Rowen sucked in a deep breath.
Lor chuckled, then groaned, moving his right arm in an awkward, tender way. “Maybe you could just avoid bullets. That would make this all worth it.”
“Noted,” I murmured. “Why are you alone?”
He winced and turned to stare sadly at the empty chair, and his face flushed again as he sank lower on the bed. “Mom was here,” he mumbled, just like a kid telling me a fib about why he was late to a final. But Lor didn’t lie. Even when he made a mistake he was fast to take responsibility. Maybe he was off from being shot—that could put anyone in a tailspin.
“Okay, where is she now?” I brushed at his hair again. “Oh, you lost your skull barrette. That’s too bad, I can’t imagine those are easy to find.”
He huffed and stared down at his lap while one hand drifted up to touch his hair. “Mom... uh... I didn’t want her to get caught up in... whatever is going on. I told her to go home and stay safe.”
“And she didn’t have any questions?” Aspen asked. He wasn’t one to normally show much emotion with people who weren’t in our little—what? Family? I wasn’t sure what to call it. But his skepticism was easy to read.
“She did, but I kept the answers to myself,” Lor murmured, cheeks going pink. “It wasn’t easy.” He let out a wheezy little chuckle that made me want to hug him again.
Rowen grunted, then laughed, lightly smacking him on the knee. “Good man.”
“Can I get you anything?” I couldn’t see the wound on him but knew it must be there under his hospital gown. Would it be rude to ask exactly where he was shot?
“It’s boring here and the police took my phone and computer.” He sighed and gave me big eyes. “I don’t suppose you have a book or something hidden on you? I could use some company, maybe?”
“We’ll help.” I bounced on my toes. “Any way we can.”
“If your mother was here, why don’t you have any treats yet?” Aspen asked, and I was surprised when he patted Lor’s shoulder—a little awkwardly but in a friendly way. “You did good today, kid.”
Lor perked up and gave Aspen a bashful smile. “Thanks.”
After a short discussion, Aspen took up a position near the door to keep an eye on the hallway, Rowen went to the gift shop to see what treasures he could unearth there, and I dragged the chair closer to the bed and sat down—though I couldn’t sit still.
“So, Atmeyer screwed you?”
“What?” I asked, confused by the turn of topic as Lor blinked sleepy brown eyes at me. “I don’t think it’s safe for you to be my assistant anymore.”
Lor shrugged and squinted with what I thought might be pain. “The worst has already happened. It’s fine.”
“A man jammed a steel needle through my lips today. The man who took me.” I tried to remember not to share too much, and Aspen lifted his eyebrows in my direction but didn’t say anything.
“I wondered what happened.” Lor’s hands twitched on the bed. “I’m sorry. I bet you were scared.”
My heart hammered harder and I wiped my palms off on the knees of my pants. “I’m done working for the university. I have to let them know, but I’m finished there. I should have been done a while ago, but I was being selfish. I don’t know what I’ll do now.”
Lor smiled. “You’ll figure it out. It seems like a lot of people care about you.” His smile went wobbly, and I rested my hand on his.
“I haven’t been paying rent lately, so I do have some money saved.” I tried to joke, but it was a miserable failure. “I gave up my apartment after Dad died.”
My knee jiggled nonstop as Lor and I continued to talk about everything and nothing at all, allowing our conversation to shift like a leaf fluttering in a breeze. Eventually Rowen came back with an armload of books and settled them onto the tray table near Lor’s bed, but by that time his eyelids were closing even though he seemed to be struggling to keep them open.
“I’ll come back if I can. Who is going to help you while you recover?” I leaned forward and rested my chin miserably on the side of his bed. He laughed and patted the top of my head.
After about a minute of heavy silence, Lor shrugged. “I was thinking I should probably avoid my mom’s place,” he murmured, not catching my eye again. Something was wrong there, but it didn’t seem like he wanted to tell me about it. My heart squeezed. He’d been there for the aftermath of my father’s death and had been a gem. He must be scared she would be killed, too. That had to be it.
“Maybe you could come stay with us.” I glanced at Rowen, and he scrutinized my face, almost like he was accusing me of something. “As a friend,” I clarified quickly. “My former assistant who is my friend.”
Rowen rolled his eyes at me, but I didn’t miss the way his shoulders relaxed. Maybe I wasn’t the only one wound up after today.
“There’s room. We’ll get it sorted when the time comes,” Rowen said calmly. When I checked in with Aspen, he nodded at us.
I left Lor my phone number on the inside cover of the top book on his pile because he wasn’t in the state of mind to remember anything, gave him a hug, and left to the tune of cute snores filling the softly lit room.
