Second Chances

thirty-four

a l e x

My back was sore from pretending like I was a stick while I slept. I didn't want to burden the injured guy sleeping next to me, and since he wasn't exactly a small person, I just had to act like I was a toothpick to prevent myself from falling off the bed.

I woke up at seven, before anyone came to visit Luke, and I realized I looked like an absolute mess. I didn't know why I woke up that early, but I was guessing that my back just gave up and decided to wake me up.

In the wee hours of the morning, I didn't really care what I threw on my body as long as I wasn't exposing anything personal to the world, but as I looked at myself in the small mirror of the bathroom in Luke's hospital room, I saw just how much I didn't care.

The pair of jeans I had on were the ones I had used from two days before, and my shirt looked like it feared an iron. I guess I got clothes from my laundry basket by accident.

Great. And I didn't even have a toothbrush.

By some miracle, Soph agreed to pass by the hospital and give me some stuff on her way to work. It was a good thing we were basically the same size in clothes and I had a toothbrush at her place; otherwise, I'd be screwed.

Luke was so exhausted that when my best friend came over and dropped off my things a little before eight, he was still sound asleep.

"I'm gonna go ahead and guess that you didn't sleep very well," Maia entered the room and shut the door behind her.

I was on my phone, trying to do whatever work I could without needing a laptop. I was also able to contact someone at Luke's office to tell them about his situation and that he couldn't make it to work.

Thankfully, he only worked on weekdays so he would only have to miss two days of work, because if all went well, he could get back to working after the weekend.

"Could've been better. He woke up around five and made me sleep beside him," I told her. "That didn't help much. All it did was give me a backache, but I think it made him sleep better."

"Sorry. I shouldn't have woken you up and worried you," she apologized. "I just got scared that something bad happened."

I shook my head. "No, I appreciate you calling me. At least I know for sure that he's okay."

"How were you able to get dressed that fast and still have a good outfit?" she stared at me. "I swear I called you and in three minutes, you were in your car."

"Sophie brought me these clothes. I looked like a mess before you came," I laughed lightly.

"Makes sense," she nodded.

We sat in silence, her in the seat beside Luke's bed and me in the corner. I figured she'd not want to be sitting in the corner of the room. It was probably bugging her until she came that she wanted to see her brother.

"Hey, listen, I'm sorry about the whole 'threatening you' thing. I really didn't know the extent of things," she spoke softly, trying not to wake her brother.

"I understand. I talked to Luke about it already and made him tell you everything," I disclosed. "If I'm being honest, I would've done the same thing if I were in your position."

"Thanks, at least I know I'm not crazy."

The room was enveloped in silence again, and it wasn't the least bit awkward. I watched in amusement as Maia poked her brother, playing a game with herself to see how far she could go without waking him up.

"Stop poking me, Maia," he grunted. I guess that was the end of her game. Didn't last very long. I wasn't so surprised though because Luke was a light sleeper too. "I'm trying to sleep."