“Are you kidding me? Have you had any medication yet?”
I shook my head. It hurt to move. “No.”
He sat there for a long moment and then dimmed the lamp. “Hang on, okay?”
He returned with two Advil and a glass of water. I couldn’t get them in my body fast enough.
“I have some heating pads for you,” he put a pillow behind my shoulder. I almost wept as I felt a hot pad on the back of my shoulder. He put another one on my neck. Then he put a cool gel ice pack on my cheek. It felt so good I almost wept.
“Thank you.”
He pulled my good hand into his and started to massage it slowly. I have no idea why, but it made everything feel better.
“Are you mad?”
Green eyes looked at me. “Not at you. Never at you.”
“I’m sorry you’re taking care of me again.”
His expression was grim. “Try and sleep, okay?”
I wokeup stiff and alone in our bed. The sun had set, and the light was dim outside. My casted arm made it difficult to get dressed, so I simply zipped up one of Jackson’s hoodies over my body and pulled up a pair of yoga pants. I found him outside on the porch watching Chloe who lay on the grass.
He stood up when he heard the back door open. He took my good arm and helped me sit down on the step. We didn’t speak. We had so much to say, so much to talk about, but instead, I just leaned into him, and we watched Chloe snap at fireflies that buzzed around her head.
“How are you feeling?”
I took a deep breath. I had wanted to show Jackson that I could handle myself in New York. “I feel a bit embarrassed.”
He cocked his head at me. “Why?”
“I wanted to show you that I could handle this. And I came back mangled.”
He gave me a measured look. “But you took care of stuff.”
“Yeah but….”
He shook his head. “No buts. Mangled or not, you handled yourself.”
I thought about that for a moment. “Thanks.”
He looked down at my arm. “Are you in pain?”
I rolled my shoulder. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel too bad. “Not really.”
Our eyes met. And then he said something that made my blood run cold. “We need to talk.”
I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment. “Right now?”
“You owe me a conversation.”
His statement floated between us while I hugged my knees and studied my feet. “Okay.”
CHAPTER 28
“Tell me about Mark.”
“Who?