Page 70 of The Last Time

I groan on the floor as the pain radiates through my head.

“Shit,” I whisper to myself.

“Daddy!” Brie hops off her booster seat and joins me on the floor. “You okay?”

I let out another groan. “I’m okay,” I croak just as the doorbell rings.

Shit. She’s here. I roll over and slowly pick myself up off the ground before I stumble to the front door, holding my head.

I open the door and hear a loud gasp come from Charlotte. “Oh my god. You’re bleeding.”

I pull my hand away from my head, and sure enough, there’s blood all over it.

She walks into my house without a second thought and grabs my hand. She leads me to my couch, where she helps me sit.

“Here.” She lightly touches my face. “Lie your head back. I’m gonna go get something to clean you up.”

“Daddy hit his head,” Brie says as she follows Charlotte.

I can’t quite make our what they say to each other after they leave the room. I just know my head hurts, and I’m embarrassed as fuck.

The couch next to me dips, and I open my eyes. Charlotte wipes up some blood with a paper towel, then presses a warm washcloth to my forehead.

“Okay, let’s hold this here for a minute.”

I stare into her beautiful green eyes and feel my body begin to relax. My blinding pain begins to settle into intense throbbing.

“Thank you,” I whisper, her scent permeating the air around me.

Brie climbs up into my lap. “You okay, Daddy?” she asks lightly.

I reach for her and rub her back. “I’m better now, sweetie. I just need a minute and I’ll cook us dinner.”

“Absolutely not.” Charlotte pulls the washcloth from my face. “I’m going to order us something to eat. You need to rest.”

“No, no,” I say as I move Brie to the couch and try to stand up, but the pounding just gets worse.

She pulls me back to the couch. “Stop being so stubborn and let me order us some food.”

I want to fight her on it, but I know I’m in no condition to cook, so I give in. She puts in a call for pizza while I lie down on the couch and put on a movie for Brie. Charlotte makes me take some medicine before I let myself rest.

Brie snuggles up next to Charlotte on the loveseat.

“Don’t go falling asleep over there,” Charlotte warns. “We need to make sure you don’t have a concussion. If you start drifting off, I’m going to have to make you sit back up.”

“I’m just going to rest for a bit. I promise.”

I close my eyes to try to let the throbbing settle. For thirty minutes straight until the pizza arrives, Charlotte asks me every couple of minutes if I’m awake. I think it’s a little overkill, but don’t have the heart to tell her she’s overreacting.

The medicine and rest helped a little. It just feels slightly sore and only hurts a little bit.

I sit up slowly to see if the pain gets worse, then I walk to the kitchen, where Charlotte is putting Brie into her booster seat.

“You don’t have to get up. I can bring a slice to you.”

“No, I’m good. I just need to take it easy, but I think it’s safe to say there’s no concussion. Just a minor headache and a whole lot of embarrassment.”

I take a seat and Charlotte puts two slices in front of me then gives us each some salad.

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