The Way My Heart Beats

Chapter 5

The banging on my door along with the sound of my door bell startles me from my peaceful sleep.

"What the hell?" I yell angrily. "Give me a minute. I'm a coming."

I open the door to a very flustered and worried looking Grant. "What have you been doing? I've rang the bell and knocked for about ten minutes. I just stand there staring at him. "Well. Are you going to let me in?"

Without a word I move to the side and let him in. With a sincere look of concern he lets out a deep breath and asks, "are you okay?" 

"Uh yeah. I just fell asleep on the couch. What time is it? Aren't you here early?" Confused why this all worries him so much.

"It's 6:30. You sleep really hard." He says, shaking his head in disbelief at my ability to sleep so heavy, but in reality I'd always been a light sleeper. I don't sleep often and I don't sleep heavy, always worried that I might be in danger if I am caught off guard by sleep. It's old instincts. It was very unusual for me to sleep so hard.

"6:30? Holy shit. I don't know what's wrong with me. I never sleep this long or heavy. I fell asleep shortly after you dropped me off." I say, as a look of confusion sweeps over my face followed by concern then realization when I put it together. This was an effect of the brain bleed.

"What's wrong?" He walks towards me concerned, his eye brows furrowed together waiting on my answer.

I shake the thought off. "Nothing." I give a small smile, but the look on his face says he doesn't believe me. I should probably mention to Grant that the excess sleep could be a negative effect from the hemorrhage worsening, but I'm stubborn and rather not have people more worried than they already were.

"Seriously? You don't fool me, Clara. What is it?" He crosses his arms, calling my bluff.

"Really. It's nothing. Do you mind if I shower quick before we leave?" Visibly frustrated in my omission he tosses his hand out, "Yeah. Sure."

I haven't had a shower since before work yesterday morning. Steam is beginning to fill the bathroom. The heat of the water hitting my body seeps into my bones relaxing me instantly. The past two days have consumed any energy I harbored. This shower is just what I need.

Not wanting to keep Grant waiting too long I reluctantly shut the water off and scrounge around for some clothes packing enough to get me by. I throw my wet hair on top of my hair and tie it up. I grab my bag and head to the living room to find Grant. "Okay, I'm ready," I holler.

I freeze when I see him holding the picture. The picture I'd meant for him not to see. I don't need him to ask questions. I hold my composure reluctant to draw any attention to my anxiety. 

He smiles at the photo before glancing at me, "who is this little girl?"

My head tilts to the side as I wrap my arms around myself, "my niece."

"Oh, well, she's beautiful. She looks a lot like you." I wince at his words as
my heart sinks, reliving the pain that comes along with thinking about her.

I give him a small smile trying to move on from the photo, "are you ready to go?"

Putting the frame back on the mantle, he reaches out to take my bag and leads the way down to his truck.

The ride to his house is quiet. I follow him inside to the place I'd be making my home for the next week.

"You want to put your stuff in the guest bedroom?" He turns and asks me once shutting the door behind us.