Of course this idiot was fine with that. He didn’t remember hating me. I tapped my foot on the floor. “Do you have your wallet?”
He ignored my question. “If it all works out, you can just move in for good.”
I breathed in. And again. “Linc, just don’t, alright?”
Linc.I’d heard the nickname so many times, it slipped my tongue. He was Linc to Vinny, though, to his friends, and I was never that to him. The air thickened in my lungs upon realizing I’d overstepped. Unaware, he just glanced at me happily, piling up all the empty containers.
“Focus, please,” I said. “Do you have your wallet?”
“They said it was there.” He pointed at the chair behind the bed.
I patted his jeans, searching for the wallet. “They want to make sure food sits well with me. Other than that, they’re discharging me shortly,” he said, getting out of the bed.
I watched him carefully. He held on to the sides of the bed until he was solid on his feet.
“Where are you going?”
“Just the bathroom,” he explained. I helped him wheel the IV stand while he used both hands to balance on the wall. We exchanged a look before he opened the door and went inside. “I’ll take it easy. I’ll be okay.”
Not like I’d offered to help him.
The latch clicked, and the bathroom fan hummed to life. Getting his wallet, I took a picture of his address. At least Lincoln wouldn’t have moldy stains in his ceiling. My gaze landed on the untouched cup of purple Jell-O on his tray—his last one. The only grape one: he’d saved it for last, the way some people save the corner piece of a cake. An idea formed in my head,deliciously petty. Using his spoon, I savored every bit of his precious snack, finishing just in time to put the empty container and spoon back on his tray before he opened the bathroom door.
He was shakier on his way out, even swaying a little as I helped get his legs back on the bed. Then his eyes landed on the empty container, eyes going wide.
“Babe,” he said. “Did you eat my grape Jell-O?”
I cleared my throat, pulled out my phone, and looked at Uber rates. Just seeing those prices helped me feel justified. “Of course not,babe.” I couldn’t help the edge to the word. “I know how much you love your grape Jell-O. I would never.”
When I turned to him, he had that smile again, not the smirk that teased his dimples, but the candid smile that made me pause.
“Is that right?” he asked.
“Of course, you were eating it just as I came back.”
“I was, wasn’t I?” He gave me a knowing dimpled smile, no malice crept up on it. We were in some kind of rom-com, the corners of his mouth softened into something warm enough to melt through the sterile hospital air. “That’s how this is going to go?” he asked.
I shrugged and gave him a taste of his own smirk, sans dimples.
It felt bigger than it should have: the petty, impulsive victory of taking something he wanted, when he’d taken so much from me. I smirked at him, there was definitely some malice on my lips for once, but his expression was still affectionate. Maybe there was something in it for me after all. Or at least enough to keep things entertaining. Vinny better fucking get back to me soon.
7
Lincoln
Nina sat next to me in the back seat of a sedan, raven hair, black as night, falling in unruly waves past her shoulders; in the dark, her pupils had almost swallowed the color of her irises. Her jeans were tainted with red at the thighs.My blood.She carried the reminder of my injury, along with whatever past I’d forgotten, in her sad eyes and pained voice. If our roles were reversed, was I the kind of person to stay with someone who’d forgotten me and love them through it? I hoped I’d give them a chance to be the person I loved. Wouldshe? I didn’t know what I’d done for her to love me, but this beautiful, strong woman was mine, and I knew I’d keep her.
I was about to ask Nina how she was doing when the car stopped. She opened the door and stepped out, helping me by holding my elbow until I was steady on my feet. Looking at the building in front of us, I lost balance, my hand shooting out to Nina’s waist. The brick façade was faded and chipped in places, with rust streaks under the old window-unit air conditioners. Weeds sprouted through the cracks in the concrete slabs leading up to the wooden building entry. The door was unevenly closed, crooked in its intended frame. Not that it’d help much with thewindow cracked, anyone could just push their hand through and open it anyway.
Nina furrowed her brow, and her gaze shifted to the ground.
“Babe,” I whispered, “do you live in this building?”
She curled her lips at “babe,”but the question made her frown.
Shaking her head, she exhaled shakily, straightening her back. “It’s a straight shot to work.” Her fingers tapped in a pattern on her thighs.
“Yeah—” She huffed. “I can’t leave you out here in case you lose consciousness and hit your head again. So, let’s get this over with, yeah?”
