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It comes out scratchy, but it’s audible.
King’s chest expands with an inhale, then he comes around to the side of my bed.
His big hands are so careful. So damn careful when he helps me up, that I can’t stop the tears from starting again. And his palms are so gentle, as they steady my shoulders when I’m sitting up, with my legs over the edge of the bed.
Seeing the tears, King crouches before me. “Am I hurting you?”
My vision swims, being upright taking its toll on me, so I close my eyes as I answer, “No. It’s…”
“Here.” I slide one eye open to see him holding a cup with a straw to my lips.
Grateful, I take a sip. The cool water soothing my aching throat.
I open my mouth to say more, to ask him why he’s acting like I’ve died, but he stops me. “Save your energy, Savannah.”
Just Savannah.
To undo the ties of the hospital gown, King has to let go of my shoulders.
The loss makes me feel unsteady, so I reach out with my good hand and place my palm against his chest.
He freezes at my touch, and I don’t know why. I just know that I hate it.
With my gown off, King pulls a loose t-shirt over my head, one I recognize as his.
Then, he kneels before me, a pair of his sweatpants in hand, and he slides them up my legs, pulling the elastic bottoms up over my feet, so the extra material bunches at my ankles, and I realize these must be the pair I took from him before.
He gets halfway up my thighs, as far as he can get with me still sitting, then he pulls out a pair of his socks and slides them on.
My crying seems to bother him, so I bite down on my lip, trying my hardest to hold the tears back. But watching him dress me in his clothes, when it would’ve been just as easy to bring my own…it’s tying my heart in knots.
As he rises, he pulls another two items out of the bag that I hadn’t expected.
He undoes the fastening at the back of the baseball hat, making it as loose as possible, before gently setting it on my head. The worn material resting lightly on my hair, not bothering my injury, but blocking out light from above.
Then he leans down, so he can slide a pair of expensive looking sunglasses onto my face.
They’re clearly his, since they’re big, and aren’t tight against my temples.
I can’t stop my sniffle, and staring straight ahead of me, I watch his throat work on a swallow.
“Let’s get you up, okay?” His words are soft and I want to know why he’s acting like this.
Together, we get me on my feet, and with a hand around my waist holding me steady, King pulls the sweatpants up the rest of the way.
It’s so close to an embrace, that I close my eyes and pretend it is.
CHAPTER84
King
I stand in the doorway,watching Savannah sleep on our bed, and I want to go to her. I want to hold her in my arms and tell her everything is going to be okay.
I want to hold her like I did when I carried her up here. But she only let me do that because she was asleep. Because there was no other choice.
“Rest, Baby,” I whisper into the dark room, then shut the door.
CHAPTER85
