There’s that darkness, hovering over him and dimming all the things about him that should seemgood. Light.
Like honey on toast that ended up burned. Charred. Destroyed by its friction.
I swallow.
“Alright,” I murmur and call up EMS Tristen in my mind, hopeful that the work me might be able to bring him back down. Normally I’m pretty good at that on the road. Calming the patients just enough to get them the immediate triage they need to make it to the hospital. “Sleeping on a full stomach is better than an empty one. So, eat. I’ll leave the room if you want.”
“How would you know?” he snaps out and gestures to me with a bony hand.
I look down at my white shirt and jeans and shrug. I fill them out decently, I know this. It’s not a perfect body. There are scars and mended bones. Marks of the life I’ve lived woven into my skin. But the time I put in at work, running from one emergency to another, is enough to keep my stomach toned and my arms from becoming sticks.
“I’ve done my fair share of going to bed hungry,” I admit and push to the edge of my seat. “Good news is that you don’t have to now.”
I grab the plate and hold it out to him, extending the full length of my arm in his direction.
He eyes me wearily, but there’s something simmering beneath the aggression and defensiveness. Something I can’t name before he blinks it away, reaches to snatch the bread, and returns to his corner of the mattress.
When he takes a bite, I cheer internally.
Nod externally and slide back to rest in the chair.
I know I should go. Leave him be.
He doesn’t have anyone.
The thought turns my stomach.
Not anymore. Hat will just have to deal with it.
He’s got me, now.
Palming the remote that controls the TV, I turn it on and settle in.
“So, what do you wanna watch?”
Chapter 6
Emmett
“You’ve got to bekidding me.”
My aunt stares at me after my outburst in a way that I want to both argue with and shrink away from. It’s a terrible position to be put in. One that twists up my still sensitive stomach.
“I’m sorry, precious. Natalie and Brenda both called in. I have to work the ER for the rest of the day, and they won’t let you leave without a ride.”
She’s fluffing the pillow behind me like that’ll help bring it back to life from its limp nature and make this shitty situation better.
“Natalie and Brenda both suck at their jobs. How can they do that?” I argue.
They’re … caretakers. Nurses. People who are supposed to care.
Why aren’t they here to do that?
“I can call your mom if you want.”
“What?!” I snap out with a rolling stomach and a suddenly dry tongue. “Nope. I’ll just stay here, take up a room I don’t need, and rack up more bills I can’t pay.”
God, I think I might throw up again.
