Page 36 of You Were Invited
“Would you like me to stop by tomorrow?”
“I’ll take help as I need it. And of course only when you’re able.” The corners of his mouth turned up halfway.
“Okay. I’ll stop by in the afternoon.” She’d offered to help, but she felt a little pressure fall onto her shoulders. She’d already played hooky from work one day, and was indisposed for another. There was no telling how long Julian would be out of sorts. Of course he was important, but so were her clients.
The space between his eyes crinkled as he put his good hand on the door handle. His face filled with a slightly brighter smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes as he turned and said goodbye.
“Bye...” She waited for a moment, watching him get into the house safely, and hoped that she wouldn’t let him down.
Hoped her crush wouldn’t turn into an obligation bound by unfortunate circumstances.
Hoped, at the very least, for more moments that carried the sense of peace she had when she was with him. She wanted to help him… but was she really in a position to play rescuer? Didn’t she already have too much on her plate?
Annie saw her eyes flicker in the rearview mirror. She stared back at her tired face.What did I just get myself into...?
Annie left and Julian was alone.
He put away the pie, turned up the baseboard heaters, stretched out in his easy chair, and pulled a blanket up over his tired body. The events of the day hit him and his muscles gave in to the comfort of the chair. He rested with his bandaged arm over his chest, letting out a sigh.
The pain in his hand was sure to bother him more in the coming hours, now that the numbing shot was wearing off.Better get some sleep while I can…
When Julian did awaken, his arm ached all the way up to his elbow. He looked at the clock. To his shock, he’d barely been asleep for an hour.
Dammit.
He tried to remember what the nurse had told him about the dosages, but his mind went blank. Where had he placed the discharge papers again? He pulled one of the three orange bottles out of the white bag and read the prescribed dosage times for the Tylenol-Codeine.
Relieved that he was within the recommended time window for the pain pills, he went to release the child lock lid.
He grasped the bottle with his good hand, and tried to release the top, but there was no way for him to squeeze it with just one hand. He tried placing the bottle on the counter andusing his weight to twist it off, but the counter was too slippery. He even tried grasping the bottle with the crook of his arm, and then his bare feet, but to no avail.
Maybe it's easier to get some Advil.Luckily he kept that cap loose at all times. He took three with a full glass of water and placed the prescription bottle on the counter.
Dismayed, he considered walking over to ask Annie for help, but didn't want to look like a wounded animal scratching on her front door so soon. It was also very dark outside, and he'd already caused her a lot of trouble.
I can make it until she comes over, right? She should be over in the early afternoon. I'll just keep popping Advil and sleep until then. And it’s an anti-inflammatory, right? And the wound’s been all cleaned up and sanitized.
His hand throbbed.
That Advil better work soon.
fourteen
At the wretched hour of half-past three o’clock the next afternoon, Julian laid in his bed. While he stared up at the ceiling, he used every bit of his mental energy to block out the throbbing, stingy pain in his flayed palm and swollen fingers.
In the middle of the night, his easy chair had grown uncomfortable. He’d relocated to his bedroom. He pulled his thin, untucked flat sheet up to his chin, regretting not stoking the stove. The fire from his fireplace usually made him sweat through anything more than boxers and the thin blanket. The heat from the baseboard units, however, rarely made it upstairs. His bedroom had caught a chill, and now so had he.
How miserable.
He felt like a child, helpless. Even going to the bathroom was a chore. It had been a long time since he’d felt so powerless.
A faint knock came from his front door a little after five o’clock. If he hadn’t been listening so intently, he wasn’t sure if he would’ve heard it. And God help anyone who was at his door and wasn’t Annie.
Groaning, he sat up in bed.Feels like I got punted off a cliff... Parts of him, he suspected, were making up for the near loss of one limb — not to mention, he now regretted showing off his strength to Annie while he’d helped her restock his neighbor’s cabin.
As he made his way downstairs, Kitty skittered around the corner at the bottom of the stairs and barreled past him. “Jesus!” The black-and-white cat thumped up the hardwood stairs and dove into the bedroom like he was taking shelter from an angry mob. The cat was so antisocial, Julian just about forgot that he was actually around.
Collecting himself, Julian opened the front door. After a brief hello, he let Annie inside. She pulled off a light pink jacket and purple scarf and held it in her arms. Although he wished she would’ve come over much sooner, his chest filled with gratitude at the sight of his savior.
