Pas de Trois

Chapter 40: "I should have said goodbye."

Chloe sighed when she heard the door of her hospital room sweep open. She'd just gotten comfortable, finally, and now she was going to have to turn over to see who was coming in now.

"Come on, let's be real quiet," Clay's voice was not the one she was expected to hear. "Don't drool too loud now."

"What?" Chloe groaned and tried to turn over but only managed to land on her back but at least there she could raise the head of the bed.

"Hey," Clay raised his eyebrows. He had an enormous baby on his hip that Chloe would not have even recognized except that he looked so much like Clay she knew it had to be Logan.

"What are you doing with him?" Chloe reached for her water.

"Wes and Luke let me babysit this summer," Clay grinned at his son. "It's a pretty good deal, I get paid to play and take naps."

"Pretty sure you're supposed to clean up while he's napping," Chloe actually couldn't remember the last time she babysat.

"I mean, I can but Aunt Kylie comes over so much I barely even have a job to do," Clay shrugged. "Are you contagious?"

"No, you can put him down," Chloe moved her feet so Clay could set Logan on her bed. Logan sat and stared at her.

"So where is everyone?" Clay looked around.

"Dad's premiere is tonight," Chloe sighed. "Avery just went to get snacks. He likes one of the nurses here so he's probably checking to see if she works today."

"He hangs out here all day?"

"Yeah, just like I do," Chloe pointed out. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to come see you. Hannah said you were bored," Clay moved Logan back to the middle of the bed.

"When did you talk to Hannah?" Chloe yawned.

"We talk all the time," Clay grinned. "You're so cute when you're sleepy."

"Don't make me throw you out."

"Okay, sorry," Clay slipped his backpack off. "Are you trying to sleep? I can take him to the playground."

"He's not old enough for that, is he?" Chloe looked at Logan, who kept trying to crawl back to Clay.

"I put him in the baby swing," Clay explained. "We did the slide once but he didn't seem like he got it."

"Hm. Well I'm not trying to sleep, it's just kind of what happens," Chloe admitted. "I feel like a zombie these days."

"Do you feel sick? Or just tired?"

"I don't feel sick, just off," Chloe tried to think of the best way to explain it. "Last week I felt like I was going crazy, honestly, but this week I just feel lazy. And trapped in this room."

"Are they going to let you out soon?" Clay looked around again.

"Three more days, as long as all my tests keep improving," Chloe sighed. "Then I can go sit at home on the couch and do the same thing I'm doing here."

"So when you say home, what do you mean?" Clay asked.

"I have to stay in L.A. for a week," Chloe yawned again. "Can we stop with all the questions?"

"Yeah, okay," Clay moved to grab Logan before he could crawl into Chloe's lap but she stopped him.

"Come here," Chloe lifted him the rest of the way into her lap. He was a little heavier than she expected but maybe she was weaker after having been in a hospital bed for a week. "You have Hannah's eyes," she realized.