Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“It’s clear! We’re all clear! Get someone in here!”
And I really tried to stay awake, but the spinning was too much, and because throwing up would be bad, I passed out instead.
FOUR
Blood loss is one of those tricky things. Most of the time, the injury itself is not that bad, it’s what you do after you take the bullet or knife wound that determines whether you live or die. Basically, it’s the blood loss that will kill you. So it wasn’t that the bullet to my side tore through vital organs. It actually went right through me, in and out. The problem was, I didn’t lie there and put a compress on the injury, both sides, front and back, but instead I got up and walked around, not trying to stop the bleeding in any way. In the end, it was the moving that very nearly killed me.
When I woke up in the hospital, Bodhi was asleep in the recliner beside my bed. He looked terrible. There were dark circles under his eyes, his hair was a mess, his clothes were the same ones he’d been in the last time I saw him, and his shoes were off. I was going to wake him up and tell him to go home, but the nurse who came in shook her head slowly, so I kept my mouth shut. She smiled when I nodded, poured me some water, then lifted the tumbler with the straw in it to my lips. I was only allowed a couple of sips before she moved it, shot something into my IV, and told me to rest. I was out like a light.
The second time I woke up, Bodhi was in the same recliner but now in old, threadbare jeans, a pale-blue crew-neck T-shirt, and an unzipped gray hoodie I was pretty certain belonged to me. He was typing on his government-issue laptop, and I could see that he was working on a report. I knew the form well, the million boxes and the tabbing he was doing.
“Hey,” I whispered, and he jolted, almost throwing the computer off his lap.
“Shit, Jed,” he grumbled, getting up.
“Sorry,” I said, chuckling and regretting it instantly. “Ow, ow. Fuck.”
Moving to my bedside, he leaned over and put a hand in my hair, pushing it back from my face, and stared down at me. “You scared the shit out of me.”
He spoke softly, and because of that I could hear the depth of pain in every syllable. The way his jaw clenched, how red-rimmed his eyes were…my misadventure had been painful for me but had gutted him. I said the only thing I could. “I’m sorry,” I ground out.
“I’ve never seen you that pale. Your lips were gray.”
He looked so sad, broken, and I felt that deep in my chest. “I—”
“You can’t ever do that to me again,” he said in a hoarse whisper.
“No,” I agreed.
The breath he took was choppy. I wasn’t sure he realized he was stroking my hair. “Looking for Petrov was not worth your life.”
“I’m still here, yeah?”
“You know what I mean.”
“I do.” I didn’t need to argue with him because I always knew exactly what he meant in any situation. It was what made us, us.
“You’re such a dick,” he muttered affectionately.
I grinned, so relieved when he bent, kissed my forehead, and then straightened up, still with his hand in my hair as he shook his head.
“Now go back to sleep.”
“What day is it?”
“Wednesday midmorning.”
“Okay.” I closed my eyes.
When my eyes fluttered open, I saw that the curtains were pulled back and it looked like dusk outside. Bodhi was typing again on his work laptop and watching what looked like Aquaman on his personal one.
“What are you doing?”
He turned his head slowly. “Clearly, I’m watching Zack Snyder’s director’s cut of the Justice League and writing a mind-numbing report at the same time.”
“Why?”
“Because my boss will murder me if I don’t get this done.”
“No. I mean why the movie?”
“First, it has a run time of 242 minutes. That will take up many hours which is a very good thing. And second, I like this movie.”
“Okay,” I said, chuckling, realizing I felt so much better already just because he was there.
“You should rest some more.”
“I just woke up,” I grumbled.
“And?” he teased, eyes glinting as he smiled at me. He already knew what I was going to say, he was just waiting now.
I whimpered. “I’m hungry.”
He snickered.
“Come on,” I moaned. “You know I have to eat. I always eat.”
“Fine, I will check and see what you’re allowed to have, and if they give me the okay, I will go get you that disgusting burger with the onions and chili and cheese you like.”
“Oh,” I sighed. “You do still love me.”
He glared at me. “I never stopped doing that.”
I could only stare after him as he left the room. It was things like that, how he talked to me, that were confusing as hell. But he had worried I was going to die, so I needed to factor that into my thinking. Imminent death clouded things. And he did love me, I knew that. I would always be his best friend.