“Sure you’re good?” said the driver.
I nodded. I appreciated that he’d stayed to make sure I was okay.
“Your girlfriend’s smart, not letting you drive,” said the driver. “She’s a keeper.”
This time, he got back in his car and left. I watched his red taillights to the end of the block. I hoped I wouldn’t regret this. What should I do? Let Christopher sleep it off in my spare room, I supposed. I didn’t love the idea, but was resigned.
It took forever to find my keys, even though I’d made an effort and turned my porch light on before the gala. When at last I got the door open, I pushed Christopher inside. He stumbled willingly. I removed his shoes and sent him into the master bedroom, alone. I did the rounds, checking the locks, but nothing was amiss.
Ember was asleep on my bed, curled up in a puddle of fuzz, soft and furry, beside the second pillow. She didn’t twitch as I slid in next to her. I’d never seen a cat who slept so hard. She was always comatose after her dinner until morning. So much for felines sleeping with one eye open.
Though I was exhausted, my brain wouldn’t shut off. I couldn’t relax. I was desperate to learn more about Christopher’s news about Brandon. It had made him upset enough to drink to excess. I’d been expecting news of the coma anytime for the last three months. I’d accepted that I couldn’t prevent it as I was no longer in his life. Instead, I’d focused on learning ways to help afterward. I wished Christopher had answered my questions.
With Christopher in the house, I didn’t dare let my guard down, at least until I was sure he was asleep. I didn’t want him to know how much I yearned to be with him. It was all I could do not to slide into his bed and test his resolve. The memories of our nights together reignited. I craved his touch. He couldn’t know. His ego was big enough.
The smell of bacon woke me, and I checked the time. I’d slept later than usual. Nightmare free. I hadn’t realized how much safer I’d feel, just knowing I wasn’t alone in the house. Following the scent, I hurried into the kitchen, hoping it wasn’t a dream. Christopher had made tea and was cooking breakfast. He was dressed, but barefoot, in my kitchen. The grease popped and sizzled. He passed me a mug filled with steaming hot tea. His smile warmed me to my core.
I sat down at the table with my drink. I didn’t know if I should start. What would I say?
“Look, I’m an ass,” he said as he flipped the bacon. “Sorry about last night. I didn’t know who else to turn to. Getting drunk and following you home wasn’t how I meant to ask for help.”
He cracked several eggs into a bowl and whipped them with a fork. Pouring them into the waiting pan, he said, “For all that we couldn’t be together, we made a good team. You figured out that stuff with the venom. I tried to talk to Brandon about it again, tried to warn him, but he threw me out. That was three weeks ago, and he’s been silent since. I feel it in my gut. You were on the right track.”
I listened while I sipped my tea. My gaze followed his hands while he cooked so I could avoid his eyes. Bricks, bricks, and more bricks.
“Last Wednesday, I got the call from the hospital. They found him in his lab that morning, in an unresponsive state. One of his co-workers called it in. They called me, as next of kin.” His voice cracked. “He’s on a ventilator and they aren’t sure he’ll wake up.”
“I’m sorry.”
He glanced at his phone. “I know. The longer he’s in a coma, the less likely he is to wake up. Or if he does, he might have a permanent brain injury.”
I said nothing at first. We hadn’t stopped him from injecting himself with his synthetic venom compound. We had no proof, but we suspected that’s what he’d done.
“You could have called.”
He shook his head. “I couldn’t.” He sat on the chair next to me.
“I said I’d help. I time traveled. This is one reason. Let me help.”
He didn’t answer at first. He was tight with worry and had dark shadows under his eyes. More than a night’s worth of worry. I wanted to give him a hug. It was all I could do to stay in my chair. My heart rate increased with his proximity. Damn him. I reinforced the bricks in my mind. Imagined slathering them with extra mortar.
“Have you seen him?”
He nodded. “I went that day. It was a drug overdose, like you said.”
“The drug overdose coverup by his employers. We’ve got to reverse it.”When he didn’t read my words, I slid closer and held my screen in front of his face. It put me in range and he squeezed me into a hug. I tensed, but put my arms around him and returned it, inhaling his scent. I’d missed him. The tight feeling that had lodged in my chest months ago lifted. We weren’t together. This didn’t solve our problem, but we could spend time together, working side by side to save Brandon. We could go back to being friends.
I let him hold me for a minute, then pulled back.“I like my eggs dry, not burnt.”
He smiled, or at least attempted one. “Let’s eat. It’s the first round of my apology.”
He dished up, and we ate breakfast. He broke off bits of bacon and, one by one, put them on the edge of the table for Ember to steal. It was easier to look at her than at each other.
“She’s grown.” He gave her the last chunk of bacon and met my gaze. “Would you come with me to the hospital? I need to confirm there’s no change. I stop in to talk to him every morning. Then we can make a plan.”
I nodded. Spending a few minutes talking to Brandon wouldn’t change anything, but it might help Christopher feel like he was doing something. It was hard to be helpless.
“Feel like going on a road trip this weekend?”I said.
