Wait, my eyes were open? But I couldn’t see anything. Reaching out for something Anything, I swallowed hard. “Water.”
“Ice chips only. Slowly,” another female voice chimed in, not nearly as nice as Lizzie’s. Who was this Lizzie anyway? It seemed like Drey knew her.
“Oh, thank God,” someone said. Another girl. What was up with all the chicks here?
Lizzie’s grip on me vanished as I heard shuffling. Pokes and tugs followed along my arms and fingers.
“Get the blood pressure.”
The bed moved up, and my body screamed in objection. My ass was sore. And I had a hot spot on my back. Then again, Walker and his crony had beaten the shit out of me. Who knew how badly I was hurt?
“Lizzie.”
Something cold met my lips. Ice. “Slow, man. Slow.”
I opened, and it slid in, instantly melting, the liquid quenching my throat.
“Can’t see.” I coughed at the dryness scratching my throat. “Can’t—”
“Calm down, Damon. We’ll figure it out.” Drey clutched my hand again. “Just damn good to see your eyes again. Hear your voice; even if it does sound like shit.”
“Sarah okay?”
“Right here,” she said. “Scared the crap out of us!”
“Walker…”
“Jail. Relax. We’re here, man. We’re here.” Drey let out a long sigh then yanked me into a hug. “Love you, man.”
I reached for him, but someone snared my left wrist. “Wait. Unless you want to bleed all over the place.”
So I managed a one-armed hug. “Mom?”
“Shhh. Don’t worry about anything right now.”
“She’s gone.”
His head nodded against my shoulder, and his grip on me tightened briefly before he leaned back. “Almost lost my entire family that night.”
“I fucked up.”
“Yeah. You did. But today’s a new day.”
And I intended on starting it by getting to know this Lizzie girl.
Chapter Seven
Lizzie
“Whatisitabouthim, girl?” Sarah asked.
“I don’t know.” I combed my fingers through his silky black hair. It was long enough to curl along his forehead and wisp up over his ears.
Just a hint of curls. It’d been a couple weeks since he’d opened his eyes now, and he’d finally gotten to take a shower on his own today. I’d heard the bottles fall to the floor of the shower a couple of times. But he managed.
“Any more thoughts on telling him about the blindness?” I asked, shifting in my chair to get more comfortable. Not thatthatwas possible in this crappy plastic thing they called a chair.
“That it’s permanent?” Sarah paced near me. “Drey said to hold off a little longer. Damon’s so volatile right now.”