He groans in frustration, which sets off a small coughing fit.
I grab his water, then help him take a few sips.
Swallowing hard a couple of times, he gestures for the water again, so I hold the straw for him. He drinks a little more, then opens his mouth, letting the straw fall from his lips.
“Like I was saying,” he says, voice even more raspy than before. “I miss you. This sucks. I want to be in your bed and in your arms. I almost died.” His eyes water again.
I let out a humorless laugh, my heart slamming against my chest wall. “Fuck, baby boy. Trust me, I know.”
And I’m pretty sure I could live to be a hundred years old and never forget it.
Arlo shifts a little on the bed, and I stand quickly, ready to help him, when he pats the spot next to him. “Will you lay with me?”
I hesitate. There’s not a lot of room, and he’s already hurt.
“Please,” he rasps, bottom lip coming out in a pout.
“The nurses probably won’t like that.” Unable to help myself, I touch his cracked and dry bottom lip. “You’re injured. You need to rest.”
Arlo squeezes his eyes closed before looking up at me. “I’ll rest better if you’re in bed with me.”
I exhale a slow breath. “It’s not a good idea.” I drag my thumb over his lip. “I’m sorry, baby boy.”
No sooner have the words left my mouth than a nurse knocks, then peeks her head around the door.
We both turn our attention to her. If I’m not mistaken, she was here yesterday too. Kianna, I think she said her name was. “Just coming to do a check. How are you feeling, Arlo? Ready for your next dose of pain medication?”
“About that,” Arlo says, shifting a little and then grimacing. “I don’t want any more pain medication.”
She frowns. “We’d like to control your pain.”
Arlo shakes his head. “No thanks. I’m not in any pain.”
“Arlo.” She steps closer to the bed, concern in her eyes. “The reason you don’t have a lot of pain is because we’ve been managing it. That’s going to change if we don’t give you anything.”
He sputters a humorless laugh. “Look, I appreciate what you’re tryin’ to do, but I watched my mother and her husband spiral into addiction. They didn’t care about me, they lost custody of my siblings, and now I’m busting my ass to get them out of foster care.”
Kianna’s eyebrows shoot up.
“What about something that isn’t an opioid?” I interject. “Sure, it’s not as good as morphine or whatever it is you’re giving him, but it’s something.”
With a sigh, Kianna nods. “I’ll bring you some acetaminophen.”
“Thank you,” Arlo says softly, then reaches out to squeeze my hand. He smiles up at me. “Thank you too.”
Kianna leaves the room to get Arlo’s medicine.
“You don’t have to thank me.”
He nods. “Yeah, I do, because you’re on my side.”
I tighten my fingers around his hand. “Of course I’m on your side, baby boy.” He sticks his bottom lip out. It’s so dry and cracked, and every time I see it, it makes my chest ache. “I’m gonna get Theo or Luca to bring us some chapstick for that poor lip of yours.”
“Will you please lay with me?”
“That’s not a good idea,” Kianna says, stepping smoothly back into the room.
She hands Arlo a little paper cup with two pills in it, then a small cup of water.
