“You want me to take that stuff to him?” I ask, my heart leaping in my chest. This is my chance. Teddy won’t be able to hang out all day, and whenever Cam says “for a bit,” he means all day.
“That would be great,” Easton says, throwing the bags on the floor. “This is all he needs for now.”
“No problem,” I say. “You gonna cover for me with Cam?”
Easton snorts. “He already knows you won’t be back. We don’t need an extra man on shift right now anyway. Rook’s feeling better, and she’s coming in this afternoon.”
Relief hits me so hard I feel like throwing up. I want to work. I like working. But after last night, I need a moment away.
“I’ll hang out with Leo until Cam frees you. Just text me when you’re on your way.”
He walks over and yanks me into a hug. “Love you.”
He doesn’t say that often, but I know he does. “Love you too. And relax, okay? Leo’s fine.”
His breath shudders, coming out of his chest, and he squeezes in so tight Russell gives an angry caw in both our ears. He doesn’t let go for a long, long moment.
And I think I need the hug just as much as he does.
SIXTEEN
LEO
When the doctorlooked me in the eye and told me that my legs and feet were going to hurt when the meds wore off, I laughed at him.
“Trust me,” I’d said, “I know what pain feels like. I can handle it.”
Past me had no idea what I was in for. All I want in the world is to cut my legs off at the thigh so this pain will stop. I’ve never been burned like this before. After theIncident, I had scrapes all along my body, a bashed-in skull, broken ribs, and a shattered elbow, but I was on heavy drugs for most of it.
This is different.
The bottoms of my feet took the worst of it, and the dressings help keep me from accidentally rubbing them on anything, but they don’t provide any reprieve from how it feels. And I meant what I said when I told North I didn’t take strong drugs. I nearly developed a dependence on opiates after theIncident, and I’m not risking that again.
I’m lying back, trying not to cry, when Teddy and North appear in the doorway, and I know I have to function long enough to tell Teddy about what happened. North hangs back inthe corner of the room, and I do my best not to stare at him as Teddy pulls up a chair and pulls out a clicky pen and a notepad.
“I’m also recording in case I miss anything,” he tells me, tapping his right processor.
‘Whatever you need,’ I sign.
He smiles and clears his throat. “Tell me what you remember about the fire.”
“Well, nothing,” I admit. His brows fly up. “I remember the power going out. I was feeling fine, actually. Normally, when I have cluster seizures like that, I feel funky all day, but I was pretty coherent. Right?” I glance at North.
He looks surprised. “Ah—yeah. You seemed normal. Or whatever. Sorry, is that offensive?”
“Is that what?” Teddy asks.
‘Offensive,’ I spell for him. “And no, it’s not. Anyway, North came by to bring some food. The storm knocked out the power, and, uh…we were talking. Then he got called in—no. Something else happened, right?”
North looks unhappy as he nods. “My mom called, and I needed to see her before my shift.”
Teddy frowns again, so I interpret in ASL before dropping my exhausted arms into my lap. “He had to run, and then I started seeing flashing lights in my periphery. Aura.”
“One more time?” Teddy asks, then grimaces. “Sorry. Bad hearing fatigue today. My brain’s not processing sound the way I want.”
‘You’re fine,’ I answer in sign. ‘Flashing lights. Aura,’ I sign, spelling the last word. “That’s when I knew a seizure was coming.”
“Do you remember where you were when the seizure hit?”
