Page 121 of Fractured Fate

The entire table fell silent. The conversation between Blaire, Lukas, and Dominic paused as they turned their heads to him.

He cursed under his breath. “Forget what I was going to say. It was a bad joke. I wasn’t thinking.” He slumped into his seat and ran a hand over his face. “I don’t know why I said that.”

“What’s going on?” Lukas said, placing his fork on his tray.

He wouldn’t lie. His physical appearance made it obvious something was off.

“I think I’m sick,” he said. He opened the blood packet, making sure he had that first in case he couldn’t stomach his food.

Riley put down her sub sandwich and turned in her seat. “Sick?”

“Something like that.”

Layla’s face screwed up, and with her doll-like appearance, it made her look more like a child. “But you can’t be sick.”

“Technically, he can,” Dominic said, looking at Layla. “Long term he can’t be, but for a brief period, if the sickness is strong enough—like cancer—he would fall victim to it for several weeks before his natural healing could conquer it.” A frown lined his lips, and he put his elbows on the table, lacing his fingers and pressing them to his mouth as he studied Aiden. His empty tray sat pushed forward in front of him.

Blaire asked, “What do you mean by sick?”

“Sick. Like, headaches, the sweats, poor sleep, fatigue, my chest hurts… Should I go on?” Aiden gave her a half-hearted smile, so she understood he meant his sarcasm to be harmless. He wasn’t sure he could competently convey his emotions today.

“You had enough blood?” Lukas asked, giving him a pointed look that made it clear he still wasn’t happy with what transpired the week before.

Aiden didn’t blame him. He wouldn’t have been happy either to hear his best friend neglected himself to the point of becoming feral and possibly losing himself to mania.

He held up his blood packet. “Yeah, this is my second today. Had one at breakfast.”

Lukas nodded, saying nothing more on the subject. Aiden trusted he would keep their secret.

“Have you been to the health wing?” Seth asked.

Aiden gave a brief shake of his head. “Nah. Not yet.”

He knew the culprit behind the gradual buildup of sickness in his body. He needed his Korrena. Needed Charlotte.

Sara came back to pick her up before they transferred Rina to a care facility. While she was in hospital care for her broken hip, they discovered the accident was related to a neurological condition. The hospital said they couldn’t in good faith send Rina home without round-the-clock care, and Charlotte’s family lacked the necessary resources for the care Rina needed, so a long-term care facility became the only option.

Sara wanted Rina closer to Rosebrook Valley so she could see her often, but there weren’t any vacancies, and the waiting lists were too long. They brought Charlotte to see Rina in case her cognitive functions diminished too far before they could make a trip again to see her while running two businesses.

“You need to see someone,” Blaire said, breaching his thoughts. She scooped up a bite of lasagna. “If this isn’t normal for you guys, you should at least see if you’re okay.” She took a bite.

He couldn’t tell them the reason he felt like he was dying was because his Korrena was halfway across the state. The temptation to borrow his mother’s car again and drive to Atlanta made his skin itch and tingle.

“Yeah, maybe.”

“Maybe he just needs to get laid,” Seth said, leaning back in his seat, popping a grape into his mouth. “Always makes me feel better.” He winked at Riley, and her cheeks flamed in response.

“You’re an idiot,” she said.

“Well, you chose me, so what does that make you?”

“Also an idiot.”

Dominic snorted, and Seth gave him a shrewd look. Even if Dominic no longer showed any attraction to Riley, Seth still acted like he was a mild threat. His attitude lessened the more time passed with Dominic making no moves to pursue Riley.

“So what are we doing for Lukas’s birthday this year? It’s the end of next week.” Riley looked between the two guys. “Dom, you weren’t here when we went to Tybee Island for spring break, but it was sort of this big celebration for everyone’s birthday because with all the mess around here last summer through the last semester, no one got to celebrate.”

Aiden wiped the sweat from his brow and took a long drink of his iced tea. Lukas gave him a look of concern, but he gave a brief shake of his head. He might talk to Lukas—and maybe Seth—about it, but later. Away from the rest of them.