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Adrianna sat up and fell forward into Jack’s chest, still lightheaded. She waited until she wasn’t gasping for air and then told him, “Someone should write a book about you.”
Adrianna’s back brought her out of a deep sleep and for a second she didn’t recognize where she was. Sitting up abruptly and grimacing at the pain, Jack stirred beside her and then she remembered she was in his bed. She must have fallen asleep after they moved from the bar to up there.
As she twisted to bring her feet to the floor she whimpered. Man, was she aching and not in the good way. Glancing at the clock next to Jack’s bed, she was shocked to see that it was almost five a.m. Not only had she slept for almost five hours, it had been almost six since she last had a pill. Adding to her misery, her stomach and head were also now alerting her to the fact that they weren’t happy either. Adrianna closed her eyes and tried to breathe through the pain.
Jack woke when he heard Adrianna make a noise of discomfort and he quickly reached over to turn his bedside lamp on. Squinting in the dim light, he saw Adrianna sitting at the edge of his bed, curled forward, the scar on her back prominently on display.
Jack had seen and felt the scar before but this was the first time he was getting a close look and he cringed at the severity of it. It was about a half an inch thick and started right at the base of her spine, disappearing under her curtain of hair. He knew though, by having touched that part of her, that it ran all the way up her neck to her hairline.
When the light came on in the room, Adrianna started, and began searching the floor at her feet for something to cover herself with, ignoring her protesting back in the process. As she reached down for Jack’s t-shirt, her head started to pound and she had to sit back up before she thought it would explode.
“Are you okay, Ade?” Jack asked, his voice still thick with sleep.
Not trusting her voice, Adrianna only nodded and then inhaled sharply when a shooting pain traveled from the base of her neck down to her tailbone.
“No you’re not,” Jack said with worry in his voice. He moved quickly to sit beside her and put his hand gently on her shoulder. “You sound like you’re in pain, what’s wrong.”
Adrianna closed her eyes again and leaned into him, allowing his arm to wrap around her. She took a few deep breaths before telling him, “I’ll be okay. Just give me a minute.”
Jack held her to him, stroking down her arm and kissing the top of her head. He let her just lean on him, and waited for her to feel better. He was hoping she would explain the scar to him now, for it was obvious that whatever happened to her back was the cause of her pain. He was curious about it of course, but he never asked, knowing by her reaction whenever his hands went near it that she was not comfortable talking about it. When she didn’t offer any information he decided now might be the time to question her.
He moved his hand from her arm to settle on the bare skin of her lower back. Adrianna tensed and he paused there, not moving, not saying anything, until he felt her relax again. Then he lightly trailed one finger up her scar, just an inch, and asked, “What happened here, sweetheart?”
Adrianna felt her eyes sting with tears. She wasn’t ready to talk about the accident with him yet. She didn’t know if she ever would be. So even though she didn’t like doing it she lied.
“I used to row in high school and college. Ended up with herniated disks.”
That was complete bullshit and Jack knew it. Surgery to repair herniated disks wouldn’t leave you with a scar that looked like a zipper up your back. He worried that whatever had happened to her left more than just physical damage behind if she was willing to lie to him about it. He was also hurt that she didn’t trust him enough to tell him the truth. He said nothing, though, and watched sadly as she rose from the bed and walked to the bathroom, stiff with discomfort. “Can you get me my purse?” she asked before closing the door behind her.
In the bathroom, Adrianna turned the sink on full blast and ran handfuls of cold water over her face again and again. It didn’t help. She felt awful; in addition to her back, head, and stomach, her entire body ached. A wave a nausea came over her and she gagged, dry heaving over the sink.
