Breathless | Colby Brock ✔️

3

Nightmares of a demon-possessed Ouija board jolted me awake, but I wasn't in my apartment. I was in a bright white, sterile smelling room, with a large white bandage on my right arm and an IV sticking out of my left. I was confused, and terrified, for a moment. But then I remembered what happened.

"Shit! I am so stupid!" I shouted, rubbing my face in frustration.

Gwen stirred in a chair across the room from me, and at the sound of my voice she woke up.

"Nora!" She cried, rushing over and giving me an enormous hug. "I always thought it was gonna be me who got hurt, not you. You dummy." She buried her head in my shoulder, her short purple hair messy from sleep.

"I guess the board was right," I croaked, an attempt to make her laugh.

Her head perked up. "What are you talking about?"

"It said, 'get out or you will die.' And here I am," I grinned, but then winced at the pain in my arm. "What's the damage?"

"Fourteen stitches. Oh, and you need a tetanus shot. You lost a lot of blood, but they said you probably passed out from the stress of everything, and after the adrenaline ran out you just-" She stuck out her tongue and pressed her head to her shoulder, closing her eyes in an imitation of me blacking out. It made me giggle.

"Plus, you've never been very good with blood," She said thoughtfully, her face growing serious. She was right – even the smallest of cuts would make me queasy, ever since we were little.

"But if you had needed blood, we got a perfect match right here!" Gwen pointed at herself, a smile coming back.

"The only perk of having a twin," I sighed dramatically. "That, and I'll have a kidney if I ever need one." Gwen rolled her eyes playfully.

A knock on the doorframe startled us, and we both looked over. Colby's lanky frame filled the doorway, and he smiled brightly when he saw me. He came in, holding a drink carrier.

"I took Sam and Corey home, and whenever you're discharged we can go get your car," He said, handing Gwen a coffee. "I didn't know if you were gonna be awake yet, but I got you a cup of tea."

I smiled, taking the warm cup from his hand. "Thank you. You didn't have to get me anything."

"Gwen told me you didn't like coffee, so I figured this was a good alternative." He sat down on the end of the bed, looking at me intensely. "I was really worried about you."

"It's not a big deal, it really was just a cut. It's my fault for being so careless." I blushed, looking down from his gaze.

"I should go grab a doctor so we can get you the hell out of here," Gwen said, standing up. She placed a kiss on my forehead before leaving the room.

"What time is it?" I asked Colby, taking a tentative sip from my tea.

"Just about five," He answered.

"In the morning?"

"Yup. Pretty shitty, huh?" He grinned at me. "At least it's Saturday, though, right?"

I groaned. "Yeah. I have today and tomorrow to recuperate. Then it's back to business."

"Where do you work?" Colby cocked his head in curiosity. I could feel my face grow hot as he looked at me. Damn, why did he have to be so cute?

"Uh, actually, I'm in college," I said, scratching my head. "I transferred here. That's why we moved. I was in Pennsylvania, but once I got accepted here, I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity."