Page 49 of What About Us
“Will you be all right?” When I turn back to her, she’s perched on the toilet lid, removing the elastic from the thick, dark braid over her shoulder.
She nods. “I’ll call for you if I need you,” she says, unwinding her braid and slowly raking her fingers through her hair from scalp to ends. Her movements are still slow, but her coloring looks a little better and her words aren’t slurred like they were before. She’s definitely looking and sounding more like Finnley. Still, I don’t completely trust that she won’t pass out again or lose her balance in the shower. So, I want to stay close.
“I’ll be right outside, ok?” I turn to the doorway to leave, but her voice stops me.
“Huddy?”
I turn back to look at her, my hand on the doorframe. She looks so beautiful sitting there, her long dark hair cascading over her shoulders, coming nearly to her waist.
“Yeah?”
She uses her pointer finger to scratch a spot just above her upper lip. “I think I want to be downstairs. Can you get my fuzzy blanket?”
I nod. “Sure. Anything else?”
She hums, thinking. “The heating pad?”
My lips tip up. “Of course.”
“And sweats and some panties?” She looks at me questioningly, with a little glimmer of amusement in her eye.
I chuckle at the laundry list of things she wants me to gather. It’d be easier just to stay in bed, where all of her things already are. But I don’t mind. I actually love that she’s letting me take care of her, and I can keep a better eye on her if she’s in the living area.
“You got it. Anything else?”
“One of your hoodies?” she asks and gives me the first real smile since I picked her up at Timber Haven. “The NYU one with the frayed sleeves.”
I nod and notice even her coloring is more like normal. A lot of the flush from her cheeks has disappeared, even in the warm bathroom.
“Be right back, ok?”
She gives me a warm, little half smile that makes my heart stutter in my chest. “Thanks.”
I nod and leave the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. I make my way around her room, opening drawers. I find a pair of underwear, then grab a pair of white sweats from the stack in the laundry basket next to the bed.
My eyes land on the insulin pen on the nightstand and I pick it up. It’s still mostly full, but if she’s been rationing insulin, and this is her last one, she’s going to need more, and soon. With a glance at the bathroom door,I quickly rifle through the small plastic bin on the nightstand and find the insert for her prescription from a mail-order pharmacy. Folding it in half, and then in half again, I shove it in the back pocket of my jeans and leave the room.
Across the hall, I scoop up the hoodie I wore last night from the hook on the back of my bedroom door, and then search the linen closet for the heating pad.
I can’t hear the water running when I press my ear back to her bathroom door. So, I knock before cracking the door slightly. “Jameson, are you ok?”
“Just getting dried off.” Her voice sounds a little stronger now, too. All good signs.
“I’ll just open the door and set these on the sink, ok?” I step into the bathroom, still filled with steam from the shower. I keep my back to her, setting the clothes on the counter.
“Thanks, Huddy.”
I nod and turn back to the door. “Are you hungry?”
“Starving, actually.”
“How about some soup?”
“Chicken noodle sounds amazing,” she says, and I can tell she’s out of the shower because her voice sounds closer. “I’m decent. You can turn around now.”
She’s squinting, looking around the counter, when I turn to face her. She’s wrapped a towel around her body, tucking it right above her chest. She must have already removed her contacts.
“Can you see my glasses?”
