Rapture (Renegades 7)

Wes stepped back to give her room, but Chase offered his hand. There was nothing wrong with taking a little help to get to her feet, per se, yet the gesture still annoyed her. Maybe because it was too little, too late.

She pulled her feet under her and was about to ignore his offer and get up on her own, but as soon as she sat upright, her head went light. Not exactly surprising. She had been thrown from a speeding car and performed as many rolls as a zipper at the state fair, but her equilibrium usually returned quicker than this. Then again, her body didn’t feel quite like her own lately.

Zahara took him up on his offer so she didn’t fall on her ass again once she’d made it to her feet. But once upright, the head rush worsened. Her vision hazed and spun, her ears rang.

When she held on to his hand, his fingers tightened around hers, and he put a comforting hand on her waist. “Dizzy? I’d be puking if I’d done that many rolls.”

Her stomach took an ugly spin, as if taking his words to heart. The nausea came so swift and sharp, a shot of panic streaked through her.

“I’m okay.” She pulled out of his grip with her mind set on Despina’s trailer. “I’m going to take all this gear off.”

The director yelled directions to the crew, and everyone dispersed. It was all Zahara could do to keep herself from throwing up on the walk to the trailer. She jogged up the steps, yanked open the door, and barely made it to the toilet. But her sickness didn’t ease with just one pass. Her stomach roiled and roiled and roiled. When the nausea finally ebbed, she was weak, exhausted, and shaking.

She rolled to her butt and leaned against the bathroom wall with her head in her hand.

Zahara couldn’t ignore this anymore. There was something wrong.

She was officially nervous.

“Zahara?” Despina’s worried voice penetrated the bathroom door.

Oh my God. How in the hell was she going to explain this?

“Sweetheart, are you throwing up?”

“I’m okay. Be out in a minute.”

She ran toothpaste around her mouth with her finger, rinsed, and splashed her face before facing Despina. She planned to blow it all off on a bad breakfast, but as soon as Zahara stepped out, Despina moved toward her and gripped her biceps, inspecting her face with a concerned expression.

“Are you sick?” Despina’s hands moved to Zahara’s head. “Did you hit your head during the stunt?”

“No, no.” Zahara eased away and slipped past the other woman to pull a bottle of water from the fridge. “I must have gotten overheated or something. I’m fine.”

Despina crossed her arms and frowned, clearly not convinced.

Zahara sat at the little dining table and took a long drink of water. “Did you watch the replay? Was it good?”

“You’re not changing the subject.” Despina sat across from her. “There’s nothing normal about a healthy young woman like you throwing up in the middle of the day.” She reached across the table and took Zahara’s hand. “You know you haven’t been yourself since Chase came on the set.”

“I know.” She pulled her hand from Despina’s. The woman’s concern made Zahara feel vulnerable. “I’m just being stupid. I need to let all the shit between us go. It’s stressing me out.”

Despina didn’t respond. Her brow was creased in concern as thoughts drifted behind her eyes. She sat back and asked a tentative “You couldn’t be pregnant, could you?”

“No.” The word virtually shot out of her mouth as a laugh. “Of course not.”

“Stress can cause this kind of reaction. Still, you told me you’ve been exhausted, moody…” Despina tipped her head, still considering. “When was your last period?”

This was getting weird. A band of fear tightened around her chest. “I don’t know.” She blew off the question. “I’m not the kind of woman who keeps track. It comes when it comes.”

“And when was the last time it came?”

She wanted to blurt out a date just to satisfy Despina, but an unfamiliar stream of anxiety chilled her chest. “I…don’t remember.”

“Have you had one since the film started?”

Zahara exhaled, annoyed with the conversation but not ready to leave the safety of the trailer. She really didn’t want to puke in public. “I’m sure it will come any day.”

“We’ve been on set five weeks, Zahara. Did you have one right before the movie started?”