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Nothing.
He chose me.
I almost laughed out loud at the voice in my head. Theo hadn’t chosen me. I’d been the lesser of two evils.
I needed to remember that.
Just like I needed to remember that going forward, I needed to always be in nurse mode when I dealt with Theo.
I took his vitals quickly but when he lifted his hand that had the IV in it, I said, “Not just yet.”
“I want—”
“It out,” I finished for him, unable to hide the irritation in my voice.
Nurse hat, Lincoln… nurse hat.
“It needs to stay in for another day so I can push antibiotics one more time. The hydration will help with getting you back on your feet more quickly. So will rest and sleep.”
We were both silent as I finished taking his vitals. As I’d suspected, his temperature was almost normal again and all his other numbers looked good.
I was in the middle of cleaning my equipment with sterile wipes when Theo impatiently said, “I need to go to my room.” He paused before adding, “Now.”
“Fine,” I said as I stood. A tiny, spiteful part of me wanted to take several giant steps from him, but thankfully the nurse hat quashed the thought. I reached for Theo’s elbow to give him some leverage when he stood, but not surprisingly, he pulled away from me.
I sighed and said, “Take it slow. Put one hand on the nightstand if you need to.”
He didn’t listen, of course. Instead, he used the mattress as leverage for his uninjured arm and pushed himself up. It took a couple of tries but I wasn’t foolish enough to offer to help him. Whatever life had thrown at this kid, he’d faced it alone. I had no doubt about that. He needed every victory he could get, even if they were tiny ones.
As discreetly as I could, I slid the IV pole out from between the bed and the nightstand and rolled it toward Theo. Technically the pole wasn’t designed to balance a person’s weight in any kind of way, but I’d be right there if Theo took the bait and used it to lessen the strain he was putting on his body.
Theo ignored it at first but after a few more efforts to get off the bed completely on his own, his left hand closed around the pole. He was breathing heavily but that didn’t stop him. I doubted that he’d noticed that I’d put my foot against the pole’s wheels to keep it from sliding away from him.
Once he was fully upright, both his hands clinging to the pole and his body leaning against it, I saw him look down at the bed. I couldn’t figure out what the look meant until he shifted his gaze to his underwear and legs.
He wanted the sheet so he could cover his legs.
In that moment, I wanted to give it to him more than I wanted my next breath, but I knew the bedding was too big and bulky and would only hinder his efforts to move. If the young man would just let his stubborn fucking pride go for a few seconds, I could’ve easily lifted him and carried him to his bed.
I could at least have reminded him that I’d already seen almost every inch of his body, but I kept the comment to myself. Instead, I said, “Take it slow. If you feel dizzy—”
With one shaky hand, he waved my words away as if they were nothing but annoying little gnats.
He didn’t take it slow, nor did he look at me once as he took three tiny steps forward before letting out a little whimper as every part of his body protested the moves and let him know in the unkindest of ways. I quickly maneuvered my left arm around his waist as his knees gave out and he released his viselike grip on the IV pole.
Theo let out a small cry as his body pressed against mine. I wasn’t sure if it was a cry of relief or disappointment.
Or worse, pain.
“Does anything hurt?” I immediately asked as I tried to soften my grip on him but still keep him upright. I automatically began moving him back toward the bed.
“No!” he cried as he tried to step forward again. “Lincoln, no,” he whispered desperately.
I paused in my actions and glanced down at him. To my surprise, he was gazing at me. He slowly turned to look at the bathroom. “I need to… I need…” was all he could get out before his cheeks became flushed with pink.
Jesus fucking Christ, Lincoln.
I wanted to kick myself for my idiocy.
