“Supporting you. You had serious injuries.”
He looked himself up and down. “Not any longer, apparently.”
“That’s not necessarily true,” Dr. Wells said as he came out of an office not too far from where we stood. “You’ll feel fine, because your body is still in stasis. Or something similar to stasis, but it won’t last. Take these,” he said, handing over a bottle of what I assumed were painkillers.
“When you begin to feel achy, take one. If it gets too bad, call the infirmary, and Sandra can put your body back into stasis. If you don’t overexert yourself, you should be back to normal by tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks, Doctor.”
The older man smiled. “No problem, young man, and good work with your powers. We’re all impressed you could hold your own with Dr. Bisbee. She’s a tough nut to crack, that one.”
Lysander cocked an eyebrow. “Um, she almost killed me.”
He nodded. “Aah, but there’s the rub. She didn’t kill you, and that’s the impressive part. Young man, you can take your friend back to his room, but don’t leave him alone. He’ll need supervision tonight, and I’m sure he’d much rather do that with friends than cooped up in here.”
With that, the doctor turned and waved as he walked back into his office.
“Guess I’ll be hanging out with you tonight. Or would you rather hang out at my dorm?” I asked.
He coughed. “Um, I think I’ll be okay by myself.”
“Nope, doctor’s orders. Come on. You’ll probably feel more comfortable in your own bed. I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“No, um,” he said, his cute face blushing. “If you’re gonna stay, I’ve got an extra bed in my room. I haven’t taken it out, 'cause sometimes my friend Kyle sleeps there, and I also use it as a couch.”
He was rambling, and it was adorable. I wasn’t thinking of him as a bad guy any longer. The truth was, he’d saved my bacon. If I’d been sent back to the holding cell at the group home I’d been in before, I’d have broken. They hated me there.
People here might not like me, but they all had powers. And even though I didn’t fit in, I was better off here than I’d ever be there. I shuddered, remembering the metal-lined walls and the impersonal, cold room. In some ways, the dark, smelly room I’d been held captive in was better than that institutional feeling.
Lysander had rescued me from going back there, and I was in his debt. I just hoped I didn’t end up regretting that.
Chapter sixteen
Lysander
KyleandKayleecameover the moment we arrived back in my room. “You okay?” they each asked while warily eyeing Kaden.
“I’m good, but I can’t go running around and exercising or anything,” I said.
“Like you ever do that,” Kaylee said, laughing.
It was true. I was less of an athlete and more a book nerd.
“So, you two haven’t met Kaden. Kaden, these two are my friends Kaylee and Kyle. They’re twins and argue a lot, but you get used to it.”
“Hey,” Kaylee and Kyle both said at the same time.
I laughed. “I’m starving. Can you two have Leon order and magic up a pizza from town? I’ll pay.”
“It freaks the pizza joint out when he does that,” Kyle said.
“I’ll go get Leon and ask. I think he got in trouble last time,” Kaylee said.
I shrugged. Leon was one of those huge bodybuilder guys. I was sure if he hadn’t been a Supe, he’d have been a professional football player. Regardless, you could tell he wasn’t concerned about getting into trouble. He was also a giant teddy bear of a guy, and Kaylee swooned a little whenever he was around.
That always made me chuckle, and Kyle scrunched up his face. One day when Kaylee went off to talk to Leon, I’d teased Kyle. “He’s so…”
“Big!” Kyle finished for me.
