Page 139 of With Us

I glared at him, my pounding heart hardening at his words.

Jaw clenched tight, Theo closed his eyes for a moment. Opening them again, his gaze was intense on mine. “I promise. We’ll talk as soon as you feel better. Abouteverything.”

The door opened suddenly, the light from the hallway flooding the room.

“Oh, you’re up.” A smiling nurse came into the room, another one behind her.

Before I could say anything, they both held out their ID tags.

“I’m Tara,” the nurse said. “This is Beth. She’ll be grabbing your vitals. How’s your pain?”

“Achy. My skin feels tight and my throat burns.” I looked down as Beth wrapped the blood pressure cuff around me. “Are my fingers swollen?”

“A little.” Tara typed away at the computer before scanning my bracelet and some packets of meds. “You had fluid on your lungs from the pneumonia. To clear it out, we had to give you some diuretics. But we also have been pumping you full of IV fluids so you don’t get dehydrated.”

“What day is it?”

“Saturday.” Beth looked at the clock. “Nope, sorry, Sunday.

I glanced at the bathroom before looking back at Beth. “I haven’t…”

“Catheter.”

“Oh.”

Somehow, I lost an entire week. All I have are flashes of things, and I’m not even sure which are dreams or memories.

And now Theo’s back.

What the hell is happening?

“Thirty-eight three,” Beth said after running the thermometer over my forehead. “And one forty over ninety.”

“Sats?” Tara asked.

“Ninety-nine.”

They exchanged a look, but it was Tara who spoke. “Are you feeling flush? Heartbeat feeling off or different?”

I shook my head.

“Why?” Theo asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Her fever has crept up, and her BP is elevated.” Beth answered. “It’s been low previously.”

“I’m just… surprised,” I said, my gaze darting to Theo before landing on Beth. “I still thought it was a week ago. I think it’s just high because I’m feeling a little overwhelmed.”

Tara handed me a paper cup with pills and a small bottle of water, listing through what they were. I was having trouble following along. Based on Theo asking questions, he wasn’t having the same problem. She switched my IVs, and then gathered her garbage.

“I’ll be back in about a half an hour,” Beth said. “You’ll likely be asleep, but I need to recheck your BP. If it’s still up, I’ll have to page the on-call doctor.”

I nodded. My eyes were already growing heavy, so it was doubtful I’d even be aware of it. “Why so tired?”

I’ve turned into the Hypersomnia Joker. ‘Why so tired?’ doesn’t have the same punch as ‘Why so serious?’.

Tara’s response was warbled. “Side effect.” There was more she said, but I wasn’t sure what.

“Thanks, Batman.” I turned to look meaningfully at Theo as I forced my eyes open. “I’m glad you’ve escaped Arkham Asylum, Two-Face.”

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