"I love it!" Lana's voice yanks me out of my sleep.
"Thank you thank you thank you!" she squeals, her weights knocks me back onto the couch and she's showering me with kisses.
"What did I do?" I laugh, I grab her waist to keep her from falling.
"The necklaces." She giggles kissing me "they're beautiful." She kisses me some more "they're amazing." She kisses my eyes and my nose and my cheeks "they're perfect." She kisses my neck and squeezes me as tight as she can. Lana is the best hugger.
"When did you get them?" She asked sitting on my lap and holding the box in her hand then she slid me a playfully suspicious look. "Is this why you were out so late?"
She sits there looking at me with her hopeful eyes. She loves me, she trusts me.
I didn't mean for Heather to kiss me. Maybe I don't have to say anything, maybe I don't have to ruin this moment right now.
"I kissed Heather." I probably could have done that a little gentler.
"What?" Lana's smile falls. I can read her like a , she's confused and wondering if she heard me wrong, probably wondering if she did something wrong.
"What?" she asks again, she's trying to give me the benefit of the doubt.
"Well, Heather kissed me." I clarify.
"Well that's a little different than the first thing you said." Lana tries to laugh it off but she can't quite do it.
"She was drunk and I thought she was just being weird because I smelled pot on her and she wouldn't stop but I didn't want her to get hurt so I was trying to help her to the couch and she just kissed me." I watch her, she's thoughtful. Her eyes drop to the box in her hands and she frowns just the slightest bit.
"Is that why you got these" She asks.
"What?" I should have know that would be the first thing she went to, it's a natural question, she hates apology gifts though. She doesn't like gifts for a purpose, expected gifts. I think it's part of the reason she doesn't really celebrate holidays or tell me when her actual birthday is.
She places the box into my hand "If that's why you got these I don't want it." She says firmly.
"No, Lana..." I trail off as she slides onto the couch and crosses her arms, not like she's mad, like she's putting a shield up to protect herself.
"No, I did not buy these because of what Heather did." I kneel on the floor in front of her. "I left the party and I passed a shop and I saw them and I didn't want to risk someone else buying them so I knocked on the door and by some miracle the owner was awake and he answer the door and he engraved them for me right there." I try to catch her eye but if she's trying not to cry she avoids eye contact.
"Lana please, I swear, I swear Heather had nothing to do with this. I got them because you deserve nice things and I know I can't buy them for you most of the time but I could get this for you and I wasn't going to pass it up, that's it and you don't celebrate holidays so I didn't see the point in waiting." The words are just spilling out and Lana still isn't' looking at me.
"I was going to give it to you last night but you were so peaceful and you always wait up for me and you're the best human being in the world and I couldn't not get these for you and I didn't want to wait to tell you about Heath because I felt like that would be lying and it would have been stupid to wait because it didn't mean anything, she kissed me, I didn't kiss her back I pulled away immediately I just don't ever want to keep secrets from you and if I waited any longer than you waking up then it would have been a secret." I take a breath and Lana stares at the arm of the couch for a moment before the smallest of smiles plays around the corner of her lips.
"You can be very impatient, you know that." She meets my eyes.
"I know." I hold the box out to her "please accept my gift, Lana." She looks at the box in my hand, holding the two necklaces.
"It's just a gift, right?" She asks "because you were thinking of me, it's not because you feel guilty about Heather or anything else, right?"
"I promise you, Lana, I got these because I saw them in the shop window and I knew you'd love them." I watch her, she considers me and then the necklaces for a moment before her usual smile crawls over her lips and she holds her hand out.
"Then I will accept your gift, Theo."
I wrap my arms around her and squeeze her with all my strength "you are the most amazing, kind, wonderful, thought person in the entire world, Lana." I press a kiss to her lips "never forget that."
She giggles and nuzzles me before she maneuvers me onto the couch so that I can hug her from behind while she pulls the necklaces out of the box.
"Here, put it on me." She hands me the necklace and lifts her hair. Her name is in an elegant script on the front and half of the message I wrote on the back. Lana has made me very good at necklace clasps although the cast did make it a little harder.
"You next." She pulls the necklace around my neck and clasps it.
"So..." she says sitting on my lap with her arms around my neck
"So..." I repeat, prompting her to continue.
"You do remember what today is, don't you?" she asks.
"Of...course?" It's not our anniversary, it's not a birthday, not that I know her real birthday. She rolls her eyes at me and holds my casted arm up.
"Cast removal day." She exclaims.
"Is that today?" I laugh.
She nods "now get changed, you smell like cheap beer and poor decisions." She hops off my lap, looking adorable as ever in her sweat pants and tank top. Her hair in knots all around her face.
"You know it's gonna stink, right?" I call after her. She's right, I do smell like cheap beer.
"You will shower until it doesn't." She calls back.
"Whatever you say, Lana."
****
The doctor walks in and I laugh as Lana bounces on her heels beside me. The doctor smiles at her.
"She's more excited than you are." The doctor chuckles as the nurse brings in the little saw.
"Alright, we'll get this off, get some new X rays and go from there, Mr. Bell." The doctor explained.
"Sounds good." Lana says for me, her hands on my shoulder. She looks cute in her teal tights and long sleeved mustard yellow dress. Very specifically mustard yellow because Lana spent way too long explaining to me the difference between yellow yellow and mustard yellow, for me to ever get it wrong again.
Lana is a ball of excitement as the nurses take me in and out and the X ray's come back. Lana squeals when the she sees the X ray.
"It's all better." She claps then throws her arms around my neck and smashes a kiss to my cheek. The doctor chuckles "you're a lucky guy, Mr. Bell."
"How's that?" I ask pulling Lana against my side with my un-casted arm.
"You have such a caring girlfriend."
Lana rests her head against mine "I'm the lucky one, he broke his hand protecting me from this jerk in the club."
"Noble." The doctor seems a little like he's mocking me but I don't care all that much. I'd never been the big guy, Alex always stuck up for me and I helped him in English class and write poems to woo his girlfriends. Although, Shaina makes him write them on his own now.
"Getting married anytime soon?" he asks, jotting things down on the chart. I open my mouth to answer him.
"In good time." Lana says with a smile. The doctor is almost surprised by her answer.
"Yep, that was my answer too." I lie. I was going to say yes. Lana takes my freshly freed hand and holds it between her hands as if she were holding something precious.
"I look forward to the invitation." The doctor chuckles and hands the clipboard to the nurse. "Alright, Mr. Bell, you're all set. Follow up if you experience any consistent pain."
"He will." Lana gives me a pointed look.
"I trust you will." The doctor and nurse ducks out and Lana clings to my freed arm as we walk out.
"Now no more doing that." Lana says as we make our way along the streets, it's getting colder out.
"Doing what?" I try to play it off. She cocks her brow at me and fists her hand on her hip.
"get hurt because of me." She says seriously.
"Lana..." I shake my head at her "if me getting hurt is the only way to save you I'm going to choose you over me every time."
Her eyes widen the slightest bit and she looks torn between her version of anger and a smile. "You..." she sighs and hugs my arm to her chest "you're too sweet and for someone so smart you can be so stupid."
It's possibly the meanest thing she's ever said.
"You would do the same, Lana." I lift her chin toward me "this." I tell her "us, it's all even. I love you and I trust you and I'd do anything to keep you safe and I know you'd do the same." She smiles and shakes her head.
"Are you gonna use that line in one of your stories, or have you already done that?" she asks.
"I haven't but now that you say that... probably."
"Which story?" She asks, allowing us to keep moving.
"Maybe a story I write about you." I kiss the top of her head.
"It wouldn't be very interesting if it was about me." She laughs "I like my life but it's not one that's very exciting to read or write about."
"You never know what people are going to like." I tell her. "I like your life too, by the way." She squeezes my arm tighter.
Lana's phone beeps, she checks it right next to me because she always does, she looks opens the text in full view. It's just a number at the top of the text. Lana freezes, staring at the screen.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
"Who's that?" I ask. She shakes her head.
"It's not your birthday..." I look at her, but her hair is covering her face. "is it?" I nudge her the slightest bit, I don't want to scare her "Lana?"
"We should go home." Lana glances around as if she were looking for someone. As if she were trying to hide from someone.
"Lana," I pull her back into my arms "what is it, what's wrong." she pushes away from me.
"I want to go home, Theo." Lana's face is full of worry and maybe even fear. She's rarely actually afraid afraid of something. It's easy to forget she actually experiences any kind of negative emotion.
"Please, Theo, I want to go home." She tugs on my arm as if she were a little girl.
"Okay." I pull her under my arm. "we're going, do you still want to walk or take the subway?"
"Subway, I don't feel so well." She wraps both arms around my waist and half hides her face in my shoulder.
"Alright, Lana, we're going." I lead the way "but you have to tell me what this ia about when we get home, okay?"
She nods but her jaw is stiff her eyes are tight, she's nervous and she's lying, she doesn't want to tell me.
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