“I can’t…I don’t want to go back to my apartment.”
“You don’t have to. Like I said, you can stay here in Harrisburg with my family, or you can come home with me and Jae. Wherever you decide, it’ll be safe, like Fort Knox—pun intended. It’s up to you, but you don’t have to make any decisions right now. Okay?”
I nodded with a weary sigh. My body was tired, but I fought the sleepiness, desperate to stay here in this moment where I was with Enoch. I hadn't managed to stay awake for more than five minutes yesterday, but today I had more energy, or maybe it was just sheer will because I feared every moment my eyes weren’t open and on Enoch that I’d end up back in hell.
With little coaxing, I convinced Enoch to join me on the bed, ignoring the way I could feel my skin stretching against sutures as I rolled onto my side to give him room. I could tell he was afraid to touch me when his body was rigid beside me. I had the sudden thought that maybe he didn’t want to touch me.
My stomach rolled as I remembered the state my body had been in the last time I was conscious. I hesitantly raised my hand to my head, patting at the messy braid that was pinned to the top of my head.
I couldn’t feel anything crusted into my hair. No sign of dried blood or vomit.
“Sorry,” he chuckled softly. “I tried my best. It was hard to wash it without a proper showerhead and just a bowl and wash cloth.”
My throat ached with emotion. “You washed my hair?”
“Yeah,” he whispered. “The nurses kicked me out of the room, but they gave you a bath in the bed too.”
I sighed, trying to relax as I let it sink in that I was clean.
“I missed you,” he said, holding my hands to his chest.
I could feel his heart racing under my palm.
“How long was I gone?”
Enoch seemed as reluctant to answer as I was to ask as a pause of silence filled the gap before he responded, “Seven days.”
Seven days.
Seven.
Days.
It felt like it had been seven years.
How had I kissed Enoch goodbye only seven days ago?
“But you’ve been in the hospital now for five days. So, it’s been twelve days since…since I dropped out at your apartment.”
“Fuck.”
Enoch hummed in agreement.
“The pain medication they had you on was pretty heavy. You woke up several times, but you weren’t really…awake. They changed your medication this morning in hopes that you’d wake up and be more alert today. They want you to try eating something.”
Food.
That’s right.
When was the last time I ate something?
The image of Adrian shoveling lasagna into his mouth flashed behind my eyelids.
“I’m not hungry,” I muttered.
“That’s okay. You don’t need to do anything right now.”
There was a knock on the door and I tensed, the bed shifting as Enoch moved. I clawed into his shirt, and he stopped.
