Once Van was erect, his green orbs zeroed in on my eyes. “I can barely walk, I have to take this thing” —he looked at the silver stand— “with me, and you want to know every dark secret. I’m not the one who will run. You will. Or you should.”
“I’m not running, Van. I’m here for you.”
He scoffed.
“Tell me,” I said, “if this were reversed…If I’d been shot and needed assistance to go to the bathroom, would you run away?”
“Fuck no. I’d carry you.”
I reached for the silver stand and moved a few feet next to him, until we reached the bathroom. I opened the door. “Let me carry you.”
Before Van passed me, he stopped. Letting go of the walker, he inhaled and gingerly stood straighter until his shoulders were back and his chest was out. Even with only socks on his feet, Van was tall, much taller than I. His wide chest was before me as his hands came to my hips.
“Seeing you walk into this room was the best fucking thing I’ve seen in my life.”
I lifted my hands to his shoulders. “I couldn’t stay away.”
He tugged me closer. “I don’t like the way I feel.”
I leaned closer, easing my soft against his hard. “I like the way you feel.”
The gold flecks settled as the green dominated in his orbs. “I feel like I can lose you. I feel like you’ll decide I’m not worth the trouble.”
“If you allow me to carry you now” —I giggled— “metaphorically, when you’re well, you can carry me wherever you want, for whatever you want.”
His chest inflated. “Whatever?”
“Whatever. I trust you, Mr. Sherman.”
Holding my cheeks, he gave me a kiss.
As he reached again for the walker, I pushed the silver stand into the bathroom and asked, “Do you need help in there?”
“I’m not ready for that,” he said with a sly grin. “When I am, you’ll be the first to know.”
Before Van came out of the bathroom, there was a knock preceded by a man in green scrubs. “Hello. I’m Donovan’s nurse.”
It seemed that once again, Van had successfully dodged our conversation.
I didn’t mind.
I wasn’t going anywhere.
There was no rush to learn his secrets, only the peace of knowing he will tell me.
Van
My eyes opened as a new nurse entered the hospital room. Each interruption grated on my nerves. I’d achieved what they required for me to be released—eat, drink, and shit. I was more than ready to get out of this fishbowl.
However, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever sleep all the way through an entire night again. It seemed that each time I fell asleep, someone else was entering the room to check this or change that. I’d been conscious for five days. The last four days and nights Julia kept her word, not leaving my side. Currently, she was sleeping in the large recliner. Despite it being laid back, she had curled herself into a ball with only her golden hair showing.
Julia wasn’t only at my side while I slept; she’d been present through updates from my doctors and physical therapists. As much as I wished she didn’t see me lacking strength, her companionship, support, and positive attitude were the ingredients that kept me going.
I’d done as Julia recommended and allowed Lena to stay in the CEO role at Sherman and Madison Corporation. Lena knew business, the ups and downs and the pitfalls. Her oversight was in name more than purpose, allowing my people to keep things going, coming to her when there were questions. She even called daily, giving me brief updates.
Sherman and Madison was progressing. It was the situation with Wade where I felt lacking. Julia had mentioned an email she’d found on her father’s computer. And while she’d spent hours reading on her phone, Julia hesitated to discuss the findings with me, claiming my attention was better spent recuperating.
I had to agree with recuperation. I was on my last nerve in this place.