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Noah and Lexi share a look.
"Yeah, she barely talks to the nurses and gives one-word answers. When asked a direct question, it's like she's completely shut down," Noah says.
"You two have a history before the accident, and there's a good chance that you can use that and those connections to pull her out of her shell," Lexi says. "If you're not comfortable, don't even worry about it. I don't ever want to put you in a position to do something that you're not comfortable with."
"I'm happy to help. Though I wish I had known she was here sooner." Taking a deep breath, I look down at Atticus, who rests his head in my lap, looking up at me as I pet him.
"I'm off at three. Are you able to tell me what her schedule looks like today? I hate to pop in minutes before she's supposed to be off doing something else."
At my words, a smile crosses both their faces.
Lexi turns to her computer and starts tapping on the keyboard. A moment later, she turns back to me.
"She is free for the rest of the day. It looks like, in general, all of her appointments are in the morning, and she keeps her afternoons free."
"Perfect, I work mornings, and I'm usually off by two or three," I say as an idea starts to form in my head.
She'd spend a lot of time after school with my brothers and me at our house. We get out of school by three. My mom would have a snack for us, and we’d do our homework and play board games until dinner time. But no matter what, that time before dinner was always family time.
After dinner, she and Caden would have time to themselves. Maybe they’d go out on a date or spend some time in the backyard alone.
She was always competitive, but you have to be when you're playing a game against other boys. Even though we’d play card games, she always seemed to enjoy and smile more when we played the board games.
"You wouldn't by chance have any board games around here with you?" I ask.
"We have a bunch of them in the cabinets in the library," Noah says. "I'll show you where."
He stands, and I follow him back upstairs down the same hallway where a lot of the offices are.
The library here is huge. It is one of the original rooms that they kept from the house but expanded it. They did such a good job of matching the bookcases that were already there that you couldn't tell which ones were the original and which ones were the ones that were built for Oakside.
Noah opens a cabinet, and inside are stacks and stacks of board games. One catches my attention right away. Memories of her playing, her smiles, and just how carefree she was came to mind as I reach out and pick it up.
"This one's perfect." I stay with a grin, turning and heading to her room.
Chapter 4
Kassi
Right now, I’m snuggled up on my couch under a blanket, reading a mafia romance about a morally gray hero. I’m trying to get lost in a whole other world than the one I'm currently trapped in.
I've always been a bit of a helpless romantic, wanting someone to love me to the point of obsession, picking me over everyone else.
The problem is guys around me lately are the self-absorbed enlisted military men who think they're God's gift to women.
I've been on a few dates since I joined, but my options are so limited. Either date a guy outside the military who doesn't get it and is intimidated by a stronger female than him or date one of the servicemen that I have to prove I actually belong in the military.
Needless to say, in my situation, it's easier to get lost in the arms of a book boyfriend than to date.
I've been able to schedule all my appointments each day in the morning, which leaves me the afternoon to go through my to-be-read list and actually get to read. Since I’ve begun, I've been reading about a book a day. Noah and Lexi have been amazing in getting me a tablet that I can use and binge-read on.
Today, I'm at the point in the book when the morally gray hero realizes that she is his everything when there's a knock on the door. I actually groan out loud about having to set the book down, as no one usually interrupts me after lunch.
"If it's that painful to set your book down, then I can come back," Jake says from the doorway, raising an eyebrow at me.
"How did you know I was reading?" I ask, setting my tablet on the coffee table and waving him into the room.
"Because whenever you read, you snuggle up under a big thick blanket like you’re doing now. You always have," he says.
