The Naughty List (The Naughty List #1)(44)

My head was swimming. I could hear the class behind me, most of them sounding disgusted; a few laughed. Suddenly, everything just felt so out of control. Tilted.

“Ms. Crimson,” Mr. Powell said, moving from his podium to come to stand near me. “Are you okay?” His voice was kind. I appreciated that.

“No,” I said, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

“Do you want me to have the nurse come get you?”

I shook my head, but it made me dizzy. I put my hand on the cool table to steady myself.

“I’ll take her,” I heard from behind me. A hand slid around my waist, straightening me up. Christian.

“No,” I said, trying to push him back. But I felt weak. “Kira?” I turned to look at her for the first time. She was pure white.

She shook her head. “Let him, Tess,” she said apologetically. “You know how much I hate chunky things.” It was true. The girl didn’t go anywhere near stew or cottage cheese.

Shutterbug! Once again, I was at the mercy of Christian. It was like he had control over every part of my life, including my health.

“Let go of me,” I said, wiggling out of his grasp as he tried to touch me again. The classroom door opened, and the janitor came in, sloshing a rolling bucket behind her. I quickly wondered if she had vomit radar but then realized time had passed while I stood, trying to gather myself. Someone had even opened a window.

My stomach turned again. I needed to move.

I quickly stepped forward, careful to avoid my puke, and despite my clear resistance to his help, Christian found a way to get his hands on me again. He held my elbow and led me out of the classroom just as the sound of water splashed on the classroom floor.

The minute we got into the deserted hallway, I stopped. My vision was beginning to clear. I still couldn’t understand what had happened. I’d thrown up more in the past few weeks than I had in my whole entire life. It must have been stress-related, and I had a feeling that I knew the source of it.

“What are you doing?” I asked Christian, using my hands to smooth back some of my loose strands of hair.

“Saving you again.” He sounded amused. “Obviously.” I stared at him for a minute, unsure of whether or not to trust my gut or the things Christian said. He certainly hadn’t tried anything, and yet I couldn’t help but feel uneasy around him. Actually, the better word was queasy.

“Come on,” he said, laughing a little. “I’ll take you to the nurse, and you can tell me about our first assignment.”

“No—”

“You agreed to two,” he interrupted. “And you wouldn’t go back on your word, would you, Tessa?” He smiled as he said it, like it wasn’t a threat.

I glared at him, and the small smirk stayed on his lips. They were nice lips, sort of full. But they weren’t mine. The lips that belonged to me were about ten inches higher. I closed my eyes.

“So if I go back on my word…” I took a deep breath. “Are you going to tell my boyfriend?”

Christian chuckled. “Come on, Tessa. Hanging out with me can’t be that bad. Would it really be worth telling Aiden? It’s not like I’m going to attack you.”

“Well—”

“Not unless you want me to,” he added.

A tingle spread over me, and I was suddenly alarmed. Only Aiden was allowed to make me tingle there. I took a step back.

Christian shook his head. “I’m kidding,” he said, reaching out to touch my forearm. “Let’s take you to the nurse’s office. You look pasty.”

I felt weak, so I let him pull me along, not saying anything. I didn’t want him to touch me. Definitely not. And yet I let him lead me, not fighting back anymore. I wondered if I’d already become his prey.

As soon as Christian left me alone with the nurse, I began to feel better. Her perfume didn’t even make me nauseous. I waited for Aiden, knowing that Kira would find him and tell him what had happened. Not that he wouldn’t hear about it anyway. I mean, I threw up in history class. That was news.

Second period started. I chewed on the corner of my lip, glancing at the clock. There was an ache in my chest. Why hadn’t my sweetie come to check on me? I glanced over at the nurse, who was keeping herself busy refilling the canister of cotton balls.

Aiden. My eyes began to sting, and I lay back down on the cot.

“Are you feeling sick again, Ms. Crimson?” The nurse looked concerned. I was glad someone was.

“Yeah,” I said. “Can you call my mom? I think I need to go home.”

“Oh, honey,” my mother said as she drove. “You look so pale.”

I nodded, unable to shake the dread as I rested my head against the cool glass of the passenger window. My life felt so off balance. It was like I was on the top of a human pyramid with an unstable base.

My mother swallowed hard, and I could sense she wanted to talk to me. It was rare that she wasn’t humming or talking. This awkward pause was disconcerting.

“Tess?” she asked. “Is everything… okay?”

I turned to her, slowly, lifelessly. “Why?” But I could tell by the way she looked at me that I didn’t seem well.

She blinked and then turned back to the road as she slowed down for a red light. “I don’t know,” she said, looking sideways at me. “You seem to be tired all the time, and I haven’t really seen Aiden around.”