Mrs. Gable half-rose from her chair to help me, but I told her they were here and pushed through the door. Outside, the freezing winter air hit my face and caused me to shiver violently. The walk to the car felt like I was crossing a vast, endless desert.
The passenger window rolled down halfway as I approached. Rick leaned over and asked if I was really trying to pull a fast one to skip out on the day. He didn’t ask how I was feeling or what was wrong.
I tried to answer him, but my stomach clenched so hard that I could only manage a sharp gasp. Meredith turned in her seat and told me to get in the car because I was letting the cold air in. I opened the back door and climbed in next to Chloe.
The movement sent a bolt of agony through my side that was so intense my vision flashed white. I gripped the back of the seat in front of me and fought the urge to vomit. Chloe pulled one of her earbuds out and complained that I smelled like sweat.
I leaned back against the seat and breathed as heavily as a marathon runner. The interior of the SUV smelled like vanilla and fast food, and the combination made my nausea even worse. Meredith twisted around to look at me and asked what the problem was.