Page 73 of Misery and Ecstasy

“When they told me the vice president of the RBMC was here making threats to the staff, I thought to myself,not the Draven I know…Imagine my surprise to see they were right.”

With jealousy, I look back-and-forth between the nurse and Draven. But I can’t even put my all into it due to the amount of pain I’m in.

“Valerie?” My head thumps harder when I see the smile Draven gives her. “What are you doing here?”

“I pick up some shifts here and there for some extra spending money.” She looks from him to me before walking to the side of my bed. “Who’ve we got here?”

“McKinsey.” I say softly, wincing.

“Are these lights bothering you? I can turn them down a bit.” When the dimmer lighting helps me keep my eyes open more easily, I can almost forget all about being jealous of her.

“Thank you.” I sigh.

“You’re welcome. So, I see you’re here today because of head pain?”

I feel Draven grab my hand. Opening my eyes a crack, I see him standing over me, lips curved down.

“Um, just a really bad migraine. I feel silly for even coming in. I’m probably wasting everyone’s time?—”

“It’s not just that.” Draven cuts into the conversation as I close my eyes again. “For the past two weeks, she’s been a little irritable, and she’s been forgetting things, too.”

“Yes, because I’m distracted by the throbbing in my head.” I can’t even yell at him like I want to. “And I’m irritable because I’ve recently come down with a 6’4”, 200-pound pain in my ass.”

Valerie breaks out into laughter that echoes in my ears and makes my pain worse, but I can’t be mad at her. “Okay! I like her, Draven.”

I look at him through half-open lids to find him glaring back at me, unamused. Walking to the chair near the foot of my bed, he takes a seat.

“I’m just going to take a blood sample to send to the lab.” Both Draven and I remain quiet, the only sounds coming from Valerie as she works.

“Okay, I’ll send these downstairs then grab the doctor for you so you won’t have to wait much longer.” Valerie turns to speak directly to Draven. “And soyouwon’t have to make any further threats to the decent people of Gettysburg Hospital.”

“How do you know her?” My question comes out the moment Valerie leaves. Yes, it sounds accusatory, but I will absolutely blame it on the pain if Draven comments on it.

“She works at the facility I put my mom in when she wasn’t able to live on her own anymore. She took care of her like she was her own mother.”

All traces of jealousy I previously held toward the woman I’ve only known for five minutes vanishes.

Except for the constant vibration of texts coming in and the tapping sound of Draven answering them, we fall into silence.

“I hope you’re being nice. And not just tomyfriends.”

A huff is the only answer I get from him. A few more minutes of silence pass as I rub my temples, but I can hear Draven’s thoughts as clear as day. I know he’s only acting like a complete ass because he’s worried about me.

“I’m sorry I called you a pain in the ass.”

When he doesn’t reply for longer than I’d expect, I open my eyes, just enough to peer through my lids to find that he’s standing over me again.

“I just can’t stand seeing you like this.” He reaches for my cheek, but I wince preemptively because even the slightest touch hurts right now. He pulls back before making contact, settling for holding my hand instead. “And it hasn’t been that long since I was sitting, helpless on the sidelines, watching my mother die. That wound is still way more raw than I thought it was.”

My heart breaks. I didn’t even think about how hard this must be for him. I promise to be nicer, even when his overbearing nature can give my mother a run for her money.

I hear my phone vibrate again before Draven speaks.

“Olivia wants to know if she should call your mother.”

Speak of the fucking devil.

My eyes shoot open, the sudden movement causing me to cry out in pain. I cover my eyes with both of my hands, trying to calm the throbbing.

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