Chapter 44

• ~ December 12th ~ Morning
• Swaddled in her blanket. Zoe stirred awake. It was the dream she had several times that had stopped her from getting a full night's rest. The blaring of her alarm disrupted her dreams. Not wanting to get up, she felt off. A low groan erupted from the back of her throat. Knowing the alarm would only persist until it was turned off. Rolling from her back onto her side. She lay there a few seconds longer. With her eyes still shut tight. Zoe patted the mattress several times, fumbling for her phone. Where she usually stashes her phone, it had moved. Opening her eyes a crack, Zoe located it on the bedside table. Her mother must have placed it there during the night without her knowing.
• Zoe turned off the phone, feeling worse than she did before. A dull ache throbbed in her head and neck, but it was the gnawing urgency in her stomach that jolted her wide awake. In a panic, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stumbled to the bathroom. She burst through the door, barely making it to the toilet in time, her body leaning over as waves of nausea crashed over her.