The Stacks

Chapter 41: Get Back Up

Song: "Get Back Up" by TobyMac

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I woke up close to dinner time, the second day in a row that I'd slept the day away. I could tell Harry was cooking something and my stomach growled again, almost to the point of nausea. I threw on my bathrobe and wandered out to the kitchen. "Smells good," I said faintly.

"Oh, hey sweetie, sit down," he came over and led me to the table. "I'm making chicken noodle soup. That's the best cure for sickness, right?" He said. I could tell he was on edge. Nothing was resolved between us, but he was concerned for me and I was starving.

"It smells wonderful," I told him. "But I honestly feel just a little nauseous. We bought saltines, right?" He hummed a yes and brought me the box of crackers and a glass of juice. I opened the crackers and annihilated half a sleeve before he even looked at me again.

"Do you feel better now?" He teased, noticing the mess of crumbs in front of me.

"Shut up," I mumbled, but my small smile told him I was kidding. I watched him as he added herbs to the soup, humming a soft tune while he worked. How could I be so angry at someone and so hurt, but yet still love him so much? "We should talk," I said softly.

He turned to face me and said, "Of course we should. When you're ready. Your mum is coming after dinner to spend the night because I wasn't sure if you still wanted your space. From me, I mean." He glanced up at me but I just gave him a tepid smile. "She said she's free for the weekend if you need her here or if you want to go back home with her. I have something planned for tonight, but I'll be ready to talk when you're up for it, okay? Maybe if you're feeling better tomorrow?"

"Sure," I said, happy that we weren't yelling at each other.

The chicken soup was a hit, along with more crackers. If I wasn't careful, I'd be outgrowing my favorite jeans with all this heartache and sickness business. That part didn't make sense to me - if I had a stomach bug, I surely wouldn't have an appetite, but if I had influenza, I'd likely have a fever and cold symptoms, right? In any case, something was off and the soup was the perfect remedy.

Mom arrived shortly after dinner with my things, as well as a bag packed for herself. Harry got ready to leave quickly and pulled me aside before he left. "Do you want me to stay away? For the night? Or the weekend? I can just get a hotel room or-"

"No," I said, waving him off. "Just come back here. We'll talk soon."

He looked relieved and nodded warmly, although I knew he still wanted more assurance that I wasn't going to end things between us. "I love you, you know," he said.

"I love you, too," I said and he kissed my forehead before he left.

Mom had brought more ice cream and we cuddled up together on the couch. She knew me so well. And seriously, as soon as I got my energy back, I was going to need to take a run, even if I despised exercise of any kind. Except yoga, but something told me yoga wasn't going to burn off all this junk food.

"You want to know what's weird?" I mused.

"What's that?" Mom asked, mouth full of Death by Chocolate.

"I didn't have any dreams about Cathryn here at my place until Harry moved in. Before that, I only dreamt about her at Harry's house."

"Hmmm," she said, seeming to mull over my question. "You know, I've heard of spirits being attached to objects. Sounds kind of kooky, right? But maybe there's something spiritual about this locket."

"Okay, now that sounds crazy," I laughed, scooping more chocolate ice cream into my own mouth.

"Well, it's not something they teach in Sunday school," she laughed. "But seriously, I'm sure there are things that go on in the spiritual realm that we don't understand."