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“No, I’m treating you like you have epilepsy, Kate.” She squeezes her eyes shut, the word hitting her like a lash from a whip, the same way it did a moment ago. I take a deep breath adding, “And there isn’t anything wrong with it. But there are good days and bad days. And if I had to guess, today’s a particularly bad one, considering how your roommates responded. So yeah. We’re going to treat it like a bad day. And we’re going to acknowledge it. And we’re going to get through it.”
She shakes her head, then presses the heel of her hand against it, wincing.
My frustration dissipates instantly. But I don’t reach for her. I don’t offer any comfort. She doesn’t want it, anyway.
With another sigh, I murmur, “Headache?”
She drops her hand back to her lap and stares blankly in front of her again. “I’m fine.”
Sure, she is.
“You know it isn’t a weakness, right?” I mutter, scrubbing my hand over my face and spreading my legs wide in front of me as the ambulance pulls up to the emergency room. “Asking for help. Acknowledging you have a battle most people couldn’t even dream of fighting.”
Her nostrils flare, but she doesn’t look at me.
“You’re a badass, Kate,” I add as Felix shifts the ambulance into park. “A prickly badass, but even prickly badasses are allowed to have bad days sometimes.”
Without another word, we head inside the hospital, where the nurse asks Kate a bunch of questions after confirming I’m allowed to stay in the room with her. Kate tells them it’s fine but doesn’t bother acknowledging me the rest of the time we’re here. The doctors run a bunch of tests, eventually concluding there’s no reason to admit her to the hospital. And when I drive her home, thanks to Theo dropping my car off at the hospital after he and Blakely parted ways, Kate slams the car door behind her. With folded arms, she walks toward the townhome she shares with her roommates, not bothering to look back at me.
The front porch lights flicker on as Kate reaches the steps and walks to the door. It opens, revealing one of her roommates, who pulls her into a hug almost instantly. We haven’t been introduced, but she has a sleeve of tattoos on one arm and piercings along the shell of her ear as she meets my gaze over Kate’s shoulder. She dips her chin in gratitude as she guides Kate inside.
Kate’s right about one thing.
She’s definitely well over eighteen. My guess is closer to twenty-five or so. Doesn’t make it okay for me to be attracted to her. She’s still young. Too young for a guy like me. A guy with my shitty baggage.
I shake my head and shove my car into reverse.
Guess my job here is done.
2
KATE
A few weeks later
“Seriously, this is going to besogood for you,” Blakely tells me as she turns off her car.
I peek up at the large brick building and frown. The new gym opened a few weeks ago. The owner decided to give LAU students a promo code when signing up, only charging us eight dollars a month for the first year.
Which is great.
If you like exercise.
And being around your fellow classmates who also like exercise and a good deal.
Maybe I’d also be a fan of the circumstances if I wasn’t such a recluse.
Except I am.
A recluse.
Usually, anyway.
Blakely, however, is an exercise junkie. She’s practically a bean pole and has the energy to prove it. Meanwhile, I’m curves upon curves despite my morning walks. Which I’m fine with. It’s not like guys are on my radar right now, anyway. Not after Wes broke up with me after finding out about my condition. Besides, I have other things to figure out. Like, why the hell I had a seizure a few weeks ago, and if I need to mess with my medication. Or, ya know, how I’m supposed to get to work with my license suspended for three months, thanks to said seizure.
Epilepsy’s a bitch.
Plain and simple.
