Page 39 of The Spirit Key
“Scotty? Oh God. You had me so fucking scared.”
I opened my eyes, and the first thing I saw was Tim’s face, and that made things 1000 percent better. “What happened?”
“The doctor said your blood sugar crashed. They’d never seen anything like it. He told me anything below seventy milligrams can harm you. If it goes below fifty-four, it’s potentially life-threatening. Yours was twelve, and you were in shock and pale as hell. One of the doctors muttered something about it being impossible for you to survive it.”
“Never seen anything like it…. Great, I’m two for two now. First I die and they say it’s a miracle. Then I pass out and they say it’s freakish.”
“Hey, at least you’re keeping life interesting.” Tim tightened his grip. “Please stop doing this shit. My heart can’t take it.”
“Where are Rachel and Gavin?”
“He took her home. She was upset because she thinks that this happened because of them.”
I tried to sit up, but there was barely any strength in my body. “No, you have to tell them it’s not their fault.”
“I did. And it’s not their fault—it’s yours.”
Well, I sure as hell wasn’t expecting that. I mean, I was in the hospital bed, so he should be nicer to me, right?
“Mine! How is this my fault?”
“You had no idea what kind of effect doing something like this would have on your body. You went in blindly, risked your health, and….” He sighed. “You can’t do this again.”
I knew it was his fear talking, so of course I had to poke him a little.
“Actually, I think this is your fault.” I gripped his hand as tightly as I could, but I doubt he felt it.
“And how the hell do you figure that?”
“You’re supposed to be in charge for five years, two months, and thirteen… no, twelve days.”
“It’s six years, two months, and twelve days now. That little stunt of yours proves you require additional supervision.”
It was funny, but I wouldn’t laugh. “I need to do this.”
His chuckle turned into a sob. “When you went down, Gavin had to hold me up. I got so damned scared, and all I could think about was how unfair it was that I found you only to lose you.”
“But you didn’t.” I pushed out a breath, noting how much my lungs ached. “You’re right, I didn’t know what this would do, but now that we know, we can take steps to prevent it from happening again.”
There was a growl in his voice when he answered. “Oh, we’re taking steps. You’re not doing this shit again.”
“And how are you going to stop me?”
He leaned in and kissed my cheek. “If I have to tie you down, that’s what I’ll do.”
I shoved weakly at him. “Go away. I’m not in a mood to talk dirty.”
“I’m serious. I’m not letting you do this again.”
“You’re not…. No, that’s not how this works. There is a fucking ghost inside of you, and if you think I’m going to stand by and let it stay there, you’re insane.”
“My choice. I will do whatever I have to in order to be sure you’re not hurt.”
I struggled to sit up. He tried to stop me, but this time I wouldn’t let him. What I had to say was way too important.
When I was finally able to look him in the eye, I gave him a cold glare. “It’s notyourchoice. I have a say in this if we’re going to be together.”
The sad look I’d seen before swamped him once more. “I can’t lose you, Scotty. Not now.”
