Page 58 of One Year Ago in Spain
But then she remembered where he really was—in a coma, surrounded by never-ending beeping, an empty chair by his bed, waiting for her.
Suddenly, he pulled back, breathing hard, and brought his hand to his forehead.
“Matías! Are you okay?”
“I’m just…light-headed.”
The blood drained from Claire’s face. What if Matías had noticed that he was touching her, but couldn’t quite feel her? If his soul realized something was off, it might sever his connection to this world.
“I think I’m going to lie down for a moment.”
Claire moved to help him, then jumped away. She shouldn’t touch him anymore. Professor Hong had been wrong about the ability to feel him, and now it was obviously having some kind of bad effect…
As Matías staggered to the couch and lowered himself onto it, Claire’s phone rang.
The caller ID saidAracely.
No no no…Had something happened at the hospital because Claire touched Matías’s soul?
The timing was too on point for it to be mere chance. But she couldn’t answer the phone here, not in front of this Matías, not when it could be about Comatose Matías’s condition. Claire couldn’t let this Matías know about the accident.
What was she supposed to do? If Matías was in danger at the hospital, she had to get to him. And yet, his soul needed her, too. If Claire abandoned him in this state, what would happen?
On the couch, Matías moaned.
“Can I help?” Claire asked.
“I don’t know,” he said, his voice sounding thin. “It just hit me all of a sudden.”
She came closer and noticed tiny beads of sweat at his temples.Oh…could it be…?
“Matías, any chance you have issues with your blood sugar? Maybe you’re a little hypoglycemic?”
Of course, Claire knew the answer was yes. Often, when Matías got too caught up in his work and forgot to eat, a wave of weakness would suddenly wallop him. He’d feel light-headed and clammy and start sweating.
“Uh, yes, actually, I do,” Matías said, slowly sitting up. “Do you think you could grab the almendrados?”
Claire hurried to the worktable near the door and swept both her arms together in the area he had set the invisible bag of cookies earlier. She held her breath in hope that she’d actually picked it up with her awkward swoop.
As she returned to the couch, Matías reached out and seemed to take something from the crook of her right arm. “Thank you.”
She exhaled in relief as he opened the invisible bag and popped an invisible almendrado into his mouth.
Her phone rang again.
Aracely.
Shit…
Claire’s heartbeat pounded in her ears.
“Do you need to take that call?” Matías asked.
She shook her head.
“Are you sure? Because you don’t have to babysit me. I’m already starting to feel better.”
“I’ll stay until you finish all the cookies,” Claire said. At home, a hit of sugar usually solved his hypoglycemic episodes pretty quickly. He’d have to eat something more substantial afterward, but at least he wouldn’t feel ill anymore.
