AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTERTHIRTY
JADE
“So it was just the flu?” I ask, not sure if I understand her correctly. I’ve been stuck in this damn hospital the last few days because of the damn flu? People don’t go to the hospital for those.
“Yes,” Dr. Hendriks nods, her eyes scanning my chart. “But thankfully, your brother caught it early and brought you here so we could treat it. Since your immune system has been compromised after the chemo, your body is more prone to getting severe cases of the flu and any other infectious diseases. Unfortunately for you, the flu isn’t something you can easily brush off.”
“Just my damn luck. When can I go home?” I ask at the same time Nixon appears in the doorway. “You’re going home?”
“Nixon!” My heart skips a beat as I look at my brother standing in the doorway of my room, his tall frame blocking my view.
Dr. Hendriks chuckles. “Your labs have come back as good as we can have them at this point, and your fever has been down for the past twenty-four hours. If you promise me you’ll behave, I can see about getting you discharged today.”
I shift in my bed, my muscles groaning in protest. My fever might have gone down, but my body is still feeling the consequences of the flu. I feel like a twenty-year-old stuck in an eighty-year-old’s body. “Oh, please, please, please.”
“And you’ll stay indoors as much as possible? I’m afraid there are no more football games for you in the future.”
It wasn’t the football game, though, not entirely anyhow, but I don’t dare correct her. I haven’t told anybody what happened after the game, what I saw in that locker room, or how I wandered around campus while I tried to process it all, which landed me in this bed.
It was my own damn fault.
I force out a smile. “Anything to get me out of here faster.”
“Okay, I’ll let the nurses know to take care of the paperwork, and then I’ll see you for your chemo session next week.”
“Thank you, Dr. Hendriks.”
The woman nods before leaving the room. Nixon lets her pass and then steps inside. My gaze shifts toward the door as my stomach clenches in anticipation.
“He’s not here.”
My head falls back against the pillow as I close my eyes.
Dammit, Prescott.
He hasn’t come since the night they brought me here. The moment I could get my hands on my phone, I tried calling him and texting, but I hadn’t heard back.
God only knows what he’s thinking in that stubborn head of his.
Knowing Prescott? He somehow convinced himself that the whole thing was his fault.
Nixon sits on the bed next to me, his hand covering mine. “How are you doing?”
“Peachy,” I mutter, irritated by the whole situation.
“Really? ‘cause you look like shit.”
“As if you’re any better.”
It’s not Nixon’s fault. He’s been amazing through it all. Between classes, studying, football, and staying here, he’s been working himself to the bone, and it shows. Dark circles are under his eyes, and his usually clean-shaven face is all scruffy.
“Sorry, that was uncalled for. I’m just ready to go back home.”
“I’ve been thinking about that, and I…”
“No.”
Nixon’s eyes narrow. “But you haven’t even let me finish.”
