Tom was awoken by Lucy's whimpers and he sat up on the bed to see her rubbing her stomach like she was in pain.
"What's wrong?" He asked with a worried frown as he got off the bed and went to turn on the light.
"My stomach hurts," Lucy cried softly as Tom went to her and used his thumb to brush off the beads of sweat on her forehead.
"How bad is it? It's not menstrual cramp, is it?" He asked, since he remembered that she had already seen her period for the month and she was still naked so it obviously wasn't her period.
Before she could respond her stomach rumbled and she shook her head as she quickly got off the bed and rushed to the restroom.
Immediately she got in, she locked the door behind her before Tom could follow her in and sat on the toilet seat to empty her bowels.
"Lucy," Tom called softly from the doorway begining to feel even more worried now.
From where he stood by the door and from the sounds he could hear, he could tell that she seemed to be having a running stomach.
What did she eat? Wait, did she even eat yesterday before going out with the girls? He mused as he waited by the door for her to come out.
He heard the toilet flush, and when Lucy opened the door, he noticed she looked really pale and was sweating profusely while still clutching the area under her breastbone.
"What can I do? Is it food poisoning? Should we go to the hospital?" Tom asked as he carried her back to bed despite her protest that she could walk.
"I think I need my antacids. Please check the drawer for them," Lucy said weakly as she tried to adjust to a suitable position on the bed that would cause her stomach to hurt less.
"Antacids? It's the ulcer?" Tom asked, and when she nodded, he quickly opened the drawer and took out the antacids, and Lucy watched in confusion as he started putting on his trousers.
"What are you doing?" She asked as she chewed.
"Dressing up. I'm taking you to the hospital right now," Tom said, and she shook her head.
"It's normal…."
"How long before it relieves you after taking the antacid?" Tom cut in, and Lucy gasped when another wave of burning pain hit her.
"That's it! I'm taking you to the hospital," Tom said as he tugged on his shirt and walked to her closet to pull out something for her to wear.
"No! I can bear it. It's just past four in the morning," Lucy said even though her eyes were watery now as she popped a couple of antacids into her mouth and chewed faster hoping it would relieve her of the burning pain.
The first time Tom had spent the night and made love with her here on her bed, he had ended up taking her to the hospital because she had fainted while telling him her story, and now this.
"Good. I'm glad you can bear the pain until we get to the hospital. You don't have to bear it after we get there," Tom said as he distractedly grabbed a short and T-shirt.
He didn't bother with undies as he returned to her side and despite her protest wore the tshirt over her head until she had no choice but to do as he was demanding.
"I need my pants," Lucy said as she tried to get off the bed.
"Not that I think it's important right now, but I will get it," Tom said as he walked over to her drawer where she kept her undies and took out a black lace pant.
Once she had finished dressing up, he carried her out of the house despite her protest and drove off as fast as he could to the hospital while she continued to chew on her antacids.
"How bad does it hurt?" Tom asked, glancing at her at intervals as he drove.
"It's not the first time I'm having such an episode, Tom. Please relax," Lucy said weakly.
"It's the first time I'm experiencing it with you and you can't expect me to relax when you're obviously in pain," Tom countered.
Lucy looked at him apologetically, "I'm sorry. It's my fault…"
"No, it's not. It's mine. I've always known you were irresponsible when it comes to your eating habits. I shouldn't have been so irresponsible to let you go to bed without eating anything especially after all that alcohol you consumed," Tom countered, and despite the burning pain she was feeling Lucy scowled.
"I'm not irresponsible," she hissed at him.
"Save your breath and argue that later. Let's get you to the hospital and make sure you're fine first," Tom said with a stern frown.
She had never seen him look so worried. Not even when he saw her crying in the storage room after she had heard them calling her a murderer.
Maybe he had looked this worried when she had fainted the last time, but she had been unconscious so she wouldn't know. But seeing the worried lines between his brows now made her feel sorry and remorseful.
"What did you eat yesterday?" Tom asked, and she winced.
"A packet of chips and chocolate," Lucy said and Tom shook his head not knowing what to say to that.
"I'm sorry. I will pay more attention to my eating habit," Lucy murmured.
"You should. I just want you to be fine. I don't like to see you in pain," Tom said, and Lucy smiled.
"How will you stand seeing me in labor pain then?" She joked, and then both her and Tom stiffened.
Tom turned to look at her, and noticed she had pressed her lips together now, obviously taken aback by the joke she had made. ραпdαs `n?ν?| сom
Not wanting it to be awkward, Tom smiled, "Perhaps it's for the best that you're not interested in having kids then," he joked as he returned his attention to the road, and Lucy said nothing, wondering where that had come from.
The rest of the drive to the hospital was silent, and once they got there, Lucy was given priority treatment while Tom was asked to wait as the doctor checked on her.
After a short moment the doctor came out and confirmed she was having ulcer pains but assured Tom that there was no cause of alarm. She was being taken care of and would be okay in no time.
After an hour, Tom was allowed to go in to stay with her, and he was relieved to see her smiling. She didn't look so pale anymore.
"How do you feel now?" Tom asked as he went to sit beside her.
"The doctor said we can leave after I've exhausted this drip. I told you it wasn't life threatening," Lucy said, and Tom shook his head.
"I'd rather not take any chances with you," Tom said, and Lucy sighed.
"Well, this is the fastest I've been relieved of the pain. Thank you," Lucy said as she looked at her hand where the drip was fixed.
"Now that you feel better, can you tell me why you didn't wake me up the moment you started feeling the discomfort?" Tom asked and Lucy shook her head.
"I just didn't want to disturb your sleep," Lucy said and Tom raised a brow.
"I was sleeping right next to you, Lucy. It wouldn't have been a bother. Don't tell me if I hadn't woken up, you would have remained there whimpering all night?"
"I wasn't whimpering," Lucy said defensively and Tom heaved a deep sigh as he gazed at her.
"Alright. I'm sorry. I really just didn't want it to seem like every time you passed the night at my place you had to take care of a medical emergency," Lucy said without meeting his gaze.
"Why? Were you scared I wouldn't want to spend the night at your place anymore?" Tom asked, and Lucy's lips twitched as she met his gaze.
"Maybe," she said with a grin and Tom chuckled.
"Some times I don't know what to do with you," Tom said with a shake of his head.
"You can just love me," Lucy said, and he nodded.
"That I already do. I guess the pain didn't let you have any hangovers," Tom observed as he moved closer to her.
"I guess so. Although, I was having a mild headache earlier but the stomach ache was worse," Lucy said as she let Tom gather her into his arms.
"Sorry, love. I hope you realize I won't be letting you have alcohol anymore. So, you'd have to work on letting yourself loosen up without alcohol," Tom said as he brushed his lips against her forehead.
"Last night was crazy by the way," Tom said as he pulled away to look into her face.
He grinned when he saw the blush that stole up her face, "How much of it do you remember?" He asked, and she shrugged.
"Enough to know I wasn't drunk enough," Lucy said, and Tom chuckled.
"And do you remember dancing on the stage at the club?" Tom asked, and she winced.
"I wish I didn't. I remember doing that but I can't recall the dance moves," Lucy said, and Tom shook his head.
"Why did you do that? It's unlike you," Tom said and she sighed.
"Jade almost always complains about how uptight I am. It's not in my nature to be as carefree as they are. I guess I just wanted to have fun with the girls and show them I could be fun to hang around with as well," Lucy said with a shrug.
Tom wasn't sure if she realized how sad that sounded.
"You don't have to try so hard to fit in. I think you should be yourself and they should learn to accept you the way you are. Everyone can't be wild and careless," Tom said, and she raised a brow.
"You also think I'm uptight and need to loosen up. You insinuated it the other time in the car," Lucy pointed out.
"No! I've never referred to you as uptight. You're far from uptight. Cautious was the word I used (chapter 549). I said your speech is always guarded," Tom said, remembering the exact conversation she was referring to.
"Well, if I'm to take the advise you just gave I can choose to remain cautious and you can accept me the way I am, right?" Lucy asked, and Tom smiled.
"I already accepted you the way you are. However, accepting you the way you are doesn't mean I can't ask you to improve on certain areas that affect our relationship, does it? I only suggested you work on your communication skills. I promised to do the same as well, remember?" Tom pointed out reasonably.
"Well, maybe being more carefree is also a way to improve my friendship with Jade and the others," Lucy said, and Tom shrugged.
"That's your choice. Just don't do anything you'd be embarrassed about just because you want to impress them," Tom advised.
"Were you embarrassed by my actions?" Lucy asked, realizing she had not thought of that aspect.
Tom chuckled, "Was I supposed to be embarrassed that you announced to everyone that I'm your boyfriend and you love me?" Tom asked and she closed her eyes.
She had forgotten making that announcement.
"I'm never going back to that club. Ever," Lucy said, and Tom laughed softly as he caressed her cheeks as though to get rid of her blush.
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