around this dirt pit.

“Migraine,” I scratch out, my voice sounding as bad as I feel. This isn’t part of my carefully curated public image. There’s a reason that Piper has gone to school with me for years and hasn’t ever seen me like this.

If my brain’s the best part of me, it shouldn’t be allowed to hurt this fucking bad.

“Oh, no.” The door opens in a rush of heated air, and I hear Esha step up next to Piper. I can’t see her; my right eye is just completely gone by now. “They said you ran off to the bathroom. I figured you had a headache. It was either that or a period emergency.”

She hands me another wet paper towel, not knowing Piper just did the same thing. I put this one over my eyes.

“Do you have your meds anywhere?” I can tell that Esha is leaning down in front of me. This close, I could probably see her, but I don’t want to take the paper towel off my eyes.

Instinctively, I shake my head. Then I immediately hiss in pain as the motion sends angry blood roaring all around the inside of my skull. I have emergency meds in my car, but that half mile feels like an impossible distance right now.

Someone’s phone rings, and I hear one of them step away. Esha, I think. She’s the one on my right. Piper steps away too, and they’re at the other end of the bathroom murmuring to each other. I can’t hear what they’re saying through the spiking pressure in my ears. Everything is so sharp and painful. I can only hope no one else walks into the bathroom and notices the girl curled up in the fetal position on the floor beside the trash can.

“Okay. No.” Esha returns, speaking slowly, stooped down to my level. “That was Hayes. He’s gonna take you home. I told him I would, but this way you can leave your car at school, and he can just pick you up for your 8:00 a.m. tomorrow.”

That sounds very logical and all, but I don’t fully understand why Hayes would do that. It seems to go above and beyond the call of being a good project partner. Even beyond a good friend. I don’t know what to do with that.

“Think you can stand up?” she asks, reaching one hand up under my forearm to support me.

“Yeah.” I rise up from my slumped position and stand still for a second. The dizziness passes in waves, and as long as I keep my eyes mostly closed, I won’t throw up or pass out. Piper comes to my other side, and she’s wearing some perfume that makes my stomach pitch again. I hope I don’t throw up on her.

One of them opens the door, and the cool air fades into that heated wind. The sun has gone down, lowering the temperature and making the bright lights even brighter in contrast. I feel Piper and Esha step back, and then there’s Hayes. All around me, somehow. He’s anchoring me again.

“I got her,” he mumbles.

I should say thank you, apologize to Piper and Esha and Luke for ruining their night and making them take care of me. I don’t have a chance, though. Hayes steps to my right, his left hand on my hip and the other guiding my elbow. He’s a half-step behind me, steering me but still there to catch me if I fall.

“You didn’t have to make such a scene just to get out of going to the fair, Novella.” His breath hits the back of my ear, making the hair escaping my ponytail dance.

I laugh, somehow.

“I’m sorry,” I respond, even though I know he’s joking.

“Don’t be. I got a fried Oreo. That’s all I came for.” He squeezes my waist and mutters an uncharacteristically harshexcuse meto someone I can’t see.

I have no idea where I am right now. I might as well be blindfolded. Still, I can feel the crowd start to dissipate. There’s less harsh noise, and eventually, my feet switch from dirt back to gravel. We made it to the parking lot. At least if I throw up or pass out right here, only Hayes will be here to witness my mortification.

“Here,” he mutters again. One of his hands falls away, and I hear his car door creak open. My hand feels around the cool leather of the seat, and I manage to slide in without injuring either of us.