Chapter 8

The sound of James’ voice made me want to stand up and join them. More, it made me want to throw myself in his arms and latch on to the belief that he could make it all go away. A fairytale notion. The little girl in me wanted to find a hero. The teenage girl that had finally freed her head and was still spitting out sand, was less naïve. If James could help me, he would have. There was no way he didn’t have some idea of what was going on. Not with all the private conversations with Tammy.

I didn’t want to believe James was in on it, but why else keep their secrets?

Much as I wanted to, I couldn’t trust James either. Not yet. Not until I knew more. I stayed out of sight while the three of them hurried back to my room. When they rushed off to the nurses station I bolted to the bathroom I shared with this side of the floor.

The nurse came in with a harried look on her face, trailing a pole on wheels. “You can’t just take off like that!”

I finished washing my hands and watched her take the bag from where I’d set it on the sink and hook it to the pole. “I didn’t know I was confined to my room.”

“You’re not.” The nurse relaxed, clearly relieved to have found me. “I just wish you had let someone know so we could have shown you how to move around with the IV.”

“Sorry.” I said, not trying to hide that I wasn’t.

If the nurse had feathers, they would have been ruffled. “Well if you’re done, some of your friends are waiting.” All stiff and haughty, the nurse wheeled the pole alongside me until we reached my room. “It’s past visiting hours. You’ll have to tell them to leave.”

Not a problem. I smiled sweetly at her. “Okay.”

When she was gone, I got in bed, making a show of being weak, like I could barely keep my eyes open. I dropped back and tried not to cringe when my pierced hand hit the metal bed rail.

Tammy took a seat beside me on the bed. Nick leaned on the doorframe. James sat on the nightstand and made a decent attempt not to appear to be watching Nick.

It was Tammy who spoke first. “Since you’re going to be here a few days, I thought maybe I could work something out so I could stay with you. Maybe take turns with James…”

“That’s really sweet of you…” I struggled to find a way to say no.

Nick smirked. “Do you want me to stay with you?”

Yes, because the idea of sleeping with one eye open is divine. I smiled at him. “Aw babe, you couldn’t. You’ve got midterms.” Perfect solution. My eyes whipped to James. “And so do you.”

The self-satisfaction faded from Nick’s face, while James didn’t look put off at all. Actually he seemed rather impressed.

“I don’t.” Tammy swallowed and blinked fast. “I could…”

“Get me some clothes? That would be awesome.” I laced my tone with gratitude. “And keep Amanda away. I don’t have the energy to deal with company. The doctor said I overexerted myself.”

“Oh.” Tammy’s gaze dropped to the floor. Something occurred to her and she hopped off the bed and fetched a big, clear Ziploc bag. In it were all my clothes. She opened the bag and fished out the bracelet she’d given me. “Will you at least wear this?” She played with the chain with her eyes down. “Sentimental reasons.”

“Sure.” I took the bracelet and dug for an excuse for them to leave.

Cue nurse. I wanted to hug her for her perfect timing. “Visiting hours are over.” She clipped before ducking out of sight.

Nick gave me a little, offhand salute and departed with cool style only he could manage. Tammy hesitated, but when James leaned over to help me put the bracelet on she said a hasty goodbye and followed her brother.

James adjusted my blankets and grinned at me. “Good to have you back,” he said, then bent over to give me a kiss on the cheek. He stayed there for a moment, and whispered in my ear. “Right now, trusting no one is your best bet. Wait until it’s earned.”

I watched him as he backed away. “Does that include you?”

James inclined his head. “Absolutely.”

When he left I watched the door for awhile before curling up to get some sleep. It was time to come up with a battle plan. But first I needed to get some rest.