AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Look at me, baby,” Cole insisted.
It took a moment for me to pry my stare away from the nurse prepping things, but when I did, Cole held my gaze with his. He lifted his free hand to cup the side of my face, hiding the ministrations of the nurse from me just a bit. “Just a little pinch, and it will be all over and done with,” he reminded me.
“Right,” I said nervously.
“And then we just hang out for a bit, and then you and I can finally go home with Noah and spend the night snuggled up on the couch with cartoons,” he said.
“That sounds nice,” I said, hearing the slight tremble in my voice.
“Yeah, it does,” he said with a smile.
I heard the slight tear of some paper, then felt the cold wetness of the alcohol swab on the back of my hand. I didn’t make any outward sound, but Cole must have felt or heard my heart rate spike because he suddenly squeezed my hand almost painfully.
“Stay with me. You’re alright,” he said.
I heaved out a tight breath through pursed lips and nodded.
“Okay, little pinch,” the nurse said as she felt for the vein on the back of my hand.
Cole leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine, slow and sumptuous, just before the needle slipped into my skin. I let out a little whimper into the kiss, and he brushed the warm wetness of his tongue against the curve of my lower lip, changing that pain into something different. Something even a little exciting, as embarrassing as that was.
“There we go, all done,” the nurse said. “Good job.”
Cole broke the kiss and backed up from me slightly. “See?” he said, a little breathless. “You did it.”
“The distraction certainly helped,” I said as he released my cheek. I looked over to where the nurse was placing an adhesive strip over my IV to keep it steady. Meanwhile, the doctor worked on getting the bag of serum on a nearby hook, undoing the tubing attached to it, and handing it to the nurse while he fiddled with the speed of the drip.
“Alright, lovebirds,” he said as he adjusted the dial. “I’m going to let this go nice and slow, just to be safe. It will take about an hour before it’s finished. Cole, if you need me, there’s an intercom right next to the door over there, and it will alert us there’s an emergency. Otherwise, we’ll give you two some privacy while the first dose is administered. That is, unless you’d like us to stay and observe,” he added.
“That’s really up to my wife,” Cole said, looking at me.
I watched as the nurse attached the tubing to my IV and felt the cool sensation of the serum starting to slowly drift into my veins. I waited for something…for, well, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was waiting for. Brutal pain? Horrible dread? Bursting out of my own skin?
But I only felt like I was getting IV fluids.
“I think I’ll be alright,” I said finally. “It doesn’t feel so bad right now.”
“Excellent,” the doctor said, nodding to the nurses. “We’ll see ourselves out. Just call us if you need us.”
The group of them left the room, once again shutting the door softly behind them. I looked up at the bag of serum and then over to Cole. He was still holding my free hand, watching me intently.
“Not feeling anything yet?” he asked.
“Not so far,” I said.
“Good,” he said, nodding.
We were both quiet for a while. Maybe we were both waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for the fever to burst through and the aching to begin. But in the silence, nothing ever came.
Before I knew it, the bag was nearly half-empty.
“Didn’t Travis start feeling pretty awful by this point?” I asked, looking over at Cole. “Or was that the second injection?”
“I actually don’t remember what happened, and when. That whole period of time is a blur of chaos,” he admitted. “But I think you’re right. I think by now, most people start feeling bad.”
“Maybe it will be my luck to get the worst of it on the second injection after all.”
“Let’s not jinx ourselves. We’ve had enough bad luck for a damned lifetime.”
