Infected

Chapter 11

I groan as my toes cramp inside my comfiest pair of sandals, unused to the feeling of wearing shoes instead of rubberized socks. I'd complained to the nurses the entire time they filled out my release forms about not using a wheelchair to leave and now it was coming back to bite me in the ass.

I woke up fully rested this morning, with Quin nowhere in sight. His absence was explained in a note he'd left for me. He had an early meeting about the fast approaching school year.

The hoodie I'd chosen safely hid away the majority of my cuts and my hair was strategically braided to conceal my neck, but even with that I still felt like a beacon was projecting them onto everyone we passed on the bottom floor of the hospital.

"Aren't you happy to be breaking out of jail?" Galen says amusedly. He's carrying a bag that's filled with the things I'd been using for the past week along with an armful of after care pamphlets. Quin had taken the stack of books with him this morning, but left one alone, the book of poetry he'd read to me. 

"Yes." 

Lies. I was dreading going back home.

"Quin is going to drive you today."

I try to hide my excitement, but a smile creeps through at the mention of spending time with Quin outside of the hospital. This day just got a whole lot better.

"Why can't you take me?" I ask, my tune noticeably changed.

"He requested it, said it had something to do with last night. I think it's just an excuse to spend more time with you."

I can't think of what happened that could warrant him being my personal chauffeur for the afternoon. Maybe this was just another one of his apologies, for something that's out of his control.

"Don't be jealous Galen. I've placed Quin under my spell of helplessness, he's just acting on it." I grin at him and he laughs, the kind that is beautiful genuine. I couldn't get enough of it. If he was happy then I was happy, even if I was on the verge of a breakdown about going home. Maybe I could convince Quin to take a detour for a few hours, just to buy some time.

"Actually I think it's the other way around. I've never seen you so open to a person taking you home at a moment's notice, and a man like Quin no less."

"You don't like him spending time with me do you?" I accuse, hitting home at what he's getting at. "Is there something you're not telling me about him?"

Galen opens the door for me and we walk into the warm August afternoon.

It was a nice day out. The sporadic rain had soaked into the trees, making them a bright and healthy green. Even the grass seemed to have more life in it as we walked by small patches of it. I breathe in the fresh air finding no relief from the anxiety I felt about leaving Liv behind.

"No, Quin is an open book. What you see is what you get with him. All I'm saying is just don't get used to him being with you. Once the semester starts he won't be around so often, and forming a dependence on him will do no good. I know you're happy with him, I've seen the way you react to his name." 

I blush.

"Don't forget you have others you can rely on besides him. Like Mel, for instance. She's excited to have you back home."

Galen was a perceptive man, more than I give him credit for. Sure, I may have a teeny crush on Quin, but I wouldn't want to label it. I saw him as a friend, but with an inkling of something more. Perhaps it was fascination that he even existed in my life, a god next to a mangled mortal. But even with my awestruck view of him, I shouldn't forget the friends I had before he came around.