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My eyes grow watery again, and I blink. “Thank you.”
“Sleep,” he says softly, brushing a lock of hair away from my face. “You need it. I’ll make you some tea when you wake up.”
I stare up at him, my heart thumping madly. His expression is so concerned and kind that it makes me want to sob my face off again.
Instead, I give a little nod. “Okay.”
For the first time in years, I feel truly cared for, and it’s a very foreign feeling.
My mom has never been the care-taking type. She was always a free spirit, off chasing this dream or that, so when I was a little kid and got sick, my dad was the one who took care of me.
Unfortunately, I haven’t even seen my father in four years. He divorced my mom and married his mistress, then started an entirely new life, preferring to forget his old one ever existed.
Me included.
“Eli?”
“Yeah?” he asks, settling back on Mandi’s bed with his laptop.
“I take it back. You’re not a jerk.”
He looks amused. “Thanks. I’ll take that as a compliment, considering it’s coming from you.”
I roll over on my side and close my eyes. “I’m hugging you when I get better. Even though I don’t do that, you’re still getting one.”
I can practically hear the smile in his voice when he says, “I’m definitely holding you to that.”
Minutes later, I drift off, feeling safe and warm in my bed with significantly less anxiety, because I know someone will be there for me when I wake up.
I just never thought that person would be Eli Donnelley.
10
“Oh my gosh. I’m so happy to be back in my own room,” Mandi gushes. She tosses her pink duffel bag onto her bed. “Five days of sleeping on someone else’s couch is so not fun.”
“Why yes, I’m fine now, Mandi. Thanks for asking,” I say dryly, shooting her an annoyed look.
“Of course you are! Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here, silly,” she says breezily. Pausing, she glances down at the floor near the head of her bed, where her stuffed rabbits have been lying for the past five days. “Oh no. What happened to my bunnies?”
Oops. Good thing she didn’t see how they got there. I’ll never forget when Eli clotheslined them to the floor. The look on his face was hilarious.
“Who knows,” I say, waving a hand. “I was pretty out of it.”
Mandi carefully gathers them all up and arranges them in their regular spot on the bed. “Did you disinfect everything, Holland? The bathroom, too?”
“Yes, I did,” I mutter. “But hey, if it doesn’t meet your standards, feel free to do it again.”
“Wow. Why are you in such a snit? It’s not likeyouwere put out of your room for five days.”
Snit? Okay, she’s about to get my foot right up her perky little ass.
“You know what? I spent the past five days with a brutally high fever and a terrible headache. I sweated off about five pounds I can’t afford to lose while fighting body-wracking chills. Not to mention the time I spent puking my face off. Do you thinkthatis better than being put out of your room for five days?” I glare at her and cross my arms. “Go ahead, Mandi. Think about it. I’ll wait.”
“No, I guess not,” she says slowly. “But don’t minimize what I went through either, Holland. I had a fight with my boyfriend, remember?” She sniffles and turns around. “You need to take that into consideration.”
“Eli isnotyour boyfriend.”
She peers over her shoulder at me. “Not yet.”
