“I’m going to switch to heat,” Jovian says. He switches to the heating pad, and they resume their massage. They hit a spot in my neck, and I flinch.
“Ow!”
“Have you seen a chiropractor?” Elijah asks.
“No. My physical therapist thought they were all quacks,” I say.
“I mean… sure, if they’re trying to cure cancer or something,” he says. “If you have a misalignment or pinched nerve, that could be causing all your symptoms. Stress and physical exertion can make that flare up. Falling could also.”
“How do you know all of this?” I ask.
“Nolan got in a wreck last season and ended up with a concussion and a pinched optic nerve from the whiplash. A chiropractor helped him a lot,” Jovian says. “Worth talking to.”
“Yeah. I need to find a doctor here anyhow. I am trying to avoid narcotics, but the nerve pain is debilitating when it flares,” I say. “I keep telling myself I can push through it, but…”
“No shame in getting help,” Elijah says. “I’ll ask Nolan to hook you up for next week. We should have a whole day to burn on Monday.”
“Okay. It’s worth trying,” I say. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to keep saying that,” he says. “I am going to press on this spot. It’s a muscle that is hurting.”
“Don’t paralyze me, please,” I groan. Jovian takes my hand, and when Elijah starts gently massaging the tender spot they found, I whimper and squeeze Jovian’s hand, but the pain feels nice. It’s different. When he stops, my migraine is significantly better.
“Better? You are more relaxed,” Elijah says.
“You’re magical,” I mutter, making him chuckle.
He resumes massaging the same spot at the base of my skull, and exhaustion takes over.
Chapter Five
Elijah
“Is she asleep?” Jovianasks. She has turned her head to face me now, and she is sleeping peacefully.
“Yeah,” I say. “We fucked up, Jovi.”
“Yeah. We did.” He sighs. “The proof was right in front of us that she wasn’t like Jenny, but we still hurt her.”
“I might have implied I was going to try to fuck her,” Jovian says.
“Like… willingly?” I ask.
“Well, yeah. I didn’t threaten to rape her,” he says with a frown. “Is it bad that I still want to? It’s not even about sex per se. I just want to make her feel good in every possible way.”
“I understand,” I say. “I don’t care if it’s a massage or eating her pussy until she passes out. I just want her to feel better than what she has had to endure.”
“Hey, guys,” Ray says quietly from the doorway. “Is she asleep?”
“Yeah,” I say. I go to sit up, but I stop when she rolls her body to face me and snuggles against my chest.
“Stay. It’s okay. She trusts you,” Ray says.
“I don’t know about that, but she is comfortable,” I say.
“She wouldn’t be alone with you like this if she didn’t trust you,” Diane, Ari’s mom, says from the doorway.
“I think she has a pinched nerve,” I say. “She has the exact same symptoms that Nolan had. Massaging the same spot in her neck that helped Nolan made her feel a lot better. It can cause migraine, dizziness, and nerve pain down her back and arms… I’m going to have Nolan get her in with his chiropractor so she can talk to them.”
