The Risks

September: Chapter 28

I sat with my back against the driver's seat with my head leaned back and my eyes closed. I held Parker's hand in my lap with two of my fingers pressed against his wrist and was comforted by the steady light thumping of his pulse.

I'd lost all sense of time. I could have been sitting here for seconds or hours, but when the vehicle came to a stop, I lifted my head and opened my eyes. I turned my head toward the man with the light brown eyes- he seemed to be in charge here- for an explanation.

"Gates," he said over his shoulder.

I turned away and rubbed my eye as the van began to move again. When it came to a stop, not long after, the back doors opened and new faces rushed in to get Parker. They carried him- and I followed close behind- into the glass front doors of a school.

Immediately inside was a spacious concourse. Two double doors on the right side led to a gym, to the left was the main office, and ahead were hallways. We turned into the first hallway on the left, right past the main office. There were steps further down and a room to the right, but we took another left and they carried him into a small nurse's office. I took a step inside, spotting a woman in doctor's clothes and she shooed everyone out.

I objected, but one of the women who'd brought me here pulled me aside and told me to let them do their thing. I slunk down against the wall and sat in a ball beside the door, listening to the soft mumble of voices beyond.

This time I kept track of the passing time. I'd memorized exactly how long a second was by watching the hands of my wrist watch. It was an hour, seventeen minutes and forty-three seconds before the doctor opened the door and looked down at me.

I stood and walked past her, into the room.

His shirt had been removed and I could see clean bandaging around his abdomen and an IV in the crook of his left arm. I sat in a small chair beside the leather cot that served as a hospital bed.

"Is it blood poisoning?" I asked softly as I rested my elbows on my knees.

"It was," she said from the foot of the bed, "the first stage of sepsis."

"What's that?"

"A fancy medical term for blood poisoning," she murmured with a gentle smile. "It develops from an infection. Your body's immune system tries to fight it off by releasing chemicals into your bloodstream, which can sometimes cause inflammation throughout the body. Do you know how he was injured?"

"We crashed our car," I mumbled. "Lost our supplies. I did what I could with what I had."

She nodded. "You did fine. It could be while before he wakes. You should get some rest or-"

"I'll stay here."

"Okay," she agreed patiently and left the room.

I studied Parker while he slept. The only other time I'd seen him sleeping so soundly was after he'd drunk all that vodka after I'd stitched his wound. I marveled at how calm and peaceful he looked, and I was overwhelmed with the desire to touch him; just to run my hand along his jaw. Telling myself that it was safe because he was unconscious, I lifted my hand and ran my fingers lightly across his forehead, down his jawline and then, more cautiously than ever, along the curve of his lips. Soft. So soft. I pulled my hand away although he hadn't stirred and let it set in my lap.

I had been so sure that we weren't going to make it past today. I was certain that we were going to die and I'd been willing to if it meant I could be with Parker.

I couldn't continue to just dismiss my feeling for him anymore. Not after he'd tried to sacrifice his own life to save mine. Not after I'd used my body to shield him from impending death. Not after I'd finally accepted that I loved him.