Chapter 25
Hayden's hands gripped the bottle of water in his hands as hard as Nora's hands gripped the edge of the toilet. Birdie held back Nora's dark hair as she kneeled over the toilet emptying her stomach.
"That's good," Piper said, walking into the bathroom with a plate of cut wedges of lime. "Don't hold anything back. Just throw everything up."
Nora turned her face towards the woman with her watery eyes. Her face was pale and her lips were starting to turn an intense shade of pink. Hayden moved closer to her and placed his hand on her lower back to sooth her.
"Nora," Birdie frowned. "I am so sorry."
"It's fine," Nora leaned over the toilet once more.
"How long does she have to keep doing this?" Hayden looked up at Piper.
"Until there is nothing left in her stomach," Piper said. "We're lucky that the autura is still present. It burned off most of the brew."
"But I had like a drop in my mouth," Nora gagged.
"That's more than enough for you, babe," Piper signed. "Here, suck on the lime."
"I don't like lime," Nora shook her head.
"Nora, please," Hayden took the plate and held it up to her face. "It doesn't matter if you like it or not. You need to do whatever Piper says right now."
Nora was about to protest when another wave of nausea hit her. Hayden quickly shoved the plate of lime into Birdie's hand and grabbed Nora's hair. He gathered the silky locks into a secure hold and pulled her down onto his lap as she leaned over the edge of the toilet.
Nora's whole figure shook as her shoulders hunched over and her stomach rolled. Everytime Hayden heard that horrible little whimper, his eyes would snap up to his sister as if he could shoot her out of the sky. Birdie and Hayden had their share of fights, but Birdie had never seen her brother so angry. She peeked up at him through her lashes and tried to hide away from his gaze in the small bathroom. When Nora noticed, she looked up at Hayden and frowned.
"Cut it out!" she snapped. "She said she was sorry and it wasn't even her fault."
Hayden didn't say anything as his hard gaze turned towards Nora. His jaw clenched as he twisted Nora's hair and pushed some of the small pieces back.
"Hayden," Nora pushed at his chest with the heel of her palm. "I mean it. Stop."
"Or what?" Hayden snapped.
"Or I'll have Birdie portal me away back to my apartment," Nora threatened. "Away from you."
"She shouldn't even be drinking!" Hayden to argue while pulling Nora a bit closer. "She's only seventeen!"
"What were you doing at seventeen?" Nora snorted.
Hayden pressed his lips into a thin line and narrowed his eyes.
"I don't have the energy to fight with you right now," Nora took in a deep breath and leaned her forehead onto Hayden's shoulder in exhaustion. "My throat burns. My eyes burn. I feel funny."
Hayden's irritation melted at the sound of Nora's tired voice. His shoulders relaxed and she slowly lowered her head onto it as she pulled her legs up to her chest on his lap.
"Piper?" Hayden looked up, his voice filled with worry.
"Don't let her sleep," Piper kneeled beside the pair and took Nora's face in between her's. "Nora? Wake up. Don't close your eyes. You still have the brew toxins in your body."
