Page 27 of Dream Girl
Chapter Nine
Grace
At some point, we’d moved to Wes’ room, which was done in blues and greens, and had a big, soft bed. I’d been sick a few more times, but felt better curled together between Wes and Evan like a Grace sandwich. It was delicious. So far, I liked this world.
I lay there with my eyes closed, enjoying the warmth, coziness, and safety. It was morning.
“Are you sure this is okay? The moment it’s not, this stops,” Wes said quietly to Evan.
“I’mfine. Areyouokay? You still care for her, don’t you? I’m fineif you do,” Evan replied.
Wes sighed. “I do. I never stopped caring about her. What’s going to happen when she goes home?”
Eventually, I’d have to get home. Right? I had a job. An apartment. A plant.I think.
The problem was, I still cared for Wes, too. Barfing aside, last night was pleasant. He’d grown up, but was still the strong, caring person that I remembered.
One thing that I could recall was an intense feeling of loneliness back home. Of not fitting. Certainly, I didn’t havethis.Growing up, no one had listened to me the way Wes had. I felt seen when I was with him.
Loved. Wanted.
With Wes I felt like I belonged.
When I was young, every night when I went to sleep, I hoped it would be a night that I’d go to him.
“How about we nurse her through her concussion and, you know, figure out who chased her, before we fuck with the multiverse?” Evan suggested.
“Multiverseimplies variations of ourselves. There’s no Grace Ellington here. Believe me, I looked,” Wes replied. “What? I listened to her. In school, I did so well in math and science because of that.”
“Hey, I’m going to take a shower and make some coffee. I’ve got to go into work later, but I think we can leave her here for a bit by herself. She’ll sleep a lot in the next few days, and that’s for the best,” Evan said.
“I already told Spencer that I’m coming in late today,” Wes added.
“I love you. You also could use a shower,” Evan said, the bed shifting.
For a moment after I heard him leave, I continued to lie there, eyes closed.
“Are you awake, Peaches? You could use a shower, too,” Wes replied, stroking my hair.
My eyes didn’t open. “I like it when you do that.”
“Can you manage on your own?”
“Yeah.” I may have unabashedly snuggled with someone I’d only ever been with in my dreams, but Iwasn’tready to shower with him.
I let him help me out of the enormous bed and into his fancy bathroom, with a spacious shower with clear glass doors.
“What, no whirlpool tub?” I joked, still a little wobbly. My head continued to pound, and my brain was still sluggish. A fancy house like this needed a fancy bathtub.
“That’s in Evan’s room. Um, I’ll get you a towel and some clothes.” His chest was bare, with a military-ish looking tattoo on his shoulder. A black infinity heart tattoo was on his left pectoral–Evan had a matching one.
He left, and I turned the shower on, letting it warm up as I stripped out of his T-shirt I’d slept in. I washed my hair and body and rinsed out my mouth. Closing my eyes, I let the warm water wash over me.
“Shit,” Wes whispered.
My eyes opened. Wes stood there, towel and clothes in hand, staring at me through the clear glass door.
“Oh, my scars, yeah, they freaked the doctor out, too.” Turning off the water, I grabbed the towel and wrapped it around myself.
