Bloodcurse

The Truth

As expected, Adam was furious.

The doctor was kind enough not to react to his angry tirade at how irresponsible and unbelievable Grayson is, and I waited until she was gone to tell my brother that it was me who chose to get out of bed prematurely and wander around the house.

Adam sighs deeply, slumping into the chair next to my bed as he rubs a hand over his tired face. "You two are going to be the death of me. You're like children whenever you're together, it's honestly incredible."

Rolling my lips together to suppress a smile, I lay a hand on Adam's knee, and he lifts his head to look at me with an exasperated exhale.

"Sorry, Adam. It's just so boring in here all by myself..."

My brother crinkles his forehead in a weary frown. "I'm going to get you an endless supply of Sudoku if it prevents you from tanking my opinion of Gray in the future."

"Oh, come on. As if anyone could ever do that. The way you look at each other... it's like you're the only two people in the whole universe."

Adam smiles. "You're lucky you're cute."

I strike a silly pose, resting the back of my hand theatrically on my forehead. "What can I say? Even after being mauled by a crazed vampire hunter, I am the picture of beauty and grace."

"Correction: vampire hunter, period. They're all crazed. And you're not allowed to joke about it in my presence at least until those bandages come off."

Scrunching my face up as much as the band-aids and dressings will allow me, I nod apologetically. "Right... sorry. I forget that I'm not the only one affected by my near-death-experience."

"No, you're not. Thank you. Do you want a shirt?"

"Huh?"

"You're shivering. I can grab you a shirt and maybe a pair of sweatpants."

Looking down at myself, I realize that Adam is right. I guess even though it's still very warm, October is not a good time for invalids to run around in only shorts and socks. There are so many bandages on my body that I didn't even notice how under-dressed I am.

"That would be awesome. Thanks."

Adam disappears into the closet for a while, and it's becoming more difficult by the second not to crack an insensitive joke about it. When he comes out - don't make a joke, don't... - he's carrying a sage green sweater and some black pants that look rather comfortable.

"Here," he says, laying them on the bed next to me, "those should work. I have to get going now, but I'll be back tomorrow morning. Will you be okay until then?"

"Sure. Where are you going?"

He smirks crookedly. "To apologize. Might have called Grayson an immature cretin."

I laugh, and Adam does the same before he waves and steps outside, closing the door behind him. With a little bit of difficulty, I pull the pants over my feet and legs, tying a small bow with the string that goes around the waistband. They really are soft.

I'm in the process of trying to figure out how to get into the sweater without ripping all of my stitches when I hear a knock at the door, and I fully expect Adam to barge in and announce he forgot his car keys. He's never been good at keeping track of them.

The door opens just a fraction. Confused, I lower my arms that are already half inside the sleeves of the sweater. "Come in already. Why are you knocking?"