Page 83 of The Closed Off Captain

“I’m taking you to bed.” My mind takes that the really wrong way, and I curse myself and try to come out of this weird stupor I’m in. The smile drops from my face when my stomach cramps again. Gunner opens the door to my bedroom and walks in like he owns the place. I suck in a breath because my room is really not that big, and Gunner makes it feel ten times smaller. He walks me right over to the bed.

“Wait, I need to take a shower.” He nods and redirects me towards the bathroom, never dropping his hold on my arm. When we get into the bathroom, he lets go and walks over to my shower and starts it. I watch with raised eyebrows, wondering how far he’s going to take this thing. When he walks back to me, I meet his eyes. “Uh, this next part has to be on my own.”

He scowls at me, like I offended him somehow. “Where are your towels?”

I nod to the small shelf by the sink. After grabbing two, he nods at the shower. “It should be warm.”

“Okay,” I say slowly as I stare up at him. “Why are you here?” I finally ask.

Several expressions cross his face, but they’re gone too quickly before I can get a full read. “I was worried about you.”

“That’s really sweet, but as you can see, I’m fine.”

He scowls. “You’re not fine.”

I open my mouth to argue, but he nods at the shower again. “Get a shower; I’ll be here when you’re done.”

Without another word, he strides from the bathroom, closing the door behind him. I stare at the closed door for at least a minute before I move. The shower does wonders for my aching body. By the time it starts to get cold, I feel like a new person. I wrap a towel around my hair and another one around my body and carefully open the door to my room. When I don’t see any sign of him, I leave the bathroom behind and work on getting dressed. I grab the comfiest sweatshirt I own and a pair of warmsweatpants. After running a comb through my hair and brushing my teeth, I grab a blanket from my bed and head back out to the living room.

When I get out to the living room, Gunner is scowling at his phone. “Everything okay?”

“Do you know how hard it is to find soup that’s gluten free and dairy free?”

I laugh, mostly to myself. “Yep.”

“Chili,” he mutters. “Nobody wants chili when they’re sick.”

“I second that.” I settle on the couch and pull the blanket over me while Gunner continues to scowl at his phone. “Don’t worry about it. I’m fine.” I yawn and lean back against the couch. I pull out my phone and check my email to see what all I’ve missed today. It all feels like too much, and I toss it aside a few minutes later. Gunner finally finishes on his phone and looks at me.

“How are you feeling?”

“Much better.”

He stares at me a moment, but it’s not uncomfortable. I know he’s processing. “You look better than you did earlier.”

“Thanks, I think.”

He finally sits down next to me, leaving space between us. “When are you going to go to the doctor?”

I frown. “For what? A dairy allergy?”

He sets those bright blue eyes on me. “For the fact that you get sick, really sick when you eat.”

“No, I don’t—”

His intense eyes lock on mine. “Yes, you do. Add to that, you’ve been losing weight; and you have dark circles under your eyes. And you’re always tired.”

My mouth falls open. “Wow, you have a way with women,” I say dryly.

“I’m serious, Chloe.”

“I’m capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much.” Frustration burns through me; I’m not in the mood to get in trouble tonight.

“I know,” Gunner says, catching my attention. “But you shouldn’t always have to.” I want to roll my eyes at that, but I don’t. “Will you go get bloodwork done? I’ll go with you.”

“Why are you so fixated on this?” I’m trying to understand why he won’t let this go.

“Because I’m worried about you.”

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