Page 8 of Digging Deeper

He drops his arms and finally stares me in the eye. “And how the fuck am I suppose to do that when I’m stuck in this damn bed?”

I grin at him. “Remember when I said if you act like a child, I’m going to treat you like one? Well… here’s your first punishment. No one else is helping you. You have to clean this shit up yourself.”

“Whatever, Gavin. Guess there’s going to be dirt all over the floor now. It’s not like it’ll bother me since I can’t even walk on it anyway.”

With a sigh, I finish up with his face, then walk to the trash can to peel off my gloves and throw the trash away. I grab the broom and trek back over to this extremely frustrating man. “Here.”

“What am I going to do with that? Sit on it and fly around the room?”

A reluctant chuckle escapes, but I shake my head. “No, you ass. You’re going to sweep.”

“Good luck with that—”

Before he keeps complaining like a butthead, I scoop his upper body up and move him around until he’s sitting on the edge of the bed with his feet hanging, then I thrust the broom into his hands. “Here. Now sweep up your mess, you child.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“I’m not doing it.”

“If you’re good, I’ll give you a treat.”

He snorts, and I see a very tiny smile pop up on his lips. “What kind of treat?”

I can’t help but chuckle. “I still have a bag of those sour gummy things you like. They’re at home, but I can bring them in on Monday.”

“Really?”

I laugh. “Yes, Hendrix. I’ll give you a treat if you’re a good little boy.”

He pushes my shoulder hard enough, I stumble back a step, and it makes me laugh. Then freaking finally, he grabs the broom and begins sweeping. He likely won’t be able to reach all of the mess, but he’ll get the bulk of it. As he leans forward to reach the corner, I’m afraid he might slip, so I snake my arm under his arms so it’s against his chest, then I hold onto the bed rail so I’m blocking him and he can lean on me if he needs to.

I hear a little gasp and realize Hendrix is frozen to the spot. I take him in, not seeing an issue but becoming abundantly aware of how close he is to me. I’m practically hugging him, and of course, the only thing I can think about is how muscular he feels against my arm.

His sapphire blue eyes search my face and his mouth opens, just a tad, and an inaudible gasp falls from my lips. He’s so damn gorgeous and that beard is freaking delicious. I sorta want to kiss his lips. I wonder if they’re soft or hard. I wonder what they taste like. From the way his eyes keep flicking over my face and landing on my lips, I think he’s wondering the same things about me. But… Hendrix isn’t gay. And… even if he was, would I really want to kiss him? Of all people.

My mouth is practically drooling out ahell yes I want to kiss him.

But then the spell is broken when a pair of soft blue eyes flash through my mind, and suddenly, I’m gasping for a different reason as the pain hits me swiftly. It cuts through me like a sharp knife and pierces my heart until I feel like I’m bleeding out right here in this room. My throat tightens, making it harder to breathe, and I feel dizzy.

“Are you alright?” Hendrix whispers.

I nod even though I’m not alright. Not at all.

Closing my eyes, I breathe through the pain. After several minutes, I push it down as far as possible. It isn’t an easy feat, but I’m used to working on keeping it at bay. The pain is still there—always, it’s always there, but sometimes it’s worse than others. Hopefully I pushed it down enough to get through this last patient. That’s all Hendrix is; a patient. Okay, he’s Holden’s brother, but that is it. I can do this.

The anxiety doesn’t completely go away, but I manage to help Hendrix through his exercises, then get him back into his bed. And as soon as I finish with him, I scramble out of there, take out my phone, and call the only person that will understand.

Holden picks up on the second ring. “Hey.”

“I… I need you, Holds.” My chest is tight again.

“I can pick you up. Are you at work?”

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