My throat felt raw when I tried to speak.Dry.Like I’d been breathing sand.
Water.
God, I needed water.
I licked my lips and tasted nothing.Not even saliva.My tongue felt thick and useless in my mouth.
I turned my head slowly, every inch of movement sending another ripple of pain through my skull.The bedside table was pushed off to the side.Too far.On it sat a plastic cup and an empty pitcher, mocking me.
And the call button.
It wasn’t clipped to my bed like I vaguely remembered.It sat on a small table closer to the door.
Too far away.
I stared at it for a long moment and weighed my options.The idea of calling out for a nurse seemed impossible.My voice felt like it might shatter if I tried.
So I did the only thing that made sense in my foggy, stubborn brain.
I moved.
It took everything I had just to shift my weight toward the edge of the bed.The mattress dipped under me, and the room tilted alarmingly.I paused with my breathing shallow and waited for the wave of dizziness to pass.
It didn’t really.
I swung my legs over the side anyway.
The moment my feet touched the floor, pain exploded up my body like a warning flare.My knees buckled, and I grabbed blindly for the bed to keep myself upright.
The door opened.
I startled so hard my vision flashed white.
“What are you doing?”
The voice was deep.Gruff.Familiar in a way that made my heart stutter.
I looked up.
Cole stood in the doorway.
For a second, I just stared at him, and my brain lagged behind what my eyes were seeing.
He filled the frame.Broad shoulders stretched the fabric of his dark shirt with his cut over top, and his muscled arms were thick and solid.His hair was rumpled like he’d dragged his hands through it one too many times, and dark stubble shadowed his jaw.
Even through the haze of pain, I noticed how tired he looked.
There were shadows under his eyes.His mouth was set in a hard line, like he’d forgotten how to relax it.He looked… worn.Like someone who hadn’t slept properly in days.
And still, because apparently my brain hated me, even half-broken and dizzy, I couldn’t help but think he was handsome.
Ridiculously so.
I opened my mouth to answer him.
Nothing came out.
Part of that was shock.Cole wasn’t the person I’d expected to see.If I’d expected anyone at all.And part of it was the fact that I hadn’t really spoken in… how long?
