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“You need to go home and sleep.” She frowned. “You looked wiped.”

“I hate leaving him.”

“I’m here and I’ll stay. I’m off for a few days, so I can take some of the load off. With his parents here, he’s covered.”

“I—”

She cut me off. “He is going to require you to be healthy and strong, so you have to take care of yourself.” She lifted her eyebrows. “That’s the nurse in me talking. You going down due to exhaustion isn’t going to help him. And he needs you.” She paused. “More than you know.”

I glanced at Matthew. “I need him.”

“Then go home and sleep. Come visit before your shift.”

I knew she was right. I needed to rest. I still had one shift left before my days off. And I was so tired but loath to leave him. My head knew he was fine. Being looked after.

My heart still felt scared.

Daisy sighed. “The two of you—peas in a pod. All gaga and emo over each other. He’s fine, Maddy. I’ll watch over him.” Then her voice softened. “He’s my friend. I won’t let anything happen to him.”

“I know that.”

“Then go.”

Matthew opened his eyes, unfocused and blurry, his voice raspy. “She’s right. Go home. I want you to be okay too, Maddy.” His voice cracked a little. “I need you.”

I stood, bent down, and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Okay. Back to sleep. I’ll be back later.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

CHAPTER 23

MATTHEW

Irecovered well enough that they let me go home three days later. The fact that I had two nurses watching over me plus my parents no doubt had something to do with my early release.

Or my attitude.

I was sure it was the first.

Daisy and Maddy laughed when I expressed my opinion. Mom left the room, but I could hear her laughing. Dad nodded in agreement. He got me.

I had been looking forward to the quiet of my condo. The peace and comfort it would provide. Except Mom insisted I stay with them so I wasn’t alone at all, and Maddy agreed with her. I grudgingly agreed since I was still fairly useless and didn’t have the energy to argue with the two of them.

The first day I was at my parents’ place, I slept a lot. The BAM boys set up a video call, and I was lectured and teased, both in good measure. Gracie appeared on-screen, crying when she saw me, despite being assured I was fine.

“You can’t scare us like that, Matthew,” she sobbed.

“I’m okay, Gracie. Really. You know that. I spoke to you the other day.”

“No more volunteering.”

I sighed. “I’ve already been taken from the roster for a while. I have to be careful with infections now.”

“Will you give up being a doctor?”

“No. Don’t be ridiculous. I just have to be cautious.”

“Hedda is mad at you.”