I blinked, confused, not at his words but at the fact he was rhyming. Was he rapping to me?
“I ain’t scared of the dark, baby girl, ’cause I’ve been through that shit. You still a queen. You just hurting a little bit. That’s gangsta shit.”
My breath caught somewhere foreign, and I gazed into his eyes as he continued.
“She said she don’t need fixin’… her pain, she holding. You ain’t too much, baby. You perfect. You fly through storms…broken wings still workin’ I ain’t your cure, but I’m hopin’. Me and you together… we pretty little birds, out here swervin’.”
I closed my eyes.God, this man is everything.I didn’t want to cry in front of him, but I couldn’t help it. The lyrics, his words, were just so beautiful. A tear slipped from the corner of my eye, and he wiped it with his thumb.
“You really just rapped to me?” I asked. I was stunned.
“It was the only thing I could think to do to make you smile.” He shrugged, and the corners of my mouth turned up.
“Well, it worked, so thank you,” I said, and he closed the space between us, but he didn’t touch me, and I appreciated that. Touch when I was flaring was sometimes intolerable. Just having his body near me was enough to calm the aches shooting through me. The door cracked open, and Teagan peeked her head in.
“Oop!” she said with a laugh. “This is a new development. Baby, that date must have been something.”
“Tea!” I called her name before she said something crazy.
“Don’t mind me. I just came to tell you what Dr. Easton said.” She stepped in a little bit, and I could see Rico and James standing in the hall behind her. “It’s the same as usual. She says this sounds like an exertion-induced flare, and with all you had going on yesterday, you probably just need to rest. She wantsyou hydrated, pain meds every six hours, and a muscle relaxer twice a day until you feel better.”
“Does she need to go in?” Quade asked, concerned.
“Nah, she’s okay to ride this out at home and follow up with Dr. Easton at her appointment next week.”
I nodded at the advice from Dr. Easton. It was the same as it always was: pain meds, muscle relaxers, and rest. The story of my life.
“If you’re good, Sis, I’ll leave you and Quade alone. I’ll be out there if you need anything.”
“Okay,” I replied as she disappeared into the hallway, closing my door behind her.
“You ain’t tell her, huh?” Quade smirked.
“Not yet. Had she known we, um,… slept together, that would have been a very different conversation.” I grinned a little, my eyes getting heavy.
“I already know.”
We both laughed as I settled into the pillow. The meds were working, and I could feel my muscles relaxing and my eyes beginning to close.
“I’m serious, Noa,” Quade spoke, making me turn my head slightly to look at him. His eyes were on me. “I know you come with shit. I know this ain’t gonna be easy. But I’m not going anywhere. I want you to be mine. You were mine last night when you wet all over this dick, and you still mine right now, pain and all.”
His words filled the space between us and cracked my heart wide open. He leaned in just slightly, enough to press a kiss on my forehead.
“I’m not scared of this,” he whispered against my skin. “Not scared of lupus.”
My eyes shut, and tears slid out. I was falling for this man in more ways than one, and it scared and comforted me all at once.I felt his hand close to mine, hovering like he wanted to hold it but didn’t want to make anything worse, so I closed the space.
“Get some rest,” he said. “I’m right here.”
And without another thought, I did.
I woke up to the smell of bacon and grits, my body still aching a bit from the flare. The medicine had done its job taking the edge off, and the pain felt more manageable. The sunlight shining through the windows let me know that it was no longer the same day, but I wasn’t at all surprised I’d slept into the next morning. The muscle relaxers always made me drowsy.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.” Quade’s voice invaded my room. I turned my head to see Quade entering my room, carrying a tray of what looked like breakfast and juice in one hand. I smiled at him, not sure if he’d stayed all night with me or gone home. He was wearing fresh clothes, a different Northside hoodie, and clean Timberlands.
“Good morning,” I replied, my voice still a little raspy from just waking up.
“How you feeling?”
