Page 16 of No One But You
After repeating it several times, my terror began to subside, and the constriction around my airway eased.
“Thank you,” I panted.“What was that?”
“A panic attack.”Max touched me so gently that I wanted to roll into him and ask for more, but moving sounded hard, especially when I was so sore.“You were having a nightmare, and when I woke you, you panicked.I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault.”I didn’t remember the nightmare, but I doubted I’d have wanted to stay in it.This sucked, too, but it was a lose-lose situation.
“Water?”
“Yes, please.”
He helped me drink, checked my pulse, and then stood as if to leave.
“Wait!”I cried out.“Don’t go.”
Slowly, he turned to me.
“I don’t want to be alone.”I felt and sounded pathetic, but if that got him to stay, then I didn’t care.
“Okay, Bailey.I have work to do, but I can bring my laptop in here.I have to leave for a minute to grab it, though.”
He waited for me to acknowledge that before striding out.I bit my tongue because it was the only way to stop myself from calling after him.
When he came back, he not only had his laptop but also a thick book with a pretty purple cover.He sat in the chair beside me and passed me the book.
“If you don’t want to sleep again, this might help keep your mind off things,” he said, his cheeks flushing.“It’s a fantasy novel.You know, dragons and magic and stuff.”
“Oh.”I wasn’t much of a reader, but based on the bookmark, this was something he was reading himself, and it was incredibly sweet of him to offer it to me.Maybe this was a good way to get closer to him.“Thank you.”
Max smiled warmly, and I stared back at him, captured by those beautiful eyes.When he finally tore them away, he settled with his laptop and got to work.I opened the book to the first page and tried to read.It was slow going because my mind kept wandering and I had to reread the sentences a couple of times each.Hopefully, that was because of my concussion and not a sign that I was just terrible at reading.
A couple of hours passed.Max left twice for appointments with patients, but he came straight back, and I was grateful for it, even if it was embarrassing for a grown woman to be scared of being alone.
As the light outside began to dim, I wondered whether I’d be spending the night here.I hadn’t thought to ask, but I didn’t know where else I would go.I hated the thought of being home by myself.
Fortunately, Summer whisked into the room a little before six and came straight over to plant a kiss in the center of my forehead.
“I’m so glad to see you awake,” she said, checking me over and raising an eyebrow at the book clasped in my bandaged hands.“You have two black eyes.Have you looked in a mirror?”
“Uh, no.”
Max had helped me out of bed so I could use the toilet earlier, but, honestly, I’d been scared to look at my reflection.I didn’t want to see the damage.
She grimaced.“I think it’s from when they broke your nose, or maybe from when the doctors in Queenstown rebroke it to put it back into place.Anyway, it might be just as well your mum couldn’t come today.When you call her, you should consider leaving the video off so she doesn’t freak out.”
Ugh.Just how bad was it?
“Thanks for the warning.”
“Anyway, Asher and I have a spare bed made up for you if you’d like to come and stay with us.I wasn’t sure if you’d want to be alone either here or at your place.”
I pressed my lips together as tears once more sprang to my eyes.Sniffing, I dabbed at them, doing my best not to reinjure myself.This was why Summer was my best friend.
“Thank you.That’s so sweet of you.I’d—”
“You should stay with me.”
My heart skipped a beat, and, as one, Summer and I turned to Max.His face was bright red.
