In Your Dreams (In Your Dreams #1)

Chapter 25

For someone who's supposed to be taking it easy, I've got a lot of activity swirling around me right now. My grandparents just showed up after going to the salvage yard out on Highway 20 to clean out what's left of the Camaro, and as they're coming into my room to deliver my purse back to me, Mom's phone blares. "Hello?" she huffs, immediately rolling her eyes to the ceiling once she hears who's on the other line. "Mitch...seriously...we've been over this. You don't need to drive all the way down here...Yes, she's still coming to stay with you, and she'll be good as new by then..."

That would be my dad, calling Mom for what's bordering on the millionth time since last night. She's so preoccupied with trying to keep him calm, she ignores the buzzing of our doorbell. "I'll get it," Gram volunteers, as Gramps sits down on the edge of my bed, where I'm lying propped up against both my pillows. "How's my Zipperino?" he asks.

"Sore. Wishing Mom and Dad would chill out already."

Mom's pacing in front of my bedroom window, and on hearing me, she says, "Mitch, give me a minute, okay?" She covers the phone with her hand and walks out of the room, and I hear her say to someone in the hall "Ten minutes. Got it? She needs to rest."

"Sure thing," Kieran says to her over his shoulder as he comes in. Gramps stands up and shakes Kieran's hand. "Hey there, Kieran."

"Hi, Mr. Shipman. Hope you don't mind if I spend a few minutes with Zip?"

Gramps pats Kieran on the back. "Of course not. I'll give you two some privacy."

He leaves and closes the door behind him, which tells me that when Mom told my grandparents about the accident, she must've left out the reason-or what she thinks is the reason-Kieran and I ended up at the river last night. Otherwise, Gramps probably wouldn't be so eager to shut the bedroom door and leave us alone.

"So people in this town don't bring flowers when they visit the sick?" I ask as he sits down on the bed, hoping he remembers the day we met. Apparently he does, because he starts laughing. "I ordered some online this morning," he says. "The florist isn't open on Sundays, but they should be here tomorrow, if you can wait."

"I think I'll manage. I'm not going anywhere for a while, obviously, so now I have something to look forward to. And you didn't have to do that, by the way."

"Yes, I did," he insists. "It's all part of this spoiling-you thing I started last night. Plus, you're my superhero, remember? Buying you flowers is probably the least I can do after you rescued me."

"Some superhero," I grumble. "I don't think superheroes wreck their mothers' cars and end up in the hospital after thwarting the bad guy."

"Minor details," Kieran says, shrugging. He leans in to kiss me, but he pulls back when the doorknob clicks. My mom, still yakking away on the phone, pushes the door open and cocks an eyebrow at me that I meet with a heavy sigh as she pads back down the hall.

"Who's your mom talking to?" Kieran asks, keeping his voice down. "She sounds pretty worked up."

"My dad. Those two are in rare fighting form right now. She's trying to talk him out of coming down here to check up on me, and he's being all guilty and upset and insistent. Like, what would he do if he were here? Sit and stare at me all day? In two weeks I'll be at his house for a month, anyway, so..."

"Well, if he does end up coming, I'd like to meet him."

I give him a wry smile. "No, you wouldn't. Thanks to my mom, he thinks you're the guy who was planning to take his daughter's virginity at the river before she ruined everything by smashing up the car. I'm guessing you're not high on Dad's list of favorite people right now."