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I smiled at Tully, his face in my palm. “My husband.”
“Okay, we’ll get going,” Mrs Larson said brightly. Changing the topic, probably. “Tully, Ellis will wait for you at the car. And Jeremiah, we’ll be back in the morning. Get some rest, sweetheart.”
I managed a smile and a nod as they left—Mr Larson led Ellis out before he could speak—and Doctor Jillick gave Tully a stern glare. “One minute.”
Tully kissed my palm, and when we were alone, he met my eyes. “She says one minute a lot.” He looked so tired, as if he’d had the worst day. “Jem, about the husband thing,” he whispered.
“Your mum told me.”
“Don’t be mad or freak out,” he added. “It’s just quicker and easier.”
I dropped my hand and patted the bed. “Can you sit up here?”
He sat on the edge of the bed. “You okay?”
I was so tired and short of breath. “Lie down with me.”
He didn’t need telling twice. He crammed himself on the edge of my bed, half lying on me, his head in the crook of my neck.
If I had one minute left with him, this was exactly how I wanted to spend it.
We didn’t speak; anything that needed to be said could wait. We just lay there, his body, his warmth, all that I needed right then.
He made everything better.
Until Doctor Jillick pulled back the curtain, took one look at us, and sighed. She gave Tully a nod of her head that said it was time to leave.
He whined, but he got up. He kissed my forehead, then my lips. Right in front of her, and I didn’t even care.
“Get some sleep. I’ll be back at breakfast time.”
Doctor Jillick said, “Visiting hours are—”
“I’ll be back at breakfast time.” He kissed the side of my head. “I love you.” Then he paused for a second, staring into my eyes before pulling away. He gave me a nod with such sadness on his face, then disappeared behind the curtain.
Doctor Jillick talked about me trying a light dinner and how tomorrow, if my ECG continued to improve, I’d maybe get moved to another ward.
But I couldn’t get the look on Tully’s face out of my mind. Was he sad because he had to leave?
Probably.
But it looked like more than that.
“Doctor Overton?”
“I don’t know if I’m terribly hungry,” I said. The scent of the food being served to other patients was awful, and I was having trouble keeping my eyes open.
“Well, if you move to another ward, your husband can stay.”
My husband.
My heart fluttered at the word, and I was suddenly utterly exhausted. “Then maybe I could try and eat something.” My words sounded garbled, and I got butterflies in my chest, and I was very dizzy. I was having trouble keeping my head up.
“Jeremiah, look at me,” Doctor Jillick said. She sounded mad. And far away.
I tried to focus, but the jitteriness in my chest stole my breath.
Then everything went dark.
