Okay. That’s good. Right? He doesn’t expect long term issues, that’s good.
I exhale heavily and turn my head back into Mase. His thumb pushes up my gown sleeve slightly and rubs circles over my shoulder.
I struggle to keep everything buried. It’s harder around the guys. The good wants to pop up but if the good does then the bad can too.
Flynn tells me that I need one more night with the drip thingy and he’ll come in the morning and take it out. I thank him but he simply brushes it off.
I know the guys would have been pains in the ass with Mase, Alec and I in hospital beds.
He hangs out for a bit until he’s called away. We chat about how he got into doctoring while the guys scowl at him. Overprotective but I can’t really blame them after everything that’s gone on.
“My parents are coming in an hour,” Jace announces. “I can’t hold them off anymore.”
“Okay, so we need to do this now?” Luc asks but doesn’t wait for a response.
He gets up from beside my bed and kisses the fuck out of me. It takes a moment, then passion swarms me.
I moan into his kiss but don’t even attempt to move as a flicker of pain echoes through my head. It’s like colour blossoming in my world that was black and white.
I welcome it as my hand curls around Luc’s neck.
Luc pulls back swiftly and studies my eyes. I breathe heavily, confused by the sudden start and stop.
“She’s back,” Luc announces and my confusion deepens.
“How do you know?” Maverick questions.
“Because I can do that shit too. Or I did. The point is, I know she’s back.” Luc falls back into his chair.
“What are you talking about?” I stare at him, feeling the pain return like Luc’s kiss broke the spell.
“For someone with a serious concussion, you were way to fucking calm.” Luc crosses his arms. “And for someone who can’t swallow tablets to save themselves, you knocked back the ones Flynn gave you pretty easily.”
“I—“
Luc raises one hand, interrupting what was going to be a flimsy excuse.
“I know what it looks like, Rory. I did it for years in order to survive. You pushed down the memories, the pain, but also your emotions.” Luc softens when tears glimmer in my eyes.
I look at him for a moment, a spark of anger creeping in when I realise he wasn’t kissing me because he wanted to. He was doing it to snap me out of it.
He could have just talked to me or asked me not to do it. But no, instead, he used my feelings for him against me.
“Well, thanks for bringing the pain back,” I say quietly.
Luc flinches. His eyes grow wide as though he can’t believe I said that. I don’t wait for his response and roll to face the other way. I brush off Mason wanting to talk. I’m sick of talking.
Part of me knows Mase didn’t do anything but I know he’ll just take Luc’s side and I can’t deal with that right now.
I watch Alec as my eyes droop. Flynn warned me that the medication might make me sleepy but because I was shoving the pain down, I was struggling to feel the effects of the drugs until now.
Dom sits down on the chair beside Alec. He pulls his phone out from somewhere in the leather.
I close my eyes before he can glance up and see me watching.
A door in the room slams and I flinch violently. I’m raw and exposed without that barrier between me and my emotions. I don’t draw on the darkness. I don’t pull the barrier back up.
Instead, I dream.
