My heart skips a beat when Korie stops in front of me.
“It’s really good to see you,” they say.
That’s it. That’s the only acknowledgment of seeing me outside of the hospital.
Holden seems confused by Korie’s comment, like he doesn’t know about my fall. Korie must not have told him.
I exhale sharply. “You too.”
There are moments all night, of course—small, sharp ones—where my body reminds me things are different. A twinge in my calf. A flicker of imbalance when I turn too fast. Each time, I pause and steady myself on something, then let it pass. But to my surprise, the pain is not as debilitating. The stool helps.
It’s the easiest shift I’ve had since I started here.
River takes my place at ten, ready to close for the night. He squeezes my shoulder a little too tight before I clock out. I still don’t know if I like the guy.
My feet ache and I’m exhausted, but it’s the good exhausted—the kind that comes from work, and not fighting too hard to look normal. It’s a relief to have people know, and an even bigger one to be treated the same.
Declan waves at me before I leave, and when I get to the house, Georgie runs out to greet me, quickly followed by Bones.
She gives me a quick hug as soon as I’m out of the car. “I’m glad you’re okay! Dad told me all about what happened. Did he tell you I had to stay at the hospital once too?”
“No?”
“I did, for two nights. My appendix got swollen or something. I don’t know. I was pretty young. But I don’t like hospitals at all. They scare me.”
Me too, kiddo. Me too.
“He’s popping some popcorn right now, and the pizza should be here any minute. I thought instead of a movie, we could play Mario Kart?”
I blink at her. She’s tried so many times to get me to play, and I keep putting it off. “If there’s one thing I’mnotgood at, it’s video games.”
Georgie grins. “Good. I like winning.”
I laugh ruefully. “Oh, I see. Not even going to give the sick guy a break, huh?”
“Dad says you’re not actually sick. Your nerves are just being jerks and making it feel like you’re on fire or something. Which, honestly, sounds worse.”
I nearly stumble. “Yeah, it kind of is.”
“What do you say, though? Yes to Mario Kart?”
She’ll just keep asking until I cave. “Sure.”
She opens the back door, and Fletcher smiles at me as we step through, his blue eyes quickly scanning me for any sign of pain.
Georgie rushes off to power up the game, while I greet Fletcher.
“How’d your night go?”
“Fine.”
His lips quirk and he chuckles, but I see the worry behind them.
“No, really. It was… okay.”
He softens. “Good.”
He grabs the bowls of popcorn, and we head to the living room. Georgie gives me a crash course on the game while we wait for the pizza. But as soon as the first race starts, I forget everything. My kart stalls at the starting line, and when I finally get it moving, I careen off the track and smash into a wall so hard the kart spins in a slow, humiliating circle.
