Devin
“Princess.” I hear Sebastian whisper,and something warm lands on my cheek. As I crack open my eyes, I see his sapphire eyes staring at me as he strokes his thumb on my cheek. “Hi, beautiful. You need to get up for me. You need to eat dinner and take your medicine, and we have to change your bandages.”
At the mention of changing my bandages, my eyes fly open and I try to sit up.
“Take it easy,” Sebastian orders. “I have some soup for you and your meds. I wasn’t sure if you were ready for something heavy, and I didn’t want to wake you. Is this okay?”
There’s a tray sitting on the coffee table, complete with a bowl of what looks like chicken noodle soup, a few crackers, and a bottle of ginger ale. I must have fallen asleep while we were watchingThe Notebook.
“It’s perfect,” I answer before yawning. I sit up slowly, by body still heavy with sleep.
“Your antibiotics are in the cup.” He points. “I put your pain medicine in there too. I figured you might want to take it before we remove the bandages.”
As badly as I want to know what’s under them, I don’t at the same time. I opt to enjoy my last little bit of blissful ignorance before we see how bad the damage is. I don’t care what the doctor said, his definition of “not that bad” and my definition are most likely two different things.
“Are you going to eat with me?” I ask, nodding toward the tray. “There’s only a meal for one on there.”
“Sure.” He nods. “If you’d like me to.”
He’s only gone for a few minutes before returning with his own bowl, and he takes a seat next to me.
“This smells delicious,” I say, inhaling the divine scent of the soup.
He smiles. “It’s your favorite.”
“You ordered from Panera?” I shove a spoonful of hot soupy goodness into my mouth before asking, “How did you know?”
“I texted Brielle while you were sleeping.” He hitches a shoulder, looking a little bashful. “I figured you could use something you love to comfort you before we check out what’s under those.” He juts his chin out, gesturing to the white gauze and tape covering parts of my upper body.
This man. If someone would have told me on Tuesday we’d be here, I would have thought they were crazier than Crystal. Despite all she has done to me, I do have this to thank her for. She showed Sebastian and me what is really important. Us.
“I already have you.”
A smile stretches across his lips, and I swear I see a tinge of pink in his cheeks. We eat our dinner in silence. I pause every now and again to look over at Sebastian to find him looking back at me.
“What?”
“Nothing.” He eyes me softly. “You’re just beautiful, that’s all.”
A few moments later, he stands from his chair and places his bowl on my tray before taking away the empty dishes.
“Come on.” He offers me a hand, and it feels like all the air has been sucked out of the room as we walk to the bathroom.
There’s a Duane Reade bag on the counter, and I watch as Sebastian pulls out a box of gauze pads and medical tape, placing them alongside the tubes with prescription labels on them.
“Do you know what you’re doing?” I ask him nervously as he opens the boxes and starts pulling out packages of gauze.
He nods. “I spoke with the nurse at the hospital earlier, and I watched a few videos on YouTube. You really can find just about everything on there.”
That gets a nervous chuckle out of me.
Sebastian grabs my hand and links his fingers through mine, squeezing. “It’s going to be fine, Devin. The nurse told me that your injuries weren’t too bad, all things considered. We have to rinse with the saline solution. Pat them dry. Apply the cream and re-cover. Then repeat in the morning. She said to change them every twelve hours until you follow up with your primary doctor on Monday.”
Now it’s my turn to nod. Turmoil rolls in my gut. My anxiety grows at an unfathomable rate. My breathing accelerates, and I wish I could get a handle on it. There’s nothing I can do to change the damage that’s already been done, but my brain doesn’t seem to be able to communicate that fact to the rest of me.
“Deep breaths, princess,” Sebastian says, trying to soothe me as he guides me the few steps to the toilet. “Sit.”
I follow his movements as he stands between my legs and begins peeling back the tape, ever so gently, from my chest. The seconds fly by yet seem to last a lifetime as he removes the dressings.
