Young and Beautiful

Eight.

The last time that her hands had been shaking so badly was when she was going to give the proposal for her company to the bank to see if she could get a loan. Her hands had been trembling so badly that she had to squeeze them together as hard as she could, and finally, they stopped. But as she sat in the cold waiting room that smelled like bleach covered up by some type of lemon air freshener, she couldn't get them to stop. Nothing would make them stop.

She couldn't even remember how long she had been there, sitting and waiting for a doctor or a nurse or somebody to give her an update on Nick but it felt like it had been a lifetime. All of her basic needs had been pushed aside and she only cared about two things right now: Nick and her kids.

"Demi?" She didn't even register the sound of heavy feet hitting the tiled floor but when she heard someone call her name, she looked up and noticed Wilmer standing there. She wasn't expecting him to be there, especially since she was waiting on Dorinda to bring the kids up and couldn't fathom what was taking so long.

"I don't want this filmed," she muttered, her eyes finding the tile floor again as she squeezed her hands tighter and she felt Wilmer's warmth penetrate through her thin shirt as he sat next to her.

"I'm not here for my job. I'm here as a friend. I went back to your house and Dorinda is gonna let the kids sleep before bringing them up here. But I brought you this," Wilmer explained before holding her favorite cashmere cardigan out in front of her, and thank God because it was freezing.

"Thank you." The fabric bounced in her hands as she took the article of clothing from him and Wilmer immediately took notice. Her hands were blotchy and her skin looked raw and she couldn't even put her cardigan on because of how hard her hands were shaking.

"Whoa, are you okay? Are you cold?" He didn't even think as he took the cardigan from her and helped her push her arms through the sleeves and watched as it settled on her body. The sleeves were loose at the end from her constantly pulling them over her hands and the rest of the cardigan just fell over her body in the most comforting looking way.

"Just anxious, that's all. The doctors haven't said a word to me about what's going on and I haven't seen my kids in who knows how long and..."

"It's only been two hours, Demi. And they're fine. Dorinda has it all taken care of. And Nick is gonna be okay, so you have to calm down," Wilmer coaxed as she nodded but her hands continued to shake.

Since there was no barrier between them, Wilmer slowly began to move Demi so that she was in his arms but when her head was about to touch his chest, she looked up at him in alarm.

"Isa used to be really anxious the night before big recitals. Listening to my heartbeat calmed her down," Wilmer explained. Demi seemed apprehensive but she had been on edge for the past hour so she let her head gently rest on Wilmer's chest, the consistent thump thump of his heart putting her at ease. Not only that but his smell was so husky yet so fresh that Demi unconsciously relaxed more into him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder as she closed her eyes and felt herself beginning to drift off.

"Thank you," she mumbled in her sleepy haze as Wilmer just shrugged and tried to keep his heartbeat as normal as possible. If it sped up because the vanilla scent of her hair was sending chills down his spine and the way she fit just right into his arms was causing him to perspire, then she would notice.

When Demi awoke again, she nearly jumped out of her seat because she couldn't remember where she was. She squinted her eyes and glanced around, taking in the white walls with framed pictures hanging on them that were supposed to make this place a little more comforting, a little more welcoming, but Demi saw right through it. She was in the hospital and waiting on news about Nick's condition and she had fallen asleep...in Wilmer's arms. Wilmer had held her against his chest to calm her down and she had fallen asleep. And now he was nowhere to be found.