Nausea claws at my throat as I try to force myself out of bed.

'Shit,' I hiss as I run to the bathroom. My body starts to tremble as my stomach starts to force pieces of last night's dinner up and out.

I sink to my knees as sweat mixed with tears and bile run down my neck.

Oh lord.

The pungent and awful smell enters my nostrils making me vomit again, even though nothing comes out.

What was that? I've never had such an abrupt attack of vomit in my whole life.

After cleaning the residues of the food away from my face and brushing my teeth, I manage to make my way to the bed without tripping over the bundle of clothes scattered on the floor.

The good thing about this trip is that I have my own room. Wouldn't want to vomit in the toilet where both Vera and Tyler pee in... I mean... If I were them, I would be disgusted. 

I grab my phone from the bedside table "2 am" and see that Noah's online. I need to call him. I really want to hear his voice right now.

"Noah".
"Abigail. OMg.What time is it there? 1,2 am?" he asks.
"2 am. It's not a problem. I actually can't sleep. I had a big desire to hear your voice" I mutter.
"Damn I miss you so much..."
"I miss you too," I whisper as a tear races into my mouth.

I don't know what's going on with my body and mind today. I guess it's the jet lag...

"So so... How's everything going in Frankfurt?" he says.
"Well, yesterday ..." and I start talking of Jacob Kaiser.

"By the way how are you feeling?" I mutter as I start fiddling with a strand of hair.
"I don't have a fever anymore, which is a good thing. My throat though still hurts a bit..I'm not dying though"he laughs.
"That's a good thing" I smile at myself.
"Look, Abigail, I need to go now," he says as I hear a speaker voice in the background.
"Oh ok," I mutter, slightly taken back.
"Love you" he mutters putting down the phone.
"Love you" I whisper to the air.

10 am.
I hear the soft clicks of my heels hitting the marble floor as I walk through the conference room's door, followed by Tyler and Vera.

Twenty or so people, mostly men, are sitting around a big wooden table. Each wearing designer and professional clothes.

Don't worry this time I'm not wearing the unicorn vomit sweater. This though doesn't mean that I'm never gonna wear it again. I'm wearing a black jumpsuit that I found in the pile of clothes. I don't really remember packing the jumpsuit in my luggage though... Black magic.

I then spot the Kaiser brothers. Both so alike but at the same time different. They're both very. VERY. HANDSOME.

A wave of anxiety hits me but soon vanishes when Max smiles at me, showing off his white teeth.

They must use the teeth whitener that most influencers use. The silicon one with the UV light. I actually wanted to buy one and now I definitely will. Theoretically, I don't actually need it, I mean I don't have yellow teeth...

I sit down next to Max.

"Hi," he mutters.
"Hello," I grin.
"Are you free tomorrow?" he asks.
"I think so" I whisper.
"Great. I was wondering if you would like to come with me to the Christmas market."
"I would love to" I whisper.
"Here this is my phone number after the meeting send me the address of the hotel you're staying at. I'll pick you up at 4 pm" he whispers.
I nod and smile.

Then a woman no taller than five feet hobbles inside the room.

"She's my mom," Max says under his breath.

She actually does look like Max a lot.
She's a woman close to the sixties, short white hair, and extinguished blue eyes.
She must have been a really gorgeous woman once upon a time, but her delicate features are ruined by a long scar that goes from the end of her left brow to her lip. Her eyes are slightly puffy and swollen.

She takes a deep breath and starts talking, her voice raspy and heavy.

Something really bad must have happened to turn a model like woman into a woman who doesn't even have the energy to live.

"Hello, all. Thanks for coming today. As the wife of the founder of DKB, I wanted to personally greet you all today. Charles would have been really proud to see the big turn his business made, thanks to you and his sons. I hope he's seeing everything from up there..." she says breathless sitting down next to Jacob, who's been holding her hand.

Jacob then squeezes his eyes shut and stands up quite abruptly. He quickly scans the room fixating his eyes on me.

I then feel the soft panic that can grows or at the same time fades depending on my actions. It will grow, if I continue staring into his eyes, it will fade, if I look away.

I opt for the better choice.

I look at my hands.

6 pm.
"That was a long meeting," Tyler says as he leans back in the seat.
"Agree" I mutter.
"So are we heading to the bar which Mr.Kaiser talked about?" Vera says.
"Yes," Tyler mutters closing his eyes. Tyler's face is pretty pale in contrast with the dark circles under his eyes.
"How's Melinda doing?" I ask.
"Good I guess. She's not replying to the phone calls. I'll try later..." he huffs, placing his hands on his stomach.
I nod and look out of the window.

Something is going on here... He's not the same Tyler.

I then text Max my hotel address.

6:30 pm.
I rest my hand on the glass door and push. Conversations told in loud voices mix with the rock music. The crowd mostly consists of young students.

I look around in a lost way when Tyler grips my arm.
"We need to go upstairs," he shouts pointing the stairs.

Upstairs the atmosphere is the same but instead of students, businessmen and businesswomen are drinking heavily. Smoke twists in the air in an artistic way, forming curls, that illuminate the neon lights.

The feeling of nausea shrivels up my throat making me slightly lose my balance. Tyler holds me.
"Hey are you all right?" he mutters.
I nod even though I'm not feeling well at all.
"Ah, there they are," Tyler says, walking towards the Kaiser brothers.

We start to chat with the Kaiser brothers about the meeting when my stomach lurches. I stand up abruptly and run to the bathroom.

Luckily I've been staring at the bathroom sign for the past 10 minutes so I know where to go.

I hear some footsteps and a familiar voice calling my name in the background but I ignore it.

I wrap my arms around the toilet, waves of headache adding to the vomit.

5 minutes later

I walk out of the bathroom slightly shaking.

Two strong arms circle my waist.
"Abigail!" 
I turn around and soft lips crash against mine.