Testing The Waters

Chapter Twenty-Two

I frown and scratch at my neck, wondering just how bad I look right now.

"I'll see if I can get you a cream for that too," she says, nodding to my hand doing the scratching. "It'll help with the itching." She grabs a couple of syringes from her front pocket and connects them to my IV line. When she administers both vials, she drops them into a sharps container on the wall and turns to me. "Your boyfriend's been raising the roof out there." She smirks. "I'll go get him before he ends up in psych."

"Oh... he's not my boyfriend." I say, feeling my face redden.

Her brows lift. "Can he be mine? Cause that boy is beautiful."

I bite back a smile. "I'll slip him your number."

She winks. "I knew I liked you."

When she leaves, I groan, knowing how awful I must look. I pull my hair up into a bun, trying to smooth as much the of the frizzy beast as possible.

The door bursts open and Alex walks in, his eyes displaying an assortment of emotions. His hair is disheveled, and his shirt is a filthy a mix of mud and dried sweat stains.

He looks like Hell.

He stalks to the side of the bed and sits down at the edge. He doesn't hesitate before reaching for me, drawing me into his chest.

"Jesus, don't ever do that to me again," he says into my hair.

I don't know why, but having him here brings out a rush of emotions within me, and everything I bottled up from this horrible day comes spilling out. My body starts to shake as small sobs start pouring from my mouth. I hate crying in front of him, but I can't seem to help it.

Alex lays us both down and wraps his arms around me, tucking my head into his neck. My heart all but sighs.

"Shh, it's okay. You're okay," he whispers, gently. The way he's holding me makes me think of how he held Anna last night. I panic when I think of Anna and how scared she must be without Alex or me there with her.

I look up at him urgently. "Anna?"

He gives me a small smile and wipes a tear from my cheek. "She's okay. Her dad picked her up and she's fine."

I nibble on my bottom lip. "I feel bad for cutting her weekend short."

"Because you meant to almost die," he says, rolling his eyes like I'm ridiculous.

I try to pull away, but he tightens his hold. "Please don't pull away from me," he whispers. "I can't explain it, but I just need to hold you right now."

Sighing, I lie back against his chest.

He smells like male sweat and sun. The bee sting might have given me brain damage, but I want to keep inhaling it. It's intoxicating. I close my eyes and breath him in and pretty soon, the silence and steady sound of our breathing calms me enough to lull me to sleep.

I'm not sure how long I sleep, but my eyes flutter open when Lynn walks into the room. She gives me a wink and walks over to check my IV bag. Alex is sitting in the chair next to my bed, watching me.

"Is my Dad here yet?" I ask, my voice sounding hoarse.

Something odd flickers across his face, and he frowns. "Not yet."

I look over at Lynn. "Am I allowed to have some water?"

"Oh sure, Hun. Are you hungry? I could get you something."

"No thanks. Just the water, please."

She turns to Alex, a flirty smile on her face. "You want anything, sugar?"