The phone rang soon after Shay left. Angie picked up rather quickly to prevent Eros from awaking.
"Daddy! Oh, hi. I'm fine—doing better, actually. Thank you for being here when they wheeled me in this morning." Angie smiled, a tear pushing its way down. "Yeah, he's asleep. You did? I wonder why they're keeping him in my room then if they know we aren't married." Her neck warmed and she giggled. "Yeah, I'm okay. You're the best daddy I've ever had. Okay, five then? Okay. Loves."
Angie set the receiver down and turned to Eros. She spared every minute gazing at him. His lashes fluttered and her heart responded. Soft groans floated from his parted lips. His chest moved faster, as if gulping air after a hard swim.
"Eros?" She slid from bed and made sure the gown was tied tight behind her.
Eros turned to her voice, his eyes opening. He blinked until their eyes met, his smile spreading like the sun rising. "Angelina."
She dropped her face for a quick second before looking at him again. "Are you okay? I mean," she choked back tears, hating the sudden rush of emotion, "I mean—your heart had stopped."
"It did?" He turned away from her and eyed his bed, his feet peeking at the end. "Where am I? What are these?" He lifted his wrist and pulled off the monitor and IV. He didn't flinch and that was when she saw no sign of blood. Angie crinkled her brows at how the IV was taped to his wrist. Didn't the doctor say he didn't need it? "What is that strange sound?"
Angie covered her mouth after seeing how scared he was. His face had a bewildered look to it—an expression she'd never seen him have. And his chest still pumped. "It's okay, Eros, it's okay." She reached to him and gave him a hug, so wanting to feel his lips against hers, but knew now wasn't the time. His heart pounded into her chest.
"Angelina, you saved my life."
She was about to pull from his enticing heat when his hands clamped her to him, lifting her off her feet and sitting her on the edge of his bed. She giggled and tossed her hair aside, her heart thrumming from the intense gaze of his stare.
"It was the medics and the hospital that saved your life," Angie whispered, gaping at his lips.
Eros shook his head, his smile shrinking. "No, I can feel now. Not the same as before, but much more." He cupped her face and brought her to him, his lips parting. "I wish you could feel what I feel when I touch and kiss you."
Angie's blood was alive. Her skin felt a glow trail his caresses. "Soft and breathless?" she murmured with a giggle.
He smiled, his lashes almost closed as he stared at her mouth. "Almost—but better."
Angie made a squeaking sound deep inside her throat. A deep yearning for his taste. Her lips parted and he was there. Warm. Sweet. Intoxicating.
A soft knock.
Angie squealed and hopped off his bed, straightening her gown and hair. Eros watched her through his lashes, his lips still parted, his chest fast with breath.
"Just checking on my patients here. Ah, I see you're awake now and you are out of bed." The male nurse rushed forward, his forehead tight with concern as he handled the clear tubes that dangled from Eros' machinery. "I apologize, but we need to keep these on in order to stay on track."
Angie crawled back into bed, embarrassed to have been caught, though he didn't say a word. Eros didn't put up a fight as the nurse reattached the instruments but for the IV. After the nurse was done, he gave her a polite nod. This time, the door was open ajar.
"Uh, that was close," Angie said with a small laugh. She was afraid to meet his gaze. She tucked a stray lock behind her ear.
"What was?" Eros still regarded her through his hooded gaze.
"The nurse almost caught us."
"Doing what?"
Angie giggled and rushed back to him.
* * *
Angie was combing her hair in the bathroom when she heard a knock. "Daddy!" she laughed, skipping out of the bathroom, ready to give him a hug. She pulled the main door open. "You're half an hour early but—."
Her smile fell, the light in her eyes faded. A shiver rooted itself deep in Angie's core and she couldn't speak. Her hands shook, but she balled them into her jeans pockets.
"Hi, is Eros still here?"
How could she ever believe that Eros could be hers and hers alone? A cold wave drowned her and she lifted her chin.
"Uh," Angie was grateful she had the door resting against her shoulder so no one could see past her. She turned over her shoulder and saw Eros reaching for the ceiling with a yawn. He rolled his head and shoulders, stopped and winked at her. "He just went home. Sorry. Try his dorm."
She pushed the door closed but something stopped it from shutting. Angie looked down and saw the girl's toe.
"Hey!" Angie skipped backward to keep from getting hit as the girl pushed hard against the door.
"Sorry, but the nurse told us he was here and I don't think they lie."
The icy grip around her heart squeezed until heat replaced it. It hardened as she stepped aside. "Of course, why don't you come in? We," Angie jerked her head toward Eros, staring at the girls through tightened eyes, "just made his bed."
Didn't she have a right of who got to visit and who didn't? The call button sang its siren song and she was tempted.
Four more girls followed, their laughter rising and falling, twining with Eros' rich dark tones.
She gazed longingly at the call button in the bathroom, but reconsidered. She'd be labeled for life if she kicked them out, the girls being fellow classmates. Angie couldn't breathe. The space felt cramped though she stood beside the wide open door. Out. All she could think of was out. Cold and hot explosions ignited in her blood. She paused, forcing herself to look at Eros.
"Uh . . ." she started, her voice small and weak. She shook her head as the girls tightened around him. The first girl put he hands on his shoulders and pulled herself up to his mouth. Angie's face slapped hotter than her tears. "Never mind, I'll just get out."
She rushed to her bed, grabbed the valise her dad brought earlier in exchange for her costume, and rushed to the door. She flinched when she heard her name.
"Angelina?"
"Good bye, Eros."
"Wait!"
But she closed the door behind her, tears already on her face. "Forever." She rushed down the wide hallway, her lips trembling with attempted smiles at the nurses and hospital staff.
"I'm just going for breath air in the waiting room," she explained since she hadn't been released yet.
"There's a vending machine just around the corner from there if you'd like anything."
"Thank you." She smiled. It didn't reach her eyes or her face for that matter. It was hollow and dark.
Angie rushed passed the bathroom, double backed, and plunged into the haven of solitude. She let herself into a stall, dropped her bag with a sob, and let herself fall onto the toilet. She drooped forward, her face in her hands. All she could think about was how the girls surrounded Eros, their hands all over him and how he looked at them with that stupid smile on his lips! He didn't even look at her that way. Was she not pretty? Was she not smart? Was she not in the least bit as interesting?
How could she be so easily traded in for another?
She thought that she was something special the way he kissed her. Made her feel. He always made her feel as if she was the only girl in the entire planet.
Angie scoffed, hating the way her fists shook on her knees. "Serves me right, stupid fat girl. You don't deserve anyone, you know? What makes you think you can catch someone like him?"
Angie sniffed, the tears never ending. She fumbled for the toilet paper and blew her nose until stars pressed behind her eyes.
After a while of feeling sorry for herself and hating Eros, she slipped into her warm yoga pants and hoodie. "Thanks, Daddy, for not bringing jeans and a button up."
The mirror screamed with horror when she gazed at herself. It was what she expected. Red nose. Red eyes. Red face. The cold water splashed her face awake and soon, she found herself wondering to the empty waiting room and sat.
"It's okay, Angie girl, it's okay. What would Shay say?" She dropped her head to her knees and grabbed her hair. "Screw him!"
"Screw who?"
Angie gasped and lifted her head as she slapped the tears away. "Daddy! Oh Daddy! I want to go home now, please!" She leapt out of the chair and into his open arms. She nuzzled against his shoulder and inhaled his clean aftershave. Did Eros use aftershave? He was always so intoxicating, she'd never thought to notice.
"It's okay, Pangie. We're good to go. I've signed everything and the doctor says you're free to go."
"What—what about Eros?" She dared to ask though at the very moment she didn't want to think she even cared about him.
He grimaced as he bent to retrieve Angie's stuff. "They didn't say anything about him, but offered his apology for mistaking him as your husband." He laughed then. "Is this everything?"
Angie laughed, too. "Yes, yes. We're not going back. Yeah, that's hilarious." She closed her eyes, her heart snapping in two. She wished in some form they belonged to each other. She didn't know how much longer she could take all this.
"Ah, you'll always be my little girl no matter how old you get, Pangie."
"You know it's true." Angie sighed, feeling much better as she adjusted her top.
"I've got your valise. Now let's go fetch some dinner."
They walked out into the warm sunshine in dreary silence. Angie knew that her dad suspected something, but he had the grace enough to not ask. They didn't have to walk far, since he was parked in the Pick-up and Drop-off Patient Only zone. She was so very grateful for that.
"Where do you want to go?" he asked as he opened the door for her.
"Ah, I don't know. I kinda feel like just going home. I miss my bed."
Her dad laughed, the door closing.
Angie smiled and snuggled into the warm seat with a yawn. She was tired. She had no idea just how much she was until now.
"I expected that. It's okay, peanut, I made dinner for us."
Her eyes snapped open and she turned to him. "You? But the last time you made anything was when—"
"Yes, I know, when your mother died." He turned to her, his face old and worn. But he was still her teddy bear—nothing but love and hugs and safety.
"Daddy, you're the best, did I ever tell you that?"
He smiled, his eyes sad. "All the time. I've prepared your most favorite dish."
"Tuna fish sandwiches?"
"Nope—pepperoni with Shayla on the side."