Page 53 of Fragile Touch (Fragile 1)
“You don’t have to be so feisty.”
“I thought you said you have this under control, Lillian. Your sickness, I mean.”
“I do—”
“Obviously not. I didn’t know if you were working or out with Cayden or what was going on, so I didn’t call.” Andrew groaned. “You’re in the hospital. Dammit. Which hospital? I’m driving now.”
Lillian spent the next couple of minutes explaining the directions and trying to convince Andrew she was fine.
“Save your energy. I’ll be there in a minute.” He hung up, leaving Lillian feeling depleted. Cayden returned with a nurse, carrying a tray of food and a couple of pills she was to take after she ate. The nurse supposed Lillian would be sent home in a few hours when she got enough fluids back into her system, then left the room to the couple.
“Andrew’s pissed,” she said. Her mouth felt horrible. Like puke has spent the night inside it. In a sense, it probably had.
“I bet he is.”
“Are you being harsh?”
He raised his hands in surrender. “No. I’m not.”
“It sounded like you were being harsh.”
“I wasn’t, okay?”
She swore she saw him do a very slight eye-roll.
“Please eat,” he said before she could argue. “The goal of your being here is to get your nutrient levels back up.”
Reluctantly, she sat up and waited until she was confident the nausea was still there, then she took the tray. “I’m sorry I made you miss work.”
Cayden let out a moan. “Come on, Lil.”
She hunched her shoulders. “I’m sorry. I’m starting to feel guilty.”
“That’s because you’re hungry.” Before he could command her to eat her food again, Andrew burst into the room.
“Are you okay?” He didn’t look at Cayden but he also didn’t look at the floor, and nearly tripped on the leg of a chair.
That’s awkward. She motioned for Cayden to come over, hoping Andrew would get the point. “I’m fine. Cayden has been taking good care of me.”
Andrew finally looked at Cayden and studied him for a moment, as if trying to remember who he was. “I owe you a big thanks, man.”
“Don’t mention it.” To anyone who didn’t know Cayden well, it would have sounded like a purr deep in his throat. To Lillian, though, it was a dissatisfied grumble.
“So, what the hell happened?”
>
“A couple of my meds were misbehaving and I had a little...blunder. But it’s fine.” Lillian really wanted Andrew to understand she didn’t want to talk about it anymore.
“Blunder? What does that mean?” That distressed look on his face wasn’t letting up.
“She passed out on the bathroom floor after vomiting. That’s where I found her at 7:45 this morning.” Cayden’s eyes caught Andrew’s in their grip. “Where were you?”
“I was at work by 7:00, actually.” Andrew stood up straight.
Lillian froze, taken aback by the conflict. Almost waiting for something to happen, she watched the two stare at each other. The man who was like her brother, and the man she was in love with.
She thought a long string of curse words—of course, it wouldn’t help anything, but it made her feel better—and was thankful she knew for sure that she wasn’t saying them out loud.
