Chapter 49 Sudden Sickness
The next morning came as quickly as possible. I was finally feeling a lot better. Even though I still had Sophia on my mind, I wasn’t completely drained by the thought of her anymore, because I knew I was going to get revenge for her death.
It was only a matter of time before I got my plans into action.
When I woke up, Carlos wasn’t lying next to me. I stood from the bed and was about to check the bathroom for him when a stone suddenly hit the window. I flinched in horror, my heart racing, thinking the Menendezes were here.
I didn’t dare peek out the window as I feared for whoever was behind it.
Taking a step back, I quietly called out "Carlos," but there was no response.
I quietly walked towards the bathroom and knocked on the door. My movement was quiet but at the same time loud enough for him to hear — if he was inside. But there was no response, I couldn’t hear any noise coming from inside.
I knocked harder. "Carlos," I called again, this time a bit louder, still no response. I opened the bathroom door, and it was empty—Carlos wasn’t there.
Once again, someone threw a stone at the window. I stepped back, my heart racing faster than before. This time I wasn’t sure if it was a threat as I didn’t hear any gunshots or chaos as it usually is.
I stood in my position, contemplating whether or not I should go check. A part of me wants to but another is just too scared. What if I check and then I get my head shot? And what it’s a bugger trap?
I can’t risk that.
Just as I was panicking, I heard my name being called from behind the window. I instantly recognized the voice—it was Carlos. I walked to the window, and just as I thought, Carlos was standing outside with small stones in his hand.
I opened the window, my heart rate dropping. "So you were the one throwing stones at the window," I said, quite relieved
"I’m sorry if I scared you, but I had to wake you up."
"Here’s an idea—next time, wake me up the normal way, not like this." I frowned. I could have had a heart attack if he hadn’t called my name.
"Sorry," He said.
I smiled. "It’s okay, just tell me why you were throwing stones."
"Have you forgotten?" He questioned "We agreed to end the fight between us and the Menendezes, and the first step toward that is to train you to fight. So come down to the garden."
"We can’t train in the garden. We’ll disturb the rest of the hotel visitors."
He scoffed. "There are no people around. It’s just you and me. I booked the whole place for us, so don’t worry—just come."
I sighed heavily. I hated that I had to do this, but this was what I signed up for. "I’ll be done in five minutes."
He gave me a thumbs-up, and I moved away from the window. I headed to the bathroom to freshen up, started by brushing my teeth, and then fixed my hair.
As I began washing my face, a sharp pain struck my stomach. I gripped my belly as it worsened—it felt like my intestines were crushing one after another.
Suddenly, I started throwing up. I couldn’t stop; I just kept going until I emptied my stomach. I fell to the ground. My body felt weak, yet too heavy to move.
I stayed there, doing all I could to steady my breathing and hold myself together. I didn’t have my medicine, so I had to suck it up and wait until I could stand.
I didn’t know how many minutes I spent sitting on the bathroom floor with my head resting on my knees. Finally, I gained a little strength and stood up, though my knees were still weak.
I washed my face and mouth before walking out of the room. When I got downstairs where Carlos was waiting, I put on a big smile to make it look like I hadn’t just felt like dying.
"You said you’d be done in five minutes, but you took like thirty. I was getting worried," He said when he saw me.
"Sorry about that. Let’s just get this started, okay?" I said.
He hesitated for a moment, eyes fixed on me. "What’s wrong?"
"What do you mean?"
"You look pale, Nala, and I can smell vomit on you. Tell me what happened."
I wanted to tell Carlos the truth, but I knew if I did, he’d withdraw me from the fight and postpone everything until I recovered—which wasn’t possible. So instead, I lied "My stomach couldn’t handle last night’s food."
"Oh."
"Yeah, we should probably not eat out for a while. Maybe homemade food would work better for me."
"Okay, I can arrange that for you," He said.
"Thank you." I walked past him toward the board and the guns at the end of the garden. "We’re shooting again today?"
"Yeah, but we can skip that if you’re too weak."
"I’m not weak. I can do it." I picked up the gun, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The shot went off to the other side.
I turned to Carlos who didn’t seem impressed.
"I’m gonna get it right this time," I said, but I didn’t. I turned to him again. "Three is my lucky shot. I can do this." I pulled the trigger but still failed.
Carlos didn’t say anything; he just kept looking at me. I tried the fourth time, then the fifth, but still missed.
As I was about to take the sixth shot, Carlos walked up to me. "You can’t make a right target if you’re holding the gun like it’s too heavy for you." He said, taking the gun from me. "Let’s stop for now. We can try this some other time. You should rest now."
"I’m fine, Carlos," I said.
He sighed softly, clearly not believing me. "I know you are, but I’m not fine thinking that you’re not fine. So let’s just drop this for the moment, okay?"
I nodded. "Okay," I said giving in.