It wasn’t just Corey’s head that was hurting now, all of him was. He barely made it to the bed before he collapsed. Tal took off his shoes for him.
Corey tried not to groan but he hurt so much.
“Do you need a doctor?” Tal perched next to him, concern all over his face.
“I just need to sleep. Will you hold me?”
Tal lay down beside him and pulled him into his arms. Corey was breathing too rapidly, which made him anxious, and didn’t help his breathing. Tal stroked his arm, kissed his neck and everything went black.
Sixteen
Corey woke to a beeping sound. Pain immediately swamped him.Fuckfuckfuck!For a moment, breathing was impossible. Why did he hurt so much? What the hell had happened? He struggled to open his eyes, then struggled to bring the world into focus. The sounds, the smell, where he lay… It was all wrong.Tal!Where was he?
Hospital.He was lying in a hospital bed with something clipped to his finger and the beeping was coming from a monitor.What’s the matter with me?There were no nurses around, only patients in beds surrounded by monitors, just like him. The lights were dim, so he guessed it was nighttime.
Why did he hurt all over? Especially his stomach and his head. He remembered a headache and lying on the bed in the hotel with Tal, and now he’d woken up here. How had that happened? He pushed back the sheet, saw red and brown bruises all over his chest, a dressing on his left side and a cast on his lower leg.Oh God.What the fuck?
Where was Tal? Why hadn’t he come with him to the hospital?
Why should he?piped up a little voice in Corey’s head.
Fuck off!
He would have come. Any decent person would have. So why hadn’t he? Unless he couldn’t. Corey’s brain began to run riot. Something must have happened at the hotel. Had the building collapsed? An explosion? A fire? Where was Tal?Is he okay?His pulse raced.Oh God, I’m going to be sick.
A nurse appeared at the side of the bed, took one look at him and, just in time, produced a dish for him to throw up into. Corey slumped back breathing heavily. The nurse handed him a tissue, then did something to the monitor, which stopped beeping, before she turned back to him.
“You’re in hospital.”
He’d got that.
“Tell me your name.”
Corey tried to speak, but only made a croaking sound.
The nurse lifted a container with a straw and put it to his lips. Corey sucked water.God, that’s nice.
“Not too much,” the nurse said. “Your name?”
“Corey…Jenkins. Where’s Tal?”
“What date is it, Corey?”
“I…” He didn’t know. “Not sure. Twenty-second? Maybe. I don’t know.”
“Two plus two?”
He wanted to know about Tal, not do maths. “Four. I need Tal.”
“You need to rest.” She adjusted the line carrying a clear fluid into the back of his hand.
Duh!Wasn’t being in hospital something to worry about?
“Why am I here?” His voice was raspy. “Did something happen…to the hotel? Did it…blow up?”
The nurse frowned. “Er… You were in an accident.”
Of course it was an accident. Corey couldn’t think anyone would deliberately do something to the hotel. “A gas explosion?”
