Tiffany
A man was crying. A broken and desperate sound came from his shaking body. I heard him pray, beg, and make me promises. I recognized his voice, although the emotions stuck in his throat made it sound more hoarse than usual.
Every time my eyes closed to rest, he prayed out loud for my eyes to open again. Kyle had to be completely shattered to act so hopeless. I’d caused this. I caused him this pain by bringing back his horrifying past to haunt his mind. When I’d left, I didn’t want to leave him. Everything scared me with its sudden intensity, and I’d acted on impulse. If only I could’ve told Kyle how much I care about him, how my days are slow when I can’t see him or don’t expect to see him. He’d made my life in Seattle a whole lot better. I still had trust issues, and probably would until I died, but he had gained some of my trust.
All day was spent in and out of sleep. The pain medication mixed with the dimenhydrinate they’d given me for my nausea made me unable to stay up more than thirty minutes at a time. By the end of the afternoon, I was able to eat an oatmeal muffin and keep it down. By that point, I was ready to do pretty much anything they wanted if it got me the hell out of there. A recurring burning sensation from the cuts came and went, but they’d been treated and my wrist had already been wrapped in a brace. They had no reason to keep me here any longer. All the test results had come back and nothing was wrong with me, apart from the surface wounds.
It was about nine o’clock at night when Kyle took over pushing my wheelchair out of the hospital and to his car. While the nurse held the chair steady, Kyle took my hand to help me get in. This was the first time we’d held hands and it was… amazing. It didn’t take much for me to swoon, a simple act of kindness in public. He kissed my temple numerous times on the ride home. Like he’d said earlier, he was taking me to his place, where I discovered most of my clothes had been moved into his wardrobe. Sweet.
“Sit here, beautiful. The doctor said you needed rest.” He held my hand until I was safe on his couch. “Are you hungry?”
“I’m famished. For something more than a muffin.”
He chuckled. “I’m hungry, too. Stay here, I’ll put something together in a jiff.” He kissed my lips and tucked me under a warm blanket. His couch caressed my back a lot better than the hospital bed.
I watched him walk away with a smile on my lips. Maybe I was naïve, but I didn’t know what we were exactly. Noises echoed from the other room—pans colliding, glass being moved around—and I pictured him in there cooking for me. The smells coming from the kitchen were intoxicating and made my stomach growl louder. Feeling weaker with each minute, I had to eat soon or I would pass out. Closing my eyes to rest, I did everything I could not to fall asleep again.
But I failed.
“Tiff, you with me? Or are you in the land of dreams? Tiffany?”
I heard him. Fuzzy. Distant.
“Tiff, wake up, you have to eat something.”
I forced my eyes open to a plate of homemade white cheddar mac-and-cheese and grilled chicken breast waiting for me. It all looked mouth-watering, and exactly what my stomach had craved. “This is going to be so freaking good, Kyle. Thanks.”
“You better start eating now. You look exhausted.”
“Aren’t you eating?” I asked, and he nodded then disappeared into the kitchen. He returned with a second plate and glass of water.
“How’s your arm and wrist?”
I tried lifting my stitched arm but the pain made me drop my fork on the small coffee table facing the couch. My other side was hindered by a broken wrist, so I had no idea how all this food would make its way to my mouth. Running out of energy, I started to cry at how helpless I felt. What was I going to do with two useless arms? Going to the bathroom alone would be brutal. Dammit.
“Hey, beautiful. Don’t worry. I’ll feed you. Look at me, Tiff. I’m here for you, don’t you forget it.” Brushing away my tears, he gave me a small smile. “This is why I wanted you here with me. I’m going to take care of you, okay?” He picked up my fork, scooped some macaroni on it, and fed me. All I had to do was eat. We proceeded the same way for the next two bites. And then until I couldn’t take it anymore and burst into a laughing fit at how miserable my life was.
“K, seriously. This is a disaster, my life is a disaster. What am I going to do when you have to go to work? And… and... I can’t work like this. Oh, my god, Kyle. This is a nightmare.” Laughter changed to sobs. My mood kept changing; I couldn’t even keep up with myself.
“Tiffany, stop worrying. Levi and Val can cover work until you are better. Trust me, taking some vacation days might do me good, too. I haven’t taken much time off from the shop in the past couple of years. Don’t feel bad, I want to do this for you. To show you I can be good and earn your trust. Completely.”
He waited for me to say something but words failed me. Why was he doing this for me? He cared, okay… but taking time off from work for me? “Kyle…”
“No, Tiff. Now, you eat. Then, I’ll brush your teeth and you’ll get some rest. You are far too tired and you need sleep. Doctor’s orders.” He brought another scoop of macaroni to my mouth.
Kyle fed me until I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. I knew I’d hit my head pretty hard because, normally, staying up late had never been a challenged. The more I rested, the faster I would be back to my real life. Work, training and… Kyle. Well, that last part wasn’t going to change now or later. We were together, working on our thing.
“Sleep, beautiful. I’ll join you soon.”
Before drifting off to dreamland, I heard him cleaning the dishes. Even if I wanted to try, I wouldn’t be able to help. You’re useless, Tiff, and in no condition to impress Kyle.
It seemed a moment later his arms found me and folded around me. “Sleep, beautiful. I’m right here.”
I found comfort against his body, feeling it warm mine. If this was going to be my life for the next week, Heaven could be jealous.