Page 66 of Playing My Rivals

The rest of the day and night are a blur. Dori and I sit mostly in silence as time ticks on. There’s no movement from Aiden. Not even an involuntary twitch when the nurse comes in to do her check-ins and medical care.

It’s close to ten when she tells us we need to leave for the night. Dori tries to convince the nurse to let her stay, but the nurse doesn’t cave. We amble out and down the hall.

Halfway out of the hospital, she pulls her phone out of her purse. “I need to call for a ride.”

“I have a rental we can use. Where are you staying?”

“Aiden’s house. Where are you staying?” She places her phone back in her purse.

“I need to figure that out. With everything going on, I forgot to book a place.”

“Stay at Aiden’s with me. He’s got plenty of room.” She leans into me.

Once again, I place my arm around her. She needs my comfort. And if I’m being honest with myself, I need hers too. I don’t even argue with her about staying at Aiden’s house. The last thing I want to do is stay alone somewhere.

We make our way to the car and get in to go home. Time moves slowly, as if I’m in a dream. We’re both numb and exhausted. The lights from the different restaurants zip by as we drive in silence, reminding me that neither one of us has eaten.

“Are you hungry?”

She stares out the side window. “No, and Aiden doesn’t have any food at his house. If you want something, we should stop and get it on our way.”

We’re both going on fumes, so I know we need to eat. I take a quick detour to the store to grab some groceries.

She insists on waiting outside for me because she needs to return some messages. I suspect it’s code for calling Hunter and touching base with him, but I’ll never know for sure.

We get back to Aiden’s and I put the food away as Dori stares out the kitchen window. I ask her if she’s hungry and she just shakes her head. My appetite is no better, so I skip making anything for us to eat. Instead, I force down a protein bar.

She leaves the room, muttering something about getting the rooms ready to go to bed. I turn off the lights and check the doors. I go to brush my teeth and change into a T-shirt and sweatpants.

Once she sets me up in one of Aiden’s guest rooms, we say good night. She’s more than tired and that goes for me, too.

The trouble with that is I can’t stop fighting the bedding as I toss and turn. I’m counting up all my losses and praying I don’t have to add another one soon.

There’s a knock on my bedroom door. It slowly cracks open.

“Jami, are you awake?” The moonlight shining through the window illuminates Dori’s silhouette.

I roll to my side. “Come in. I’m wide awake.”

“I can’t sleep.” She stands in the doorway, wiping tears from her eyes.

“Do you want to climb into bed with me and I’ll hold you for a while?” My intuition says she needs it more than offering to talk.

She nods and comes to the bed. I lift the sheets and the mattress dips as she slides in. She rolls to her side, takes my arm around her waist, and holds my hand.

Her body against mine brings calmness to my worries. No words are spoken and don’t need to be. All I know is that it feels as if it’s meant to be.

She snuggles closer as if we’ve slept like this a hundred times before. All I want to do is soothe and take care of her. I’d do it every day for the rest of my life if I could.

Exhaustion takes hold and pulls her into a slumber. Her lavender and vanilla scent lures me into a relaxed state. I drift away minutes later.

Sunlight shining against my face wakes me. For a second, I can’t place where I am, but then Aiden comes to mind.

The nightmare begins. My chest tightens and my heart rate spikes. I turn my head to find the clock. There isn’t one in this room, so I sit up to find my phone.

Dori’s no longer in my bed. I have no idea when she got up and left, but something tells me she was with me most of the night.

Aiden would hate knowing we shared a bed, and guilt surges through my body in waves. What kind of asshole sleeps in the same bed with his best friend’s sister when his best friend is lying in a hospital bed, hanging on to life? The kind of asshole who does it in said best friend’s own house.

---