“No. It’s fine,” I said, even though it most definitely was not. Jasper muttered something under his breath about a complaint not being a bad idea, but I pretended not to hear, instead trying to look casual while waiting for the guard to head down the corridor.

“Wow. That was…” Jasper exhaled about a decade’s worth of tension.

“I know.” Swaying slightly, I squished my eyes shut.

“Hey. You okay?” Jasper steered me toward one of the couches in the waiting area by the elevators.

“No.” Collapsing onto the couch, I put my head in my hands. Jasper made soothing sounds and rubbed my back, but I was concentrating too much on not hurling to appreciate the contact. “What did I do?”

“You stood up for me. For yourself. You were amazing. But I get that it was probably intense for you.” Jasper sounded amazed but all jazzed up, like we’d just conquered some ride together. And as always, now I was the one about to puke.

“That’s one way to put it.”

Jasper gentled his tone some and slowed his hands, like he was calming a nervous puppy. “You did good.”

“Should have done it a long time ago, but still…” I held out my shaking hands.

“I’m not trying to say it wasn’t hard for you.” Giving me a kind smile, Jasper squeezed my biceps. “But I was impressed.”

“I’m now impressively homeless.” After removing my crown, I scrubbed at my hair.

“Hey.” He stilled my hand while I still had hair left. “Do you want to call your mom?”

I lurched away from him, gut roiling again. “God, no. I’ll figure something out, but I am not needing another rescue.”

“Fair enough, but I meant more that maybe you need the support.”

“I’ll be fine.” I pushed myself to standing even if my knees were still decidedly wobbly.

“You don’t look—”

“I just need a minute.” I dragged in a rattling breath before striding toward the restroom. “I’m going to get changed.”

“Good idea. I’ll do the same.”

Toting all his usual bags, he followed close behind me, almost as if he expected me to make a run for it. Which I definitely was not about to do in this toga. And Jasper might be my only friend. I was feeling like crap but I wasn’t stupid enough to flee. So no fleeing, but my self-loathing had reached new depths, and I wasn’t surprised when I ended up puking while changing. I hated how much I now needed Jasper. And I hated that it had taken me this long to stand up. Oh, and that I’d been this unprepared for the inevitable reaction.