Whisper to Me(72)

“I’m okay,” I said, letting out a deep breath.

I suddenly realized that being asleep for three days might not have been a great look on me and began smoothing my hair with my fingers. “But I must look like hell.”

He reached for my hand to still my fingers and shook his head. “You always look pretty, Turtle.”

I realized whatever I was trying to do would be of no use anyway. He had already seen me at my worst. “What happened, Kai?”

“I don’t know exactly,” he said. “I heard you scream my name and when I got to your room, you were on the floor. Your body was convulsing.”

“Shit,” I said.

“Avery rushed into the room and told us you were having a seizure,” he said. Thank God we’d had a nurse in the condo. “She told us to protect your head from bashing into anything until it was over.”

“Oh my God,” I said. I reached my hand to cover my mouth and the IV line yanked painfully at my skin.

“It was freaking scary,” he said, meeting my eyes. “Dakota ran to call nine-one-one, but I just picked you up and carried you to my truck.”

“You drove me to the hospital?” I asked, my eyebrows climbing to my hairline.

His fingers tugged through his hair. “I wasn’t about to wait around.”

“Thank you, Kai,” I said, and he squeezed my hand.

The doctor swept into the room with his white coat and a thick Indian accent.

“Everything checked out fine,” he said in the brusque way I’d become accustomed to after so many doctors. “You’ll be discharged tomorrow, provided you continue on your course of antibiotics. You need to rest and allow your body to recover for another few days. And be sure to make a follow-up appointment with your primary care physician.”

“That’s it?” I asked, still on guard. Afraid to let my defenses down. Surrounded by my fears and anxieties and doubts.

“Yes,” he said. “Meningitis is a fairly treatable condition and certainly can develop in patients who’ve experienced traumatic brain injury. You can resume normal activities as soon as you feel up to it.”

He stepped out into the hall, and my parents followed behind to ask more questions.

“Good news,” Kai said, pulling out his phone. “I’ll text Dakota. She’ll call your friends—they’re waiting to hear, too.”

“I can’t believe this happened.” My hand reluctantly released his fingers to allow him to use his phone. “The doctor made it sound like I just had the flu or something.”

“Amazing how life throws you curve balls.” His eyes flicked to mine and then away. God, he was handsome, with his dark jeans and snug white shirt that illuminated his eyes.

“I bet you ten bucks my parents try to convince me to stay home and commute to classes somewhere else this fall,” I said, my voice scratchy and unsure. Would Kai want that, too?

“I think I’d lose that bet in a heartbeat,” he said with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You’re just going to have to convince them that you need to get back to your routine as soon as possible.”

I nodded. My parents were sure to worry and resume their vigilant check-ins.

“So now that you’re back in the land of the living, do you have any requests?” he asked, a devastating grin lifting his cheeks and overwhelming all of my senses.

Shit, how in the hell was I supposed to get over him? Returning to college would definitely be the first step. I needed distance from him as soon as possible.

“A hot shower and a toothbrush, for starters,” I said. “God, how out of it was I? I had all these wild fever dreams.”

“Yeah, like what?” He brought his ankle to his knee as if settling in for a good story.

“I don’t know. Just crazy stuff. You were in one of them.” As soon as the words were out, I wanted to take them back. But still, I needed to know. To look in his eyes when I said it out loud. “Like, we were alone and you were . . . whispering to me.”

At first he looked confused and then stricken and finally his expression settled into something unreadable. “You were definitely in and out of consciousness and mumbling stuff. Your parents were here around the clock, so maybe you were . . . hearing them.”

“Probably,” I said, trying to keep the harsh disappointment out of my voice.

His eyes stayed on mine, his lips pursed as if words were hanging there, ready to be said. But then the moment was lost as my parents swept back inside the room.

Kai stood up. “I’m headed up to the fifth floor to visit Micah.”

I’d forgotten about Kai’s promise to Sam. “Wish him well for me.”