Her voice sounded a little weak. I picked up my pace, moving towards the sound. I found her pushing up from where she’d clearly been lying on the living room couch. “Are you okay?”
“Fine. Just a headache.”
I moved in, sitting on the coffee table in front of her and surveying her face. Her brows were pinched, and her eyes squinted. “Lights hurt?”
She nodded and then winced.
“Have you taken anything?”
“No. I don’t have any medicine.”
I muttered a curse and stood. “Wait here.” I knew Hayes kept a stocked first-aid kit in the house, but Addie wouldn’t touch anything that wasn’t hers.
I made my way into the kitchen and crossed to the pantry. The kit was right on the bottom shelf. Picking it up, I grabbed a glass of water and headed back to Addie. “Are you feeling nauseous at all?”
“Maybe a little.”
Addie’s normally golden skin looked pale, almost gray. I hurried to unlatch the kit and handed her the glass of water. “Have you been getting these often since your concussion?”
She stiffened, her spine straightening. “Not often. But every now and then.”
I poured out a couple of pills and handed them to her. “Start with these. If it doesn’t knock it out, I can give you something stronger.” I’d go back and open the clinic if I needed to. Addie swallowed the pills. “This can be a long-term effect of the concussion, but I’d like to see you at the clinic to do a full workup, just to cover our bases.”
“I can’t.”
“Addie, it’s just me. There’s no reason to be frightened—”
“I don’t have health insurance.”
Well, shit. I could see her pro-bono, but the costs would be astronomical if she needed tests or medicine.
She toyed with the edging of a couch cushion. “I was going to try to get some once I got my first paycheck from my new job. I just couldn’t swing it before now.”
“I can help you apply if you want. I know the good plans, and there are programs to help make it more affordable.”
“I don’t want charity.” Her
hazel eyes blazed with a flame so hot, it could leave third-degree burns.
“It’s not charity. You’ll still have to pay, but it’s a sliding scale based on how much you earn at your job.”
She eyed me skeptically.
“I’m telling the truth.”
“Okay.” She swallowed. “Thank you. I would appreciate the help.”
Why did Addie agreeing to let me help her with health insurance make me feel as if I’d won the lottery? But as I got lost in those eyes as the heat in them subsided, I knew it was because she was letting me in. Letting me help. For the average person, it was no big deal. But for Addie, it was the first piece of her trust. And that was everything.
9
ADDIE
I sat in the breakfast nook alone, nursing my cold cereal. The quiet I normally adored felt lonely today. In only a matter of days, I’d gotten used to Beckett’s presence. More than that, I’d grown to like it.
I lifted a spoonful of soggy cereal into my mouth and chewed. I was a coward. I’d stayed in my room this morning until I heard the front door shut and his bike take off down the street.
The idea of facing him after yet another revelation of how not-normal I was had been too much. The truth was, I didn’t know the first thing about how to find health insurance. I’d checked out one book at the library about it, but it had discussed internet searches and marketplaces that I had no idea how to navigate.