Chapter 75: Breakfast

-Molly’s POV-

I woke up the next morning and stayed under the covers for a few minutes waiting to see what my stomach would do. After Scott finally convinced me to go to bed, I had hoped that a good night’s sleep would make me feel better. Before I even opened an eye, I took stock of every single feeling for any sign that I was still not feeling well.
My stomach seemed to have calmed, and I slowly dared to push my eyelids open. Based on the way the sun shined in the window, it was still early yet. I groaned and rolled over in the bed, not wanting to get up. Outside the door, I could hear people bustling about quietly. I knew the family was getting ready for another large breakfast made mostly of leftovers, something else my mother had always insisted on.
I was not sure if this was something I felt up to dealing with so soon. Despite all the sleep I had gotten, I still felt exhausted. I just wanted more sleep or a few gallons of strong coffee to wake me up.
I heard a gentle knock on my door and dared to lift my head to see who it was at the quiet give of the latch.
“Molly?” Scott’s voice echoed in the room. “How are you feeling?”
I did a quick mental check of my stomach to see if there was anything I needed to know before moving. It seemed to be handling the slow movements well, so I pushed it and gradually sat up.
“I think I’m okay,” I told him, trying to straighten my hair to look less like the disaster it felt.
Scott pushed the door open further to reveal a little silver tray in his hands. “I’m glad to hear that. Feel like some breakfast?”
At his words, my stomach growled, answering for me. He chuckled and set the tray on the bed before pulling a chair next to me. My mouth watered at the thought of the delicious food under that silver dome. Would it be eggs?? Toast?? Pancakes? Ohhh, burritos with salsa sounded amazing! And spicy cheese sauce!
I wiped at the corner of my lips to make sure I wasn’t actually drooling at the thought.
“You look almost ravenous,” Scott chuckled as he grabbed the top of the dome. “Eat, little one.”
The minute the scent of the food was released from the plate, I knew I was not better. The smell of the sausage hit my nose, and I was racing down the hall so fast I almost slammed into the door jamb. I made it to the bathroom just in time and proceeded to gag on a very empty stomach until I prayed for death again, then leaned back against the tub, trying to catch my breath. My stomach was still twisting and turning, but I was surprised it did feel better. A cool rag was pressed into my hand, and I looked up to find Scott once again standing over me with a very concerned look on his face.
“Are you alright?”
I nodded as I washed my face. “Just... please take the food away. I can’t even think about it.”
Scott nodded and knelt in front of me, searching my face. His head pressed against my forehead and his own brows drew together.
“You aren’t running a fever. I suppose that is a good thing. But you will not get out of bed for the rest of the day… do you understand? I want you to rest and get to feeling better. Is that understood?”
“Scott, I’m fine… honestly. It’s just a little bug. I’ll be okay,” I tried to fight weakly.
Scott did not reply as he gave me a stern look and crossed his arms over his chest. I felt like a petulant child trying not to fess up to taking the last cookie while the crumbs were covering my mouth. I felt what was left of my resistance melt away under that look, and I waved my hands in surrender.
“Yes, Master. But as soon as I can... I’m getting up,” I replied weakly.
The corner of his mouth ticked up as if he was trying to hold back a smile. “That’s my girl.”
Bending down, he picked me up as if I weighed nothing and took me back toward the bedroom. I didn’t say it out loud, but I knew I could get used to this overwhelmingly caring behavior from Scott.
He helped me under the covers and took the tray from the room, making sure I was snuggled in tightly with my teddy bear before leaving.
The minute he handed me the teddy bear, I felt my heart melt. Mr. Scruffkins had been my comfort bear since I was too young to even say the word bear. He was missing patches of fur, and the threads around the arms, legs, and head had been changed so many times I couldn’t even remember the original color. The bright yellow bow had been lost in an unfortunate sledding accident when I was six. I had cried for days, and just thinking about it made me almost cry again.
It didn’t help that Scott’s caring nature brought tears to my eyes, to begin with. He used to tease me about keeping the ugly thing, but Scott giving it to me when I needed it most showed me he understood.
Snuggling into my teddy bear, I closed my eyes and let the exhaustion take me. Maybe this would be the time I would feel better.

I woke up a few hours later, and the light filtering into the room was much brighter than before. I peeked at the clock and was in awe that it was pushing close to ten in the morning. I was never really a morning person, but it was rare that everyone let me sleep past nine... especially Molly, the unapologetic morning lark.
The thought of my best friend brought back the memories of the last night, and I realized that I had forgotten to ask Scott how his talk with Noah had gone. I grabbed my phone and sent him a quick message telling him I wanted to talk to him ASAP.
Cautiously, I headed down the hallway to clean the cotton from my mouth and the sleep from my head.
Brushing my teeth and taking a shower gave me the courage to face the day without getting sick again. I checked my phone, not finding any message or acknowledgment that Scott had gotten it.
However, the lack of messages from Becca that caused me to panic a little.
Sitting on the edge of my bed, I tapped my foot impatiently as one, two, then ten messages went ignored.
“Oh! She is not getting away that easily,” I grumbled as I tugged my clothes on and sent one last message.
-Becca Delaney, I’m coming over, and we ARE going to talk!-