The Kings IV I

31

Fred

I walked into the bathroom, rubbing my tired eyes. "Lex?"

I seemed to wake right up when I heard her retching. I covered my ears, my mouth agape. "God, Lex, are you okay?"

She sighed, resting her face on the toilet seat. "No."

I knelt down next to her, rubbing her back. "Oh, baby, I'm sorry."

She looked up at me, shaking her head. "It's fine."

I grabbed her hair as she leaned up again, and turned my head as she puked yet again.

She flushed the toilet, leaning against the wall. "That was dreadful."

I stood up, holding out my hand. "Let's go back to bed."

She grabbed my hand and I pulled her up from the ground, smiling as she wrapped her arms around my neck and melted into me.

I gently rubbed her back, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

I heard sniffling, so I pulled away from her. My eyes went round at the sight of her sobbing, making me wipe her cheeks. "Lex, baby, what's wrong?"

She covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes meeting mine.

"What is wrong?" I asked, squatting down to her height.

She shrugged, biting down on her bottom lip. "I-"

She cut herself off with a sob, covering her face.

"You've got to tell me what's wrong. A-are you in pain, or, or?" I stumbled out, shaking my head.

Her eyes met mine, her bottom lip quivering. "I want pizza, Fred."

My jaw dropped. I couldn't have hid my expression, even if I'd wanted to. She wants pizza, after just throwing her guts up?

She let out a sob, shaking her head. "And nowhere's open, because it's three A.M."

She fell into me, hysterically crying over the fact that there were no pizza places open for her to satisfy her craving.

I wrapped my arms around her neck, my eyes wide. "Well, what kind of pizza are you wanting?"

"I want deep dish," she sobbed, "and I can't get that."

"Hey," I whispered, pulling away from her, "I have something downstairs that might satisfy your hunger."

She sniffled, nodding up at me.

"Let's go," I said, reaching for her hand.

She pulled her hand back, looking up at me with puppy dog eyes. She held her arms up and I smiled, walking over to her. I boosted her up into my arms and she wrapped her arms around my neck, nestling her face in mine.

I walked downstairs with her in my arms, gently rubbing her back the entire way down. I walked into the kitchen, placing her on the counter. "Alright."

She wiped her eyes, swinging her legs. "What are you doing?"

I opened the freezer, searching around for the pizza I knew I had. "Ah. Here she is."

I pulled it out, dropping it on the counter. I placed my hands on my hips, smiling a proud smile.

She looked down at the pizza and back up at me, nodding.

"Now, it's not deep deep dish," I said, "but it is deep dish."

She smiled, nodding.