Pursued(14)

“Sure.” The waitress shrugged again and finished writing on her tablet. “Comin’ right up.” Elise handed her the menu and she left, humming faintly under her breath.

James raised one impeccably groomed eyebrow at her. “Darling, was that really necessary?”

Elise frowned. “I told you I was hungry, didn’t I?” In fact, her hunger was getting so intense she actually felt faint. “I hope she hurries up,” she muttered, crossing her arms over her stomach protectively. “I should have made it a rush order.” Her stomach gurgled loudly, as though to second the idea.

“Elise!” James looked scandalized. “We’re in a public place, you know!”

“I’m sorry.” Suddenly, as though someone had flipped an emotional switch inside her, Elise felt like she was about to cry. She got up quickly, upsetting the glasses of ice water the waitress had left in her hurry. James yelped as a rush of icy water poured over his side of the table directly onto his crotch.

Elise thought about getting him napkins to try and clean it up and then thought better of it. She was certain she was going to cry now and she didn’t want James to see her lose control. Muttering, “Sorry,” again, she ran hastily down the aisle between the booths, barely registering the surprised looks of the other customers, and barged her way into the ladies room.

Inside she found the only clean stall—the handicapped one—and huddled in the corner with her arms wrapped around herself, shaking. What’s wrong with me? she wondered miserably for what felt like the hundredth time that day. My emotions are all over the place! This isn’t me—I’m not this emotional, this fragile—even during my period I have more control than this. What the hell is going on?

In fact, it was her non-emotional, professional attitude that had taken her so far at work. No matter how horrible the crime was or how despicable the criminal she was prosecuting, Elise was always able to put a barrier between herself and the ugliness. Her no-nonsense attitude was also what James valued about her—he liked her “level head” and often complimented her on her good sense.

But now it seemed all her barriers were gone. All her emotions were stripped bare and she was losing control. And, as if to make her emotional pain worse, her body kept insisting that she was hungry…so hungry.

I can’t keep this up. I have to eat or I’m going to faint. Staggering out of the bathroom, Elise caught herself on one of the dirty porcelain sinks and managed to turn on the tap. She splashed cool water in her face and then blotted her cheeks with coarse brown paper towels from the rusty metal dispenser mounted on the wall.

Looking in the dingy mirror over the sink, Elise was dismayed to see a wild woman looking back. Her black hair, which she’d pinned neatly back into its customary bun, was coming unfastened to make a messy halo around her face. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were red and watery with unshed tears. All in all, she looked a mess.

“Calm,” she muttered, blotting her eyes on the damp paper towels. “I have to be calm. I’m fine. Everything is fine and I’m going to be okay.” But was she? Elise wasn’t entirely sure.

Her stomach growled again, reminding her of why she was here. Black dots were dancing in front of her eyes and she was beginning to feel sick she was so hungry. Have to eat. Everything will be better once I eat, she told herself. Please God, please let breakfast be on the table when I get out there. Please!

Taking a deep breath, she smoothed back her hair and made a tremendous effort to get hold of herself. She wasn’t sure if she was having some kind of emotional breakdown or possibly some kind of post-traumatic episode from what she had endured on the Fathership. All she knew was that she must not let her fiancé see her in this state. She and James were close, and she loved him very much—well, most of the time—but she couldn’t let him see her so upset, so completely out of control. She had to hold it together, at least until he caught his plane to Japan. Then she could go back to her apartment in downtown Tampa and quietly lose her mind.

I can do this, she told herself. I can make it through the next few hours. I can keep it together until I have time to myself. I know I can!

With that thought firmly in mind, she straightened her back and walked out of the ladies room.





Chapter Four




“I’m approaching Earth. Tell me what to expect,” Merrick spoke into the console as he worked the controls of his little star-duster.

“The hunger is part of stasis sickness,” Sylvan’s voice came back. “I’ll explain it more fully once I get you and Elise together because it affects you both. But the short rundown of symptoms is this: First the subject feels like she’s getting sick. She has nausea, a headache, and often a rapid heartbeat.”