One Day Soon (One Day Soon, #1)(106)

“Where will we go?” he asked, sounding tired.

“The beach. Remember our story?” I rolled onto my stomach, propping myself up so that I could look at him.

Yoss grinned. “Yeah, I remember it. Can I try telling it this time?”

“Only if you get it right,” I teased.

Yoss sat up, leaning against the headboard. He pulled me along with him so that I was settled against his chest. “Once upon a time there was a girl from a happy family. She was loved and adored and never wanted for anything. She spent her days surrounded by friends and family. She smiled all the time, never having a reason to cry.”

“So far so good,” I interjected.

“Shh, let me finish,” Yoss chastised gently, giving me a squeeze. “Then one day she met a boy who was just as happy. And together they realized how wonderful life could be. He wanted to take care of her. She wanted to stay by his side.”

I loved the sound of his contentment. His hope.

“The girl had never been to the beach.”

“Neither had the boy,” I added, just as I was supposed to.

Yoss ran his hand through my hair. “Nope, neither had the boy. So they decided to run away to the shore. Where they could dip their toes in the water and walk on the sand. Because everything was always better when they were together.”

“Is that our plan? To live our story? Go to the beach and walk on the sand?” I asked him, barely able to contain the gleeful anticipation that bubbled up inside me.

“That’s our plan,” Yoss agreed.

I sat up and turned to him. “Promise?”

He nodded.

I let out a squeal and launched myself at him, kissing every inch of his face. I straddled him and only when he moaned did the laughter stop.

It wasn’t until later that I realized he had never given me the words.

His promise had remained silent.





Present

I didn’t want to go to work, but I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer. Even if all I wanted to do was stay in bed with Yoss curled up around me.

He was still sleeping when I quietly got out of bed the next morning. We had slept together. And it had been more intimate than sex could ever be. I woke up several times. Not because of Yoss’s nightmares, which there were none, but because, even in my sleep, I had to remind myself that this was real.

I got out of bed and grabbed my clothes as quickly as possible. I got ready in the hall bathroom so as to not wake him.

When I came back into the bedroom a while later, Yoss wasn’t in bed. I heard the sound of retching coming from my bathroom.

I gently knocked on the door and waited. I could hear water running in the sink. “Yeah?” his muffled response finally came.

“Is everything okay?” I asked. The door opened and Yoss came out. His skin was much more jaundiced than it had been yesterday and I could smell the acrid scent of vomit in the air.

“You were sick,” I stated, not asked.

Yoss closed the bathroom door behind him quickly. “I think it was something I ate,” he excused.

“You didn’t really eat anything last night,” I pointed out. In fact I couldn’t remember him eating anything. We had been too busy with other things.

“Please don’t worry, Imogen.” Yoss ran his hand down my arm and squeezed my fingers lightly. “Don’t you need to get to work?”

We walked to the kitchen and I turned on the coffee maker. I noticed Yoss was leaning heavily against the counter as though he couldn’t stay upright.

“Why don’t you come with me to the hospital. You need to see Dr. Howell. Nausea isn’t something we should brush off. You’re due for another round of blood tests anyway,” I remarked worriedly.

Yoss forced himself upright. “Who should I see?” he asked, frowning, seeming confused.

A lump formed in my throat.

“Dr. Howell. Your physician. Remember the guy with the glasses and bushy, white hair?” He seemed to be having a hard time remembering.

This was bad.

Very, very bad.

“Dr. Howell,” he repeated, gnawing on his bottom lip.

I nodded. “Yes, Dr. Howell,” I replied calmly, even if I felt anything but calm.

“My blood work is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. I’ll bring it all up with him then. I’m just a little tired this morning, that’s all. We were up pretty late.” Yoss gave me a tired grin.

“You were throwing up,” I pushed. “And you can barely stand up straight.”

Yoss straightened his back and held out his hands. “See. I’m fine. No limping or excruciating agony.” He poured some coffee into a mug and held it out for me. “You can’t miss work. I thought I’d head over to see my old boss. Sweet talk him a little bit before I hit him up for some work.” He slowly crossed the room and I watched his every movement like a hawk. Was he stumbling? Did he wince in pain?

He kissed my temple, breathing me in. “If we’re going to have that fresh start, I need to do it right. And that means getting a real job. I can’t get that by lying around on the couch wallowing. I believe you were the one that told me not to do that.”

“Yoss, I really think you should come in to see Dr. Howell,” I insisted.

He kissed me again, this time on the lips and it was hard to hold onto any thought that didn’t have to do with touching him over and over again.