“Hey, we have all the time in the world,” Coop promised me as he put his feet up and grabbed the remote. “You look tired.”
“I feel tired.” I felt worse than tired. It had been a good day, but I still had so much to figure out. “I have to call those therapists and the hospital and…”
“They can wait,” he told me firmly. “None of them are going anywhere, and if you’re tired, you can nap. The guys will be home soon, and even if you only get thirty minutes, you’re going to feel better.”
I didn’t want to miss the guys. “Wake me up if I don’t when they get here?”
“Nope,” he told me with a grin. “’Cause then they’ll get mad at me. Trust me, everyone is more than willing to hang out and wait. I bet you can even convince them to order pizza tonight.”
We kept ordering out food or Jeremy brought over food or one of their moms sent food. There was so much food in the fridge. “Potluck,” I said around a yawn. “We can’t let that stuff go to waste.”
“Right,” Coop murmured, rubbing slow circles against my leg. My last glimpse of him was his smile as he glanced at me. I didn’t even see what he turned on the television.
* * *
The poundingon the door jerked me awake, and I winced even as I blinked around the room. The television was on but quiet, and Ian sat at the coffee table working on his notebook. He jerked too at the pounding on the door.
Jake was halfway across the room heading for the kitchen as I started to sit up. Tiddles leapt off me at the first movement, and I put my right hand down and then winced. A little sound must have escaped, because Ian slid an arm around my back and helped me up.
“Easy,” he said, sitting behind me so he half-propped me up as I cradled my splinted wrist. “You okay?”
The pounding on the door came again just as Jake wrenched it open. “What?” That growl was all kinds of hostile, and I strained to see who it was, but between the door, the angle, and Jake, I couldn’t see who it was.
“Good evening, dickhead. I’ve come to see my BFF, so if you wouldn’t mind…”
Rachel’s voice carried, and the combination of insolence and annoyance made me smile, even if my wrist ached.
“You could have called,” Jake said, unmoved from his position. “Why the hell were you pounding on the door like that?”
“One, I have called and you guys keep telling me she’s asleep, and she hasn’t answered my texts. Two, I knocked like that because I’d rather you didn’t pretend you didn’t hear me.”
Guilt stabbed at me, and I glanced up at Ian who wore a frown. “I’m okay,” I said quietly, then held up wrist. “I think I forgot while I was asleep.” The pain meds always muddled me anyway.
“Yeah, good.” But he didn’t move away, if anything, he just sat there and let me lean into him. And you know, it was nice, so I let myself lean into him, too.
“Rach…” Jake began.
“Save it, dickhead. I brought her coffee and chocolate, and I’m not budging until I see her. You guys have played guardian at the gate for a week. It’s cute, I appreciate it. Now get the hell out of my way.”
“I need to go and deal with that,” I told Ian. The last thing I wanted was Jake slamming the door in her face or for it to escalate.
“She’s asleep,” Jake replied, the testiness in his voice hitting epic proportions.
“I got this,” Ian promised. “Not anymore.” He pitched his voice a little louder, and Jake yanked around to glare at him, though the moment his gaze connected with mine, it softened a bit. It also gave Rachel an opening, and she squeezed right past him with a pair of coffees in hand and a bag dangling off her wrist.
She looked good. Dark hair pulled back into a ponytail and dressed in jeans and t-shirt with some band logo on it that I didn’t know. “You look like crap,” she said by way of greeting, and I almost laughed. Expression thunderous, Jake closed the door and stalked after her.
“This is your idea of checking on her?”
“Well, it is when she’s sitting here all pale and leaning on shit for brains like a good stiff wind will knock her over. On the other hand…” Rachel set the coffees down and cocked her head to the side as I met her dry gaze. “You also look a little bit like a badass.”
“Only a little bit?” I said, sitting up more as Ian pressed his hand against my spine to support me until I swung my feet around. He kept his touch below the remnants of the bruise on my back. I didn’t think about it much unless someone put pressure on it, and then it reminded me that it hurt. The blanket tangled around me, I had to tug it off before I stood.
“Well, maybe a lot,” Rachel conceded, and then she took another step toward me and put the coffee on the table. “Can I give you a hug?”
“Sure,” I said, and it wasn’t as awkward as I feared as she wrapped her arms around me.
“Be careful of her back,” Jake ordered, and I met his gaze over Rachel’s shoulder. Worry filtered through his eyes, and I mouthed ‘I’m okay.’ He frowned but nodded.