Timing Is Everything

Chapter Nine~ Hayden

Recap:

The door suddenly opens, cutting off Susan’s sentence. Blake enters, looking extremely happy, more than usual.

“Hey, Blake! I’ve barely seen you all day,” I greet him.

“We have a guest,” he announces.

“Who is-”

Now my sentence is cut off.

The door suddenly opens again and I find myself staring into intense, dark blue eyes.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

CHAPTER NINE~ HAYDEN.





“Cole?” I ask uncertainly.

The raven-haired man stares at me for a moment with an unreadable expression on his face before saying softly, “Hayden.”

“Cole!” Susan gets up and smiles warmly at him. She then turns to Blake for an explanation.

Blake’s smile takes up at least half his face and he says enthusiastically,

“I guess our walk helped. Cole and I had a wonderful conversation about ice cream. But I still think rainbow sherbet is the best.” He gives Cole a pointed look.

Cole shakes his head stubbornly before turning to Susan and me.

He tells us, “Blake told me that if we can’t find out what’s wrong with me soon, then I’ll be taken away to a different facility. And it’d be less pleasant.”

He says it so relax and indifferent, as if describing the weather. Half of me wants to be mad about how little he seems to care, but the other half wants to throw myself at him for being able to express feelings. Wait. No, not throw myself at him…

“Right,” Susan replies to him calmly, although I can see her left eye twitching. I’m not the only one that gets attached to patients. She continues, “So we’d like to ask you some questions. To try to understand your condition better.”

I watch Cole carefully, to see his reaction.

He nods slowly and agrees. Blake and Susan both nod, relieved. I think I’m the only that caught the nervous expression that had flitted across his beautiful eyes.

Blake goes to grab an extra chair and Susan tries her best to organize the load of papers on her desk. Cole just stands there awkwardly. I don’t realize that I’m still staring at him until his eyes fall on me. I continue to look at him, like a deer caught in headlights.

He gives me a weak half smile and automatically, I return it with my own reassuring one. Like gravity, we migrate towards each other. Neither of us realize what we’re doing, both too caught up in each other’s eyes.

“Hey,” I say softly, once I’m able to find my voice.

“Hi.” His deep voice washes over me in a whisper and I shiver, fortunately unnoticeable. Or not.

“Cold?” he smirks quietly.

I’m saved from having to answer because Blake promptly bursts back into office with a foldable chair and a notebook.

“Let’s get started,” he says professionally, after setting up the foldable chair and three rolling chairs in a circle. He sits on the stiff foldable chair, probably for Cole’s sake, who notices.

“I can take that chair,” Cole offers.

“Too bad,” Blake answers.

“You sure? I don’t mind,” Cole insists.