Marvelous pointed toward him. “See what I gotta deal with? I need a better support system.”
“No, you need better decision-making skills,” Lev replied.
I tried to stay out of their conversation while verifying the medication and checking Marvelous’s pain level again. “Still a six?”
Marvelous looked at me and smiled. “A real six.”
Lev looked between us. “The fuck is a real six?”
“He lies about his pain,” I explained.
“I don’t lie.”
“You do.”
Marvelous looked over at Lev. “She don’t trust me.”
Lev leaned back in the chair. “Smart woman.”
I looked down before either one of them caught the smile trying to form. “I’m going to administer the medication now. It may make you drowsy.”
Marvelous watched me connect it to the IV line. “You staying until I fall asleep?”
“No.”
“Damn,” he playfully sighed.
“You’ll be fine.” I assured him.
“You cold.”
“I’m doing my job.”
Marvelous smiled and then winced when it pulled at whatever was still sore. “Damn.”
“See,” I said, checking the line one last time. “That’s why you need to stop worrying about everybody else and focus on healing.”
“I can do both.”
“No, you cannot.”
His eyelids were already getting heavier from the medication, but he was still fighting it like going to sleep meant he’d lose the argument. “You gone be here when I wake up?”
I glanced at my Apple watch. “My shift ends at seven.”
He looked toward the clock, then back at me. “Aight, so yeah.”
I didn’t correct him because the medicine was already doing its job. His body relaxed deeper into the bed, and within another minute his eyes closed even though his mouth still looked like he wanted to say something. I gathered my supplies and turnedtoward the door. Lev stood from the chair at the same time and followed me into the hallway. I glanced back when the door closed behind us.
“He’ll probably sleep for a while,” I explained. “If he wakes up confused or his pain gets worse, use the call button.”
Lev nodded. “I know.”
Him standing this close to me had me feeling many different emotions. It wasn’t just his looks; it was his demeanor and the way he gazed in my eyes. “Anything else I can help with?”
He looked like he wanted to say more buy before he could, he was distracted by a call. He immediately looked at the screen and answered before walking away talking about a house or something like that. He didn’t even say ‘excuse me’ or ‘give me a second’ no nothing.
As soon as I walked away I ran into Natalie, whom I hadn’t seen since the mall. “Hey Navy, how are you? Has everything been okay?”
