Page 31 of Comeback
“Do you want me to get Brogan?”
He’d be better at this.
“No. Definitely not. I’m fine.”
Fine? Is she serious?
She must sense my disbelief because her entire body softens and she says, “Really. I’m okay. And I’m sorry I woke you up.”
“Don’t be. I’m glad I was here. Although I’m pretty fucking useless. I had no idea what to do. Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?”
Not being able to breathe feels like a big fucking deal.
“No. I only needed one puff from the inhaler.”
I guess I still don’t look convinced because she adds, “I’ll call my doctor in the morning, but it just happens.”
I knew she had asthma, but I guess I’ve never really known someone who has it because that was way worse than I was imagining.
“What causes it?” I ask her.
“Mine is the worst when I’m stressed, but working in the dusty studio all day is probably what brought it on this time.”
Right. The studio space she was celebrating last night while I was wishing she’d stayed home. Yet another reason to feel like an asshole.
“We were busy at the club tonight so I wasn’t monitoring the symptoms as well as I should have been,” she says like it’s her fault.
“I hope you can go back to sleep.” She starts for the door, but I reach out without thought. My fingers circle around her forearm and Sabrina pauses, gaze locking on the spot where I’m touching her. I drop my hand.
“Don’t leave yet. You freaked me out. If you go to bed now, I’m going to lie awake all night listening to make sure you’re still breathing.” I’m aware that all my reasonings sound selfish, but I doubt she’d believe me if I told her I was worried about her.
“I promise that I’m okay,” she says, but she sits back down on the bed and my panic retreats.
She probably wants to go to sleep, but I’m glad when she settles in, pulling one knee onto the bed and letting her other leg dangle off the side, so she can better face me.
The lights are still out in my room, but I always leave the curtains open and tonight there’s a full moon.
“Your brother would kick my ass if he found out I left you after…whatever that was.”
“An asthma attack.”
Even the words have dread swirling my gut.
“What’d you guys do tonight?” she asks. Her voice is still slightly strained, but I figure she knows her body well enough to decide if it’s okay to talk instead of sign, and in truth, I like hearing her voice. It has a raspy quality to it that feels good in my chest.
“We stayed in. Had a movie night. Which went exactly as you’d imagine,” I say, feeling a smile loosen. “Brogan can’t sit still long enough for a movie, even if his girl is around to distract him.”
“They’re cute together.”
“Yeah,” I say with a nod. “He found a good one. She has this effect on him. It’s like he’s more himself somehow now that they’re together.”
The words are out before I realize how dumb they sound. “That probably doesn’t make any sense.”
“No, actually, I think it does. Even in the short time I’ve known him, I can see how she mellows him but also lets him be himself without judgment.”
I’m glad she gets it because I’m not sure I could have put it into words like she did. It’s true, though. Brogan never felt good enough and his fun-loving, life-of-the-party personality wasn’t exactly an act but more of a defense mechanism. With her, he’s still that guy just without the need for validation and attention.
“What movie did you watch?” she asks.
