Page 111 of Property of Bob

“I’ll be back.”

“Take your time,” McKayla called.

Traitors. Every single one of them.

I headed down the hallway.

I was just checking on Bob, and that was all.

He’d looked exhausted when he came out of Church, and I wanted to make sure he’d actually gone to sleep instead of sitting in his room doing something stupid.

That was completely reasonable.

I reached his door and stopped. It was cracked open, and I pushed it wider to peek inside.

The room was dim. Bob had pulled the curtains closed, leaving only a thin line of afternoon light coming through the middle. His wheelchair was parked beside the bed, and Bob was asleep.

He was lying on his back with one arm stretched across the mattress and the blanket pulled up to his waist. His T-shirt was still on, but he’d kicked off his boots. His face looked different when he slept. The hard edges weren’t completely gone, but they weren’t as noticeable.

I stepped inside and quietly closed the door behind me.

Just checking on him.

He was breathing. He was sleeping.

I could leave. Instead, I walked closer.

There was still some color in his face, which made me feel better. The first time I’d seen him in that hospital bed, he’d been so pale that I’d had trouble looking at him without thinking about how close I’d come to showing up too late.

I didn’t like thinking about that.

I looked at the scar across his throat that was healing too. His whole body was healing, but it was slow going.

Bob made a quiet sound and shifted slightly.

I froze, but his eyes stayed closed.

Thank God.

I turned toward the door and then looked back at the bed. Damn it.

Maybe I was tired too. It had been a long few days, and there was a perfectly good empty half of a bed right there.

I’d already slept in it three times. Taking a nap wasn’t any different.

I kicked off my shoes like I couldn’t stop myself. “This is stupid,” I whispered.

Bob didn’t answer.

I walked around the bed and carefully pulled the blanket back.

The mattress dipped when I climbed onto it, but Bob didn’t move.

I lay on my back and stared at the ceiling.

There. I was taking a nap. Nothing weird about it. Two adults could share a bed in the middle of the afternoon without it meaning anything.

I turned my head to see Bob was still asleep.