All These Things I've Done (Birthright #1)(73)

‘Where’s Natty?’ As in, why wasn’t she the one in here holding back my hair?

‘She went to call Imogen.’

Considering how my last conversation with Imogen had gone, I doubted she would come.

‘You should go,’ I told him. ‘I don’t want you to catch whatever horrible thing I’ve got.’

‘I never get sick,’ he said. ‘I have an excellent constitution.’

‘Bully for you,’ I grumbled. ‘Would you go already? I just want to be sick by myself, thanks.’ I got up off the bathroom floor. I felt a little unsteady, but Win took my elbow and led me to my room.

I collapsed into my bed and fell asleep.

When I awoke, Imogen was by my bedside. She had placed a cool washcloth on my forehead.

My brain throbbed against my skull. My eyes were watering and my vision was blurry. Coloured spots floated across the room. My stomach rumbled with acid. My skin was insanely itchy. I felt like I was dying. ‘Am I dying?’

‘You have the chickenpox, Annie. Natty was inoculated, but you and Leo never were because there were vaccine rations those years.’

(Were you worrying I was pregnant? That I had had sex with Win and didn’t tell you? I would never do that to you. Unlike some, I pride myself on being a very reliable narrator.)

Imogen continued. ‘Maybe you caught them at your cousin’s wedding? Did you notice anyone looking sick?’

I shook my head. I went to scratch my face, but Imogen had put cotton gloves on my hands.

‘I can’t be sick. I have a wake to plan. And there’s so much to do with Nana’s death. And school. And Natty and Leo need me. And . . .’ I sat up in bed.

Imogen gently but firmly pushed me back down. ‘Well, you won’t be doing any of that until next week at the earliest.’

‘Why are you here?’ I asked.

‘Because Natty called me.’ She slipped a straw into my mouth. ‘Drink.’ I obeyed.

‘No,’ I said. ‘I meant, why are you here after the horrible things I said to you?’

She shrugged. ‘I had time on my hands. I did just lose my steady paycheque.’ She shrugged again. ‘You were upset,’ Imogen replied. ‘Drink more. You need fluids.’

‘I’m sorry,’ I said. ‘I’m really sorry. I have a lot on my mind.’

‘You’re a good girl, and I accept your apology,’ Imogen said.

‘I’m so tired,’ I said.

‘Then sleep, baby.’ She stroked my hair with her cool, clean, dry hand. It felt comfortable and comforting. Maybe Nana’s last moments had been like this. Maybe her death hadn’t been so bad.

I closed my eyes, then I opened them again.

‘Did you know Natty’s a genius?’

‘I suspected as much,’ Imogen replied.

I wanted to scratch but instead I said the secret horrible thing I’d been carrying in my heart since my conversation with Mr Kipling. ‘I think I have to break up with my boyfriend.’ There it was.

‘Why? He seems like a very nice young man.’

‘He is. He’s the nicest young man I’ve ever known,’ I told her. ‘But his father warned me that if I dated Win my business would become his business. And now that Nana is dead, I’m worried that his father might try to interfere with us. You and I both know that if we went to court, Leo would never be proven a fit guardian.’ I coughed. My throat was so dry.

Imogen pushed the straw towards my mouth.

‘The only way I can keep Natty and Leo and me safe is if we manage to fly below the radar until I’m eighteen.’

‘Hmm,’ Imogen said. ‘Drink.’

I drank. ‘But if I’m not in a relationship with the son, the father will have no need to bother with me. With us.’

‘I see,’ Imogen said. She set the glass on the nightstand, apparently satisfied that I had had enough to drink.

I was beginning to be horribly itchy again. I moved to scratch my arm. Imogen pressed it down. ‘This will make you feel better,’ she said. She took a tube of lotion from the nightstand and began applying it to the welts that had sprouted on my skin. ‘You don’t know for sure that the father will do anything,’ she continued. ‘Most parents want their children to be happy above all things.’

I thought of Charles Delacroix that day on the way home from Liberty. I knew at least one parent who would do whatever he had to do to win, regardless of his child’s happiness. I shook my head. ‘I don’t know for sure what the father will do, but I think being with this boy puts us in danger. And as much as I’ – Did I love Win? Did I really love him? Yes, I suppose I did – ‘love Win, I love Natty and Leo more. I can’t put them in jeopardy for my silly high school love affair. If Nana were still alive . . . But I just can’t risk it.’ I knew what I had to do. It wouldn’t be easy, but I would do it. I moved to pull off my glove, but Imogen stopped me by taking my gloved hand in hers.

‘Remember, high school love affairs aren’t always so silly, Annie. And you can’t do anything right now. Your sickness will give you a couple of days to think.’

‘I really miss Nana,’ I said. ‘I know most people saw her as some old woman in a bed, but I still really miss her.’ I was itchy and weak and my eyes began to tear. I missed having her to go over things with. I missed talking to her. It was inconceivable that I would never hear her voice again. ‘I just miss her,’ I repeated.