I am throwing up. All over the floor. At least we hit the tile at the end of the hallway.
“Shhh, shhh, It’s all right. Let me help you,” Aiden says, calm as ever, holding me up. “Are you fin…oh, no, bit more then? Okay.” He says, narrating what has got to be one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. I beg my body to chill the heck out but it does not. “Oh wow, bit more, okay. It’s alright, just the shock, Harper. Let it out, it’s fine.”
“It’s gross!” I squeak.
“True,” he says.
“Aiden!”
He lets out a little laugh, “I told you I always tell the truth.”
“I told you to leave me alone,” I say, trying to think about anything other than blood or vomit.
“I never agreed,” he says, as the hand not currently holding me up moves to push a stray curl off my forehead.
I moan and admit, “I don’t want you to see me like this.”
“I believe that ship has sailed. Just breathe, Harper. Just relax,” he commands and my body obeys. After who knows how long, I am able to stand upright.
“Water, yeah?” Aiden says as he leads me to the kitchen, hand still holding my waist. I watch the muscles in his back shift as he gets down a plastic tumbler—what Dad should have had in his room—and fills it with water from the fridge.
“Thank you for the food,” I whisper, feeling overwhelmed. Aiden stalks to me with the water and looks down, his eyes are…soft. He opens his mouth to say something but is interrupted by Betty.
“Aiden, could you help me get him in the chair?”
“Uh huh,” he calls to her but now that the water is in my hand, he’s got his fingers wrapped firmly around my shoulders. “Are you all right for a moment?”
“Yes, go,”I say, beyond embarrassed. I hear them coordinating the lift to get my dad standing. I watch as they work together to guide him to his chair while shielding his injured foot.
“Watch just there,” Aiden warns Betty about my mess.
“Oh, I’ll get that,” she says.
“No, I can clean it,” I say, blushing all over again.
“Honey, I’m a nurse. I could clean that while eating a turkey sandwich and wiping someone’s ass. You don’t even worry about it.”
Aiden chuckles, Dad and I both groan. Gross. We are really gross right now.
“Tha…tha…” my father starts.
“You’re welcome, sir,” Aiden says. He helps my father settle back into the recliner while Betty grabs the blanket from the closet I never made it to. “Happy to finally meet you. Wish it’d been under better circumstances, of course.”
“Yeah, yeah, don’t let him charm you, Chip. This is the billionaire I was telling you about,” she says, throwing Aiden and me a wink.
I have no idea what she’s told my dad. He and I don’t talk about the store or the town or anything really. Because it all makes him angry and that makes me sad.
I’m tired of being sad.
Right now, I’m just tired.
“Come, let’s get you to bed,” Aiden says as he re-enters the kitchen.
I put down my water and shake my head, “I got it.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” he says, reaching around my waist again.
“Really,” I say, pulling out of his hold. I wobble, which he notices.
