“People die from shock,” she points out, still looking like she expects me to drop dead at any moment.
“Not this kind of shock,” I assure her. “I’ll be okay in a few minutes.”
“Can I get you anything? Water?”
“Yeah, that would be great. Thanks.” I motion toward my bathroom. “In there.”
She hurries across the room and disappears through the door. I hear the faint sound of water running, and a moment later, she comes out of the bathroom with a tall glass of water in her hand.
“Here.”
I take the glass and drink down about a third of it.
The cool liquid helps my dry throat, and some of that weird, out-of-sync feeling fades.
“Do you have any painkillers or anything?” she asks as I take a few sips.
“I’ve got some good stuff in there.” I point to my night table. “I’ll take something in a bit. I don’t want to pass out on you.”
“I appreciate that,” she says with a wry smile and takes the glass from me and puts it on my night table. “You look better. Not as pale.” She rests her hand over one of mine. “Not as cold, either.” Her expression is thoughtful as she brushes my hair back from my forehead with a gentle sweep, then presses the back of her hand against my skin. “And you don’t seem to be burning up or anything.”
I give her a weak smile as she steps back. She still looks concerned, but the panic from before is gone.
“What happened?” she asks, perching on the side of my bed.
“I have no idea,” I say truthfully. “I was taking a shortcut coming back from The Crypt, and that guy came out of nowhere. He didn’t say anything, just attacked, and kept attacking when Igot away.” I touch my hand to my throat. The skin is tender and feels hot under my turtleneck.
“What’s wrong with your neck?” she asks quickly.
I drop my hand. “Nothing.”
She raises her eyebrow suspiciously. “And you’re sure I won’t see anything if you pull that down?”
“You might see something,” I hedge.
She gives me a look that reminds me of when my little sister gives me attitude to get her way, and I can’t stop the small smile that tilts my lips. Olivia might only be ten, but she has more sass than most people twice her age, and she knows exactly how to use it to wrap me around her little finger.
“Let me see,” Eden says, and her pointed look tells me she’s not messing around.
Slowly, I pull the neckline of my shirt down.
“Jesus!” she exclaims, leaning closer as she examines my bare throat. “What the fuck happened?”
“That asshole kind of choked me while he was trying to subdue me.” I let go of the material so it flips back up and covers my injured throat.
“Choked you?” She gapes at me. “That’s like, attempted murder.”
“Or he was just trying to get me to stop fighting back,” I say, brushing off her concern.
“If you’re sure,” she says, her expression making it clear that she doesn’t agree with me.
“I’m sure.”
“Maybe you should take your jacket and shirt off.” Her cheeks flush pink. “Not that I’m trying to creep on you or anything,” she blurts. “I just mean that you’ll be more comfortable and won’t have any extra pressure on…” She touches her own throat with her fingertips.
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” I admit.
She gets off the bed as I turn so I’m sitting sideways with my legs hanging over the side of my mattress. Once I’m settled, I slowly pull off my jacket. It’s a longer style that goes down to my mid-thigh, so I have to shift and wiggle to get it out from under me, but I already feel better and less restricted when it’s off.
