Page 153 of The Manny

“Still.” He licked his dry lips.

“Would you like some water?” I reached for the bottle of water I’d put on his nightstand. “You must be thirsty.”

He sat up slowly, gingerly touching the back of his head. He was pale and his movements slow as he lifted the water to his lips. Once he’d downed half the bottle, he set the bottle back on the nightstand. “Thanks.”

“I’m glad to see you awake and sitting up. I was really worried.”

He didn’t speak right away, then he said quietly, “You don’t have to hover. I’m sure you have more important things to do.”

“I’m here because I want to be here.”

“I see.” He frowned.

“Look, Thomas, I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

I grimaced. “For being a jerk to you lately. I was… trying to protect myself.”

“Yeah, I know.”

I gritted my teeth. “You’re probably still mad at me for how I was.”

He shrugged, his gaze watchful.

“I don’t blame you.” I sighed. “But, I want things to be better between us.”

“I’m sure they will be, once I’m in Germany,” he said softly. “You can stay in your protective shell and I won’t be around to nag you anymore.”

He had a right to be resentful, I understood that. It made this harder, but I deserved it. “What if I told you I don’t want you to go?”

His lips parted in surprise, but then he closed his mouth and his expression hardened. “Do you feel sorry for me or something?”

“What?” I frowned.

“I don’t understand why you’re saying all these… kind things to me. Am I dying?” He gave an uneasy laugh.

“God no,” I rasped. “I’m attempting to apologize for how I was.”

“But… why?”

“What happened to you… well… it woke me up. I thought I’d really lost you for good.” I grimaced. “I won’t bother going into all the details, mostly because I can’t handle even thinking about it. The bottom line is, I’m trying to say, that I’ve come to my senses.”

“You’ve…” He pressed his hand to his temples, wincing. “It’s better if you don’t say things you don’t mean, Jack. It will just make it harder on me in the long run.”

“Do you really think I’m the type who’d make stuff up, simply to spare your feelings?” I scowled.

“I guess not.”

I sighed and leaned toward him. “I’m trying to say I was wrong. I was scared and I acted callously because of that.”

He swallowed. “And now… you’re saying you want to be…withme?”

My face warmed at his skeptical tone. “Yes.”

“Oh.” He again pressed his fingers to his temple, making little circular movements. “My head is hurting a lot right now.”

“We… we don’t need to talk about this now.”

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