Page 71 of Floored By Love

I grabbed him some water from the side of the bed. They had brought him a pitcher, but I didn’t want to steal from that earlier for breakfast. I handed him his cup.

Thanks.

“Ooh...one handed now.”

He punched my shoulder with his free hand.

I’m an Olympic gymnast. I think I can handle it.

“Okay, okay. I retract my sarcasm.”

Good.

Now was as good a time as any. “Cam...I...I need to tell you something.”

His face turned to look at me, and I knew I wasn’t imagining the hope there. The anticipation.

“When I heard you were in the hospital, my heart…” He raised his eyebrows, waiting for me to continue. “My heart broke. I felt like I lost you all over again. I had no idea what happened to you or if you were okay. I needed to se-”

“Cam Cam!”

His mother screamed from the doorway, and Noah was right behind her. I quickly stood up, pretending like I hadn’t been reclining next to Cam on his bed. She ran over to her son and wrapped him in a hug. Noah got one too.

“Why didn’t you tell us he was awake?” she turned to me.

I started to explain when I saw Cam tug at his mom’s sleeve. She turned to him.

I told him not to.

“But why, honey?”

And then my sweet, perfect Cam blushed. I hadn’t seen that color on him in a while, and man, I had missed it. She seemed to think about it and leaned down to whisper something in his ear. He wrote something I couldn’t see, and she nodded.

“Does your throat hurt? I’m guessing that’s why you’re writing?”

Cam nodded.

“Okay, sweetie. Well, I’m pushing this button now and we’re getting a doctor in here to look at you. Maybe he can give you something for your throat.”

“Well, your throat looks good, Mr. Kane,” the doctor said, as he pulled out his scope-whatever-it-was from Cam’s throat, “but I’m going to prescribe a precautionary anti-inflammatory and keep you on an antibiotic for now. You can use cough drops to help with a sore throat, and if a cough persists, regular cough syrup is fine.” Cam nodded. “I have a few other recommendations as well,” he continued. “Whatever you do, don’t yell, and please try to limit how much you talk, especially these first few days. Honestly, anything that could irritate your throat, I would avoid - smoke, exhaust, hard foods, those sorts of things. If you do have to go outside for long periods of time, use this,” he said, pulling out a white facemask. “I’d also get a humidifier for the room you sleep in and eating foods with antioxidants, vitamin C, or ginger can also help. I know this is a lot, so I’ve written it all down for you here. There’s also some breathing exercises as well which can help your lungs return to their full capacity.”

Do you think I can still compete?

“I do. Like I said, everything we did was precautionary to give you the best chance at fully healing in the fastest and best way possible. You can also add a nasal spray on there as well.”

Cam wrote that down in the pamphlet the doctor gave him.

“Thank you, Doctor,” Heather said.

“When do you think he can leave?” Noah asked.

“We’re just waiting on one more test result, but if that’s clear, it could be as early as today.”

“Well, that sounds good, honey.”

What test result?

“We took a few samples from your lungs and throat. Just making sure they are clear and healthy.”