STAY

Five

As requested I had moved in the day before he was due to come home. I wandered around the huge living areas, in awe at how big the place was. There were rooms all over the place. I had been settled into a room across the hall from his, obviously I needed to be close by as he would need me at all hours of the day and night. My mom, still not knowing who it was, asked me didn't he have a girlfriend or family to help him? I could easily answer that, many people didn't like showing their vulnerability to others. In the short time I'd known him, I knew, he was definitely one who would never want anyone to see him appear weak or helpless. So that was out of the question and I didn't actually know if he had a girlfriend or not, I'd find out I'm sure, I thought wryly. I heard commotion at the front of the house, I figured he must be home. I headed down there and met up with Emma who appeared from another part of the house. Jared walked in with Shannon and two other guys. He smiled as soon as he saw me. "Nice to see you" he said, the smile turning to a wince as he walked towards me. I held out my hand. "Do you want to sit down or lie down?" I asked him as he took hold of my hand. "Lie down, that car ride was hell" he said rolling his eyes in his brothers direction. "Hey I'm a great driver" said Shannon defensively. I grinned and started to walk slowly, leading him to the stairs. We finally made it up to his bedroom and he sat on the bed exhaling. "Lie down, I'll get you some pain meds" I said. He kicked off his slippers and slowly lay down. I handed him some tablets which he took thanking me. I stood there wondering what to do. "So ... ah, do you need anything? Are you going to have a nap?" I asked him. "Yes, those tablets make me sleepy, I'll probably doze off" he said with a small smile. "Well, we can go for a short walk later" I said. He nodded, "sure, if I feel up to it". I felt bad leaving him alone, maybe he wanted to be alone, he was hard to read. I noticed he had closed his eyes and turned his head to the side. "You don't have to sit with me, I'll call out if I need you" he said answering my silent question. I took the throw that was folded at the end of the bed and carefully spread it out over him. "Thank you" he murmured, his eyes remained closed. So I quietly walked out closing the door behind me. He didn't leave his room for the rest of the day. He had some lunch but he was tired and a little grumpy. He flat out refused to get up and walk around. "No excuses tomorrow, you need to get up and walk around" I warned him as I settled him to bed in the evening. "We'll see" he said as he bid me goodnight.
***
"Genevieve!" I was woken by the sound of my name being called urgently. I sat up disoriented for a moment then realized where I was. I jumped up out of bed and rushed across the dark hallway into Jared's room. He was lying on his side, grimacing in pain. "What's wrong? What happened?" I said kneeling down next to the bed. "I was turning to get up and I got stuck, I couldn't push myself into a sitting position. The pain was ... argh" he groaned. "Do you need to get up or should I help you lie back down?" I said trying to assess the situation. "I need to get up" he said through gritted teeth. "Okay, hang on" I said standing up. I grabbed one arm and then got him to put the other one on my hip. "Okay I'll pull you push, go" I said, he groaned loudly in pain but was quickly into a sitting position. His head was resting against my chest and his arm was around my waist. "Thanks, Jesus, I was afraid to move" he muttered. "That's okay" I said softly patting his shoulder. I heard him sniffing, "Are you sniffing me again?" I said amused. "Strawberries, you always smell so delicious" he said with a drawl. "Did you need to get up?" I asked him, glad for the dim lighting in the room, because my cheeks were crimson. "Yes, I'm going to the bathroom" he said with a sigh and pulled back. His arm slid out from around my waist and I stepped back. "I should be okay" he said looking up at me. I nodded, suddenly aware I was standing there with just my tank top and pj shorts on. "You look different" he said peering at me closely. My hair was out and probably looked messy as hell and I had no make up on. And I'd been asleep, ugh. "Well you did just wake me up from a deep sleep, I look a mess" I said with a nervous laugh. "No, you look, beautiful" he said with a smile. "And you're on a lot of meds. Come on, get up and go so I can put you back to bed" I urged him. He hauled himself up and I watched as he walked slowly to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. I sat down on the bed waiting for him to come back, I was so tempted to lie down, but I knew I'd probably fall asleep if I did. A couple of minutes passed and the door opened again. He walked slowly over towards the bed and I jumped up to help him. Silently I helped him get back into bed and lying down, finally pulling the duvet up over him. I popped out some tablets and handed them to him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you" he said swallowing them. "It's okay, that's why I'm here" I said reassuringly. "I know, but you shouldn't be working 24 hours a day, I thought I'd be okay" he said, glancing at the clock which read, 02.37 am. "There's no one else around and I'm here to care for you, you can call me anytime you need me" I said. "Thank you" he said sighing. I nodded, "night" I said and headed back to bed. I imagined I could hear him breathing, I tossed and turned for the next half hour or so, wondering if he'd been able to sleep. There were so many noises in the house, I could hear creaking and cracking and bangs and the wind!! I wondered if he was making any noises and I couldn't hear over the rest of them!! Finally my curiosity got the better of me and I slipped out of bed and poked my head into his room. "Can't you sleep?" he said startling me. It was dark in his room except for a sliver of light coming from the bathroom and from his phone. "This house makes so much noise and ... I thought you were groaning and I got worried, why aren't you sleeping?" I said sheepishly. He laughed, "it has a personality that's for sure, I've done nothing but sleep so I guess I'm not really that tired" he said. "Yeah, fair enough, well I'll leave you alone, sorry nurses brain, I just can't switch off" I offered in explanation. "I hate that I'm keeping you awake all night" he said. "It's okay, it's like nightshift, I'm always checking on my patients" I said shrugging. "Do you ever stay in their room, all night?" He asked with a very cheeky smile. "Yes, I do, when they're in ICU and in an induced coma or ventilated or something" I laughed. "I guess I don't fall into that category" he said laughing as well. "Your house is ... kind of ..." I wasn't sure how to say it without offending him. "Creepy? Seems haunted? Yep, it is, but I'm used to it now, nothing bothers me anymore, it does takes a bit of getting used to, stay in here, if you're nervous, I don't mind, I'm going to watch some mindless crap, since you can't sleep you're welcome to sit in here and watch" he said motioning his hand towards the television then the empty side of the bed. I debated with the offer for about a minute, I doubted I'd fall asleep anytime soon and I was still getting used to the house, which was frankly a bit scary, "Okay, thanks" I said padding over to the other side of the bed and lying down. "You're going to get cold, get under the covers" he said. "No, then I'll get too comfortable and fall asleep" I said shaking my head. I sat up grabbing the throw that I had covered him up with earlier, spreading it out over me. "There, now I'm warm" I said grinning. He nodded satisfied. He started flicking through the menu on Netflix, stopping every now and again. As it turned out, we had very different tastes in movies. I kept saying no to all his suggestions and he would say no to mine. Finally I grabbed the control off him and started flicking till I found an animated movie and set it to play. "Oh boy" he said rolling his eyes. "Shh, they're about to go on an adventure" I said giggling, he shook his head but had a smile across his lips. The movie played on, we would watch for a little, every now and again, he'd ask me a question. About my job mostly, he found it fascinating for some reason. "It's not that interesting really" I said with a little yawn. "I suppose because our worlds are so far removed, that I find yours very interesting" he said thoughtfully. I nodded, "I guess, yours is very exciting" I said. He nodded, "It keeps me busy, sometimes a little too busy" he said. We were quiet once more and I found myself starting to doze off. "Are you warm enough?" he asked softly. I nodded, "mmm, yes, I'm going to go to back to my bed soon" I murmured my eyes closing. "Okay, you just take your time" he said amused. I woke up early the next morning, with a blush I remembered where I was, damn!! I had fallen asleep!! I looked over to Jared, he was sleeping. His features softened in his sleep. God he was beautiful, I really needed to watch out, I could very easily fall for him. I fought the urge to reach out and stroke his cheek, instead my fingers floated over his forearm, close enough to touch but not actually making contact. "Morning" he said sleepily. I gasped softly at almost being caught. "Hey, how are you feeling? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep" I said clearing my throat. "It's fine, I didn't mind at all, you make little noises, when you're sleeping, has anyone ever told you?" he said grinning. "Oh God, I'm sorry, no, no ones ever told me ..." I said hiding my face in the throw. "It's actually really cute, little sighs and mewls" he said, clearly amused by the whole thing. I groaned in embarrassment. "In answer to your question, I feel slightly better" he said. "That's great" I said poking my head up and out of the throw. "What were you doing? With your hand?" He asked raising an eyebrow. "Uh, umm, I wanted to see if the IV spot has healed okay" I said, silently patting myself on the back for my quick thinking excuse. "It was in the other arm" he said, he had a small smirk on his face. I almost groaned, fuck I was stupid!! "Oh, I couldn't remember, there you ... go, well I'll have to have a look" I said quickly making excuses. He nodded closing his eyes again. "I'm going to go, have a shower and get dressed, um, do you want me to help you up before I go?" I said slipping off the bed and walking around to his side. His eyes opened again and he looked up at me nodding. "Yes, please, just in case I get stuck again" he said. He was able to sit up quicker today and seemingly without so much pain. After he sat up, he was still holding onto me, his head on my chest. "You okay?" I asked putting my hands on his shoulders. I fought the urge to run my hand through his soft fluffy hair. "Yeah, I'm fine, do you let all your patients hug you?" he said softly. "No, none in fact, not even the little old men, but you're a special case, you need extra TLC" I said lightly and I heard him chuckle. I bit my lip and giving into the urge, I lifted a hand, tentatively bringing it up and sliding it gently into his hair. He exhaled and I felt his entire body relax. I savored the moment for a minute or two before my guilt got the better of me. I drew a breath in sharply. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" I said stumbling over my words, I tried to step back away from him, but he held me tight. "Don't ... don't apologize" he murmured, he held on to my hips and stood up with a soft groan. "Ugh I can't lean down and you're tiny" he said with a grin. "I should leave ... you alone" I said quickly. Gently taking his hands and unwrapping them from around my waist. "Genevieve, please don't run off, I can't chase you, I quite enjoy holding you" he said with a smile that made my insides turn to jelly. My heart started beating so fast, I thought it would jump out of my chest. "I ... thanks, I'll .... go" I said, I was mortified by my behavior I needed to get away from him. "Go, I'll call out if I need you" he said resignedly. I nodded and headed to the door, I chanced a glance at him as I opened it. He was looking at me curiously, a small smile on his lips. I gave him a tight smile and hurried out. As soon as I got in my room I slammed the door shut leaning against it. "Idiot!" I said to myself through gritted teeth, "you stupid idiot!". Shaking my head I made my way into the bathroom, my head swimming with thoughts of him. I was falling and fast and it was scaring me.