“You’re . . .” My throat tightens. “You’re watching me.” It’s a statement, not a question.
“Yes. How else am I supposed to monitor you properly? It’s a good thing too, because we now know why you don’t look rested in the mornings and we can find a way to prevent future falls.”
“How will we do that?”
“I have a few ideas up my sleeve, but let’s check out that knee first.”
“It’s . . . it’s both knees.” My voice shakes.
“Both knees, then.” His expression is serious as he tugs down my pants, and I lift my hips as he slides them past my knees. “Maybe we can keep these off for the rest of the night. We don’t need the fabric irritating your skin where the injury is.”
“Okay.” My eyes dart to where he is, low on the bed, yanking my pajama pants to the floor. He positions himself between my legs, sliding his knees up before touching each of mine.
My face scrunches up each time and his lips turn down, sympathy flashing in his eyes. It looks genuine but also not? I can’t explain it. It would be like trying to understand what’s going through my head right now, and I’m frankly too exhausted to try to make sense of it all.
“Hopefully we don’t have to perform an X-ray. I don’t have all my new equipment set up for that yet.”
“I don’t think it’s anything serious. Maybe some bruising and a sprain.”
His eyes lift to mine. “Maybe. Tell me if anything I do makes the pain worse.” He lifts my left and bends my knee.
I cringe, biting back a groan, and he extends it out again causing me to let out a trembling breath.
“Yeah, very well could be a sprain. I’ll go get you and ice pack and we’ll elevate both legs for the next hour.”
“So, you don’t think I need an X-ray, then?”
His gaze roams over my body. “There’s no disfigurement, and I didn’t hear any concerning sounds while moving your leg to suggest you do.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Who knew I’d actually be right.”
“It really isn’t that hard to believe, is it? From all I’ve been able to see so far, you’re a very smart man.”
“Yes, but I don’t have a PhD.”
He laughs. “Do you want a PhD?”
I ponder that thought and scrunch my nose. “No. Being a doctor sounds too demanding for me.”
“Yeah.” He pats my thigh. “I think so too. Don’t worry, you’ll figure out your place in the world, all in good time.”
“I thought I did.”
His eyes screw together. “What? With the stealing?”
“Yes. I know most people wouldn’t understand, but it’s what I’ve always gotten right.”
“Yeah, until now. See this as a sign that it’s time to try a new path.”
I push out a huff. “Please don’t be one of those people who’s going to try to convince me to go back to school.”
“I’m not. We’ve already both decided it wasn’t for you.”
“You decided?’
“I know what you’re meant to do. What your calling is. I’ve known since you got in my car. You’re figuring it out now too.” He shifts his weight off the bed. “I’ll get that ice pack. I’ll be back.”
I slowly sit up, and when I try to lift my knee, I grit my teeth at the deep ache. Fuck. I’m such a damn mess of a person, more so here than anywhere else. Why doesn’t he want to get rid of me yet? You’d think he’d want to cut my time short with how much work I’ve been. I’m ruining his sleep, and surely he has better things to do than to constantly tend to all my boo boos.
