Page 82 of For Butter or Worse
The only other person who was aware of his history was Nina, he realized. The fact that she knew was a big deal to him, because he hadn’t opened up to anyone about his mental health—he hadn’t felt comfortable enough with anyone else.
“This isn’t my first,” he finally said.
“Okay, then you probably know to take it easy the rest of the day. Go have a bath, dim the lights and eat some chocolate.”
“What kind of medical school did you attend that you’re prescribing me chocolate?” He attempted a sly grin, but the effort just made him more tired.
The doctor stared blankly back. “Stanford.”
“Harvard wouldn’t have you, then?” He couldn’t help himself.
The doctor adjusted his glasses, but Leo didn’t miss the roll of his eyes behind them. “If you feel another attack coming on, there are a few options—try stretching while taking in deep breaths, and sometimes going for a gentle walk can help, too. There’s also medication.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He didn’t mention that he’d never taken the medication he’d already been prescribed, because his preferred method of treatment was to ignore what was happening, lock himself in a room and let it blow over. Hadn’t worked this time, unfortunately.
“The nurse will be in shortly to have you sign some discharge papers. Any other questions I can answer?”
“Yes.” Gavin came in through the curtain and tossed Leo a bag of M&M’s. “How does your vending machine have Flamin’ Hot Cheetos but no Takis?”
“Nice meeting you both.” The doctor turned to leave.
“If you’re ever near the Vinny’s in Pasadena, come in and we’ll hook you up.” Gavin was smiling in a flirty, trying-too-hard way Leo had seen before.
The doctor, however, was unfazed as he left the room.
“Didn’t expect to meet my future hubby in an emergency room, but here we are.” Gavin sat on the side of Leo’s bed, stealing the bag of candy and popping a few in his mouth. “Are you gonna tell Ma about this?”
“No,” Leo said quickly. “This isn’t a big deal. A panic attack is nothing.”
“You looked like you were about to keel over, and then you did. You scared the hell out of me.”
Leo could see the worry written all over the lines in his brother’s forehead.
“I’m fine.” Leo tried to sound reassuring. He shoveled a handful of candy into his mouth. “I just don’t want Ma to blow this out of proportion. You know how she gets.”
“Okay, I won’t tell her, but that shit was scary. You should do a follow-up with your doctor.”
A nurse popped his head through the curtain and interrupted. “You have a visitor.”
Leo looked past the nurse and saw a swirl of wavy hair just behind him—Nina.
His shoulders tensed.Wait.How did she even know Leo was in the hospital? Who told her?
Gavin sheepishly patted his brother on the back and whispered, “You’re welcome.” He then turned to the nurse and asked, “There are discharge forms to fill out, right?”
Without waiting for the answer, Gavin followed the nurse, leaving Leo alone with Nina.
They didn’t speak. He rubbed at the ID bracelet dangling from his wrist, then glanced up and thought he saw something like sympathy in her eyes. Which he hated, because he didn’t want her to see him look so helpless, especially after she’d spent the last few hours with a man who probably owned a bench press and used it to double as a bed. If they were about to end their arrangement, the least she could do was allow him to shower and brush his teeth so they weren’t candy-coated.
Especially because as soon as she came into the room it filled with light, like a goddamn sunbeam was shooting out from her head. She ran a hand through her hair, and it looked tousled, the way it did when she woke up in the morning. And she wore jeans and a T-shirt that, while simple, hugged the curves he loved touching.
“Your brother called me.” Her voice was warm and gentle. He fought the urge to beckon her over and use her body as a human pillow.
He wished Gavin had at least mentioned this to him, but if he had, the odds were high that Leo would’ve found a way to undo the IV and escape through the nearest exit. He shouldn’t have told his brother about Nina, because now he was clearly trying to play matchmaker when he had no idea that she’d already moved on.
“Was it a panic attack?” She wrung her hands as she approached the bed. “I thought you said youusedto have them.”
“I lied,” he said.
