The in-between I cannot take

 Millie thought her hot tea was steeping, but the hot water from the kettle was waiting to be used.  She felt spaced out with everything going on at the Coffee Shop these days. As if Junie's absence was all her fault.

"I told you, you had nothing to do with it, and you know it." KC had been over this so many times, but it didn't make the headache go away. She was too sick to even go in on her Sunday to work. 

It was that time of year when winter Arctic blast weather met sickness, and the combination meant JUST STAY HOME, but she felt she should have been stronger. She knew if her mother were in this situation, she'd be down at the Coffee Shop no matter what. Her restlessness grew. At least, she managed to make her tea. The sunrise was hours away, and here she was, at her dining table, staring into oblivion. 

Of course, KC took his time moving from the bed, but he finally had the coffee on and was looking in the fridge to see if there were eggs. Just two.

"I'll make us egg burritos."

However, she didn't like the sound of that. She was beginning to think nothing would make her happy. Suddenly, she remembered what Nico said to another co-worker about Junie, "Sextrafficing."

Millie cringed at the thought with a sad scowl, looking at KC as if he'd never think it.

"I don't want anything to eat." She managed a sip of hot tea while he added milk and sugar to his coffee.

"I know you're worried, but are you sure that's all it is?" KC finally sat down across from her. He leaned over to put his hand on her forehead. He told her she didn't feel feverish.

She crumbled into a frown as her lips tightened. Suddenly, the urge hit her as she barely made it to the bathroom. Something vile escaped her, and the room reeked. No way, did she want KC seeing her this way? But he knew. He knew how sometimes, there was no relief until she went to the toilet. 

"I told you, you need to take a test. You need to make an appointment." He said on the other side of the bathroom door.

"For what?" Suddenly, even she realized she sounded like a sixth grader, but she knew what he was asking. "It's winter, a snowstorm is coming." There had been plenty of snow squalls this past week that she'd watched from the Coffee Shop window.

"You keep putting off things, and you know it." His words hurt to hear. "Stop worrying about everyone else and worry about you."

She sighed. She hated it when he was right.