After Effect

He strapped me in and closed the door. On the drivers side he ducked his head and threw my backpack into the back seat of the car before climbing on.
I leaned back against my seat and slumped my head to the side, so that the side of my face cooled off on the coldness of the window. I opened my good eye.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay, Nuru?" Kyle's voice was slightly shaky, more urgent.
His voice faded until it sounded like it was coming through a long tunnel; I couldn't make out the words anymore. They blurred together to form a long whizzing sound that rung uncomfortably behind my ears.
I convulsed, bile rising up my throat.
"Oh my God, Nuru!" Kyle screamed in panic.
The bile rose again and I gulped down air.
"I can't hold it in—" the bile rose again "—much longer."
"You're so pale, oh, Nuru." his voice shook.
He hurried to my side and helped me out of my seat. The second I was outside I felt the food leave my stomach. When I was done, he helped me into my seat again and pulled off his shirt.
"What's this for?" I asked, eyeing the shirt with chagrin.
"Just in case there's a repeat." He smiled sadly, "...and for you to wipe your mouth.
"Hmm."
"Nuru, where do you live?"
I thought of telling him my mother's address but thought against it. This wouldn't look good to Bill. Instead, I directed him to Roman's place.
"How are you feeling?"
"Perfect," I lied. My voice was as weak as my knees.
Kyle didn't look convinced.
"Don't faint on me," he said, starting the car and backing out of the parking lot. "You still dizzy?"
I nodded weakly. "Just a little."
"Nuru?" he asked anxiously, touching my ashen face.
"Stop fussing," I gasped, and pushed his hand away.
He looked at me with guilty eyes. "Thanks for what you did back there."
"Stop with this sentimental, emotional shit." I said inwardly. "I'm not good with that."
He exhaled heavily and his eyes examined me in worry. He was probably thinking I was insane. "Why are you smiling?"
"I'm thinking of something my mother once said to me."
"Oh." He sucked in a startled breath and glanced at me frequently. I concluded he was making sure I was still breathing, still alive.
We drove in silence for the rest of the ride. Eventually we made it to Roman's house. Kyle was still drooling over the cars he saw in the garage, even as he dropped me on the couch.
"Nuru!" He placed the back of his hand over my forehead. "Can you hear me?" he continued, "Whoa, you're boiling."
"Dammit, Kyle! I'm not sick — my eye is just fucked up."
He took my face in his trembling, sweaty hands and held it just a few inches from his. His anxious gaze bore into mine.
I made a weak grimace. "Go away."
He blinked, his face going blank with surprise.
"I'm sorry," I mumbled.
He was quiet for a moment and then looked at me with knowing eyes. "You're in pain."
"I just need to sleep it off," I said for his benefit. "I'm a big girl."
He took in my blank expression, and then his face twisted with anxiety. "I know you are."
Kyle asked for the bathroom directions. When he came back, he had a bottle of Tylenol and a glass of water.
"Here."
I felt my eyes tighten. "I'm fine."
"You're scared of taking tablets?" This amused him. "I'll crush them with a spoon and put them in water. How does that sound?"
"Equally horrible," I hissed, putting as much venom into my voice as I could. "I'm still not taking them."
Determination replaced some of the anxiety in his face. And suddenly his hands were pressing hard on my jaw line, forcing my mouth to open wide. He tossed the pills in my mouth and some water before putting a hand over my mouth and nose forcing me to swallow.
"You won't get away with this," I threatened.
"You look a little green," he told me, still grinning.
"Thanks for the heads up," I muttered dryly. "At least I won't be shocked when I look in the mirror."
"So one punch and you practically die on me," he teased.
I grimaced, fighting the bitter taste of the pills in the back of my throat.
"One more and we'd be talking a different story," he continued, "What time does your mom get home?"
I stared at him with guarded eyes, unable to answer, wondering if I could tell him the truth. I shook my head, realizing if I told him the truth, it'd only fuel the rumors. I hoped my expression didn't look guilty.
"Can we talk tomorrow?" I asked instead. "I need to rest."
"Yes, sure," he agreed awkwardly. "Will you be okay though?"
He stood and headed for the door.
"Yes."
When he lingered. I rolled my eyes.
"I promise," I whispered.
With Kyle gone, I took a shower and fell asleep the minute my head hit the pillow.
In the morning, the clouds were dark and the river carried the scent of recently deceased fish. I felt an odd impulse, an impulse that was hard to understand. I knew it was caused by Roman's absence... the discomfort springing from the deprivation of seeing him. It was a puzzling edge, as though I had to see him... now. It was the persistent edge of anxiety.
This was the time of day that I wished I wasn't born Nuru. The only time I could allow myself to imagine what my life would've been like if I were someone else. If I wasn't this... Nuru Lynn.
It was the time of day when I tried to get Roman's stupid smile off my head. There was just something about him... the charming way he carried himself and the way he looked at me, that never failed to get my heart to unsettle.
I stared at the walls of the narrow corridor and tried to imagine them with posters of my favorite band. It was in an effort to cure the boredom.
And as I tried to listen to Zoe's subject of the day — at Clatsop Community College a last year mechanical engineering student was stabbed to death by a junior, after they got too drunk to handle their booze and started fighting — I grew more and more uncomfortable. I was... suffering. I suppressed a sigh.
There was a constant nagging at the back of my head, that agitating feeling I usually got when I was forgetting something important.
It wasn't until I was walking to my first lecture that I found out that pulling a guy by the balls is a complete no no. Wyatt was walking towards me and I walked up against the wall to give him room but that didn't stop him from 'accidentally' bumping into me, sending my forehead flying against the damp, cold cement.
My eyes rolled back into my head and I took a huge breath. My hand massaged the lump that had already formed and white hot pain stabbed through me.
Though Wyatt had apologized, saying it was an innocent accident, I knew better. He was still angry with me.
The day only got worse, I'd walked into the empty bathroom to clean my face up and two girls followed after me. They were talking about me, and how they'd heard that a Junior student was hired by Roman to wash his cars and now, said girl was going around campus saying Roman and her were an item.
I scoffed, fuming. Of course they didn't even who it was they were talking about, had no idea what she looked like. Had no idea the girl who was glaring through the mirror at them, who held her shoulders slightly hunched, was the very girl they were talking about. It really shouldn't have bothered me. That's what I'd been aiming at when I'd told Melissa, Roman was just an old family friend. I sighed a huge sigh. I stalked out of there seething with anger and by then it was time to go home.