Julia's POV
The morning hit me like a freight train. I jolted awake with something vile clawing its way up my throat, and before I could even catch my breath, I was sprinting to the bathroom. I collapsed over the toilet, retching until there was nothing left but dry heaves. My hands trembled against the cold porcelain as I knelt there, gasping. Every part of me felt like it was on fire, this fever that had been brewing since yesterday making everything feel wrong.
"What the hell is happening to me?" I whispered, wiping my mouth with shaking fingers before stumbling back to bed.
I fell onto my mattress, debating whether I needed to drag myself to a doctor, when my phone lit up. I grabbed it without thinking, then nearly dropped it when I saw who had texted me.
Mom.
Her message was impossibly long, but I forced myself to read every word.
