You Can't Be Too Careful [Star Trek/Leonard "Bones" McCoy Love Story]

[5.] Misery in Solitude

[5] Misery in Solitude

Three weeks had passed since the incident with the smashed beer bottle. When I had woken up, I found myself back in the room with Astrid with gauze wrapped around my head. When I attempted to sit up, I instantly fell back against the pillow with overwhelming wooziness. As I blinked rapidly to get the wretched black spots out of my eyes, Astrid emerged from the bathroom. She told me to lie still. Groaning in annoyance, I followed her orders. She changed the gauze on my head and gave me a bottle of water.

            “You lost a lot of blood,” she had said. “The guy in the sickbay said you should get a lot of rest and drink tons of water.”

            I nodded in agreement and fell asleep minutes later with Astrid sitting next to me, reading a book and subconsciously playing with my hair. I smiled a little to myself. Even though she was a bullheaded troublemaker, I knew she cared. And despite her actions, I still considered her to be the best friend I could ever ask for.

            Two days passed by quickly. I spent my time reading or sleeping and drinking excessive amounts of water. Astrid stayed with me the entire time. By the time day three hit, I was up and walking around again, and my gauze were replaced by a simple, square bandage. On day four, it was time for Astrid to go back home; school started the next week. She packed her bags solemnly and moped all the way out to the rental car. I helped her throw her ridiculously heavy luggage into the trunk and gave her a huge hug before she climbed into the driver’s seat.

“You take care of yerself, ya hear?” she said sternly.

“I will,” I chuckled.

“And I don’ care ‘ow badly ya want to avoid tha’ guy in ta sickbay. If ya hurt yerself, ya go straight there and get help. Got it?”

“Yes, mother,” I said jokingly, kissing her on the cheek. “Drive safely.”

She waved me off and winked before rolling up her window and driving away. I watched after the car long after it had passed from my line of sight. Now, here I was, three weeks later, sitting in class like a pathetic, lost puppy. There was no denying it: I missed Astrid like crazy. Every day when I woke up, I expected her to be there in the bed across from me, snoring loudly and yelling at me when I tried to get her up. Every time I entered the bathroom, I checked for stray dirty socks, even though I knew none would be there now that she was back home. And every day when I came home after finishing my classes, I expected her to be there, sitting on one of the beds and watching TV with junk food spread out all around me before jumping up and hugging me hello and bombarding me with questions about my day as well as ranting about a bunch of celebrity gossip that she had heard about. But she wasn’t there anymore. And despite my knowledge of the fact that she wouldn’t be with me all year, I hadn’t taken it upon myself to go and talk to people. The only other people I had spoken to were Bones and Jordan, and I had no intention of seeking out either of their company.

I continued to do excessively well in my classes, but I made sure I never sat near Jordan and I held back on my tendency to overachieve so as not to draw attention to myself. I never made eye contact with anyone, I kept my head down, and I never spoke a word. Along with my longing for Astrid’s company, I often found myself plagued by thoughts of my father. I had tried to call him several times, but he never answered. The hospital that we frequented hadn’t contacted me, so I figured that he was doing all right, but I missed hearing his voice and seeing the smile in his eyes every time we had our heart-to-heart talks.

“Miss Taylor,” someone said. I snapped out of my trance and looked up.

“Sorry, Commander Haines,” I sighed. “I’m a little out of it today.”