Chapter 12
1335 Words
Before I could react to what Titus had said, the room flooded with people.
Cal came in first, followed closely by Margie.
Bryson and Kelly were right behind them.
“f**k,” I muttered.
Titus heard me, but he couldn’t have known which one of them had caused that reaction.
Cal hurried straight to the bed. “What happened? Why didn’t you call me as soon as this happened?”
“I didn’t want to worry you.”
“So you bothered a stranger instead?”
He glanced toward Titus and stopped.
Recognition crossed his face.
Kelly’s eyes widened. “Titus? Augie, you know Titus?”
“Yes, he does,” Titus said. “He’s a friend.”
I looked at him.
A friend?
Bryson was already studying Titus, his expression calculating.
“He’s never mentioned you.”
I opened my mouth, but Titus answered first.
“He’s never really mentioned you either.” He glanced at me. “Augie keeps things to himself.”
Hearing Titus call me Augie again felt strange.
He should have been calling me August. We weren’t close enough for Augie.
Still, I let him.
Cal watched the exchange, clearly trying to understand it. He knew Titus from volleyball. They had spent time around each other before, but they weren’t exactly friends. They had mostly been rivals.
Cal still made an effort.
“Been a while,” he said, offering Titus his hand.
“Yeah,” Titus replied as they shook. “You still playing?”
“Here and there. Nothing like before.”
“Cal still thinks he could beat anyone here if he trained for a week,” Margie said.
“I could.”
Titus gave him a doubtful look. “Sure.”
At least that broke some of the tension.
Margie stepped closer to inspect my knee. “That looks awful. How did you manage to do this?”
Kelly leaned over for a brief look before making a face.
“That’s disgusting.”
“Yeah,” I said. “It doesn’t feel great either.”
Bryson laughed before catching the look I gave him.
Whatever amusement he’d found disappeared quickly.
We still weren’t fine.
Titus noticed the exchange.
Cal didn’t.
Margie did.
“Why were you down at the dock by yourself?” she asked.
“I needed a moment.”
Bryson understood exactly what that meant.
Titus started to speak, but I shot him a warning look.
He caught it.
“I saw him sitting down there,” he said instead. “I said hi and startled him. You know, I saw a friend and went over.”
I looked at him again.
Friend?
Bryson saw the look between us and interpreted it completely differently. His expression sharpened as though he had just discovered there was something more happening between Titus and me.
There wasn’t.
My look had meant, Since when are we friends?
Everyone seemed to be reading a different version of the conversation.
I let Titus continue.
He never mentioned that I had been crying. I was grateful for that. The moment he said it, everyone would start asking why.
Except Kelly.
She already looked bored.
She glanced at Titus more than once, though. I was fairly certain she was checking him out.
Who could blame her?
Finally, she sighed. “Well, if you’re doing okay, Augie, Bryce and I can go. He really wanted to check on you after Cal told him you were hurt.”
“Yeah. I’m fine. Everyone can leave. I’ll make it home on my own.”
“Actually,” the nurse said, “someone will need to take you home. You’re also going to need help for the next two or three days.”
I turned toward her. “What?”
“Nothing is broken, but the stitches need time to close properly. We’re putting your leg in a brace to keep it straight and prevent the wound from reopening.”
“I don’t have time for that.”
“Well, your other option is repeatedly tearing the stitches and continuing to bleed.”
I looked down at my knee.
I didn’t have anyone who could stay with me.
Bryson should have been that person, but Kelly would call him away every five minutes.
Cal might have tried, but his entire life seemed to revolve around Margie now.
“Is there someone you can stay with?” the nurse asked. “A parent, perhaps? Or another family member who could help?”
I stared at the floor.
Everyone was looking at me.
Cal knew there was no one.
So did Bryson.
Titus hadn’t known before, but judging by his expression, he was beginning to understand.
Kelly remained oblivious.
“Surely there’s a mother, father, or sibling,” she said.
I kept my eyes down.
I didn’t want to explain my family situation in front of all of them. Tears threatened to return, and I refused to cry again.
“I can stay,” Cal said.
He paused, already mentally sorting through his plans.
“f**k. We have that thing tomorrow, and then there’s the other thing, but I can move stuff around. I can be there most of the time.”
“Cal, you’re busy. You don’t need to do that.”
“I can stay,” Bryson said.
I shot him a look.
Yeah, right.
Kelly nodded. “He could help here and there.”
There it was.
Here and there.
The nurse shook her head. “He’ll need consistent care throughout the day, especially at first.”
Several different tensions settled across the room.
There was the cold war between Cal and Bryson, which had been mostly one-sided until now. Bryson watched Cal as if he were a threat, while Cal seemed more confused than hostile.
Margie clearly had plans with Cal, but she also wanted what was best for me. She was trying not to stand in the way.
Kelly had no such concern. She wanted to sound supportive without considering how much time my care would actually require.
Then Titus spoke.
“I can rearrange my schedule and stay with him. Or the three of us can work something out.”
“No,” I said.
Bryson said it at the same time, only louder.
“No.”
Cal looked between them. “Actually, the three of us could work something out. We’re all friends with Augie.”
Bryson turned toward Titus.
“How close are you to Augie?”
Titus glanced at me. “I feel like I’m getting closer to him every time we hang out.”
The jealousy coming from Bryson was almost tangible.
I didn’t have the energy for any of it.
“This really isn’t necessary.”
The nurse continued working as though the argument had nothing to do with her. “Someone needs to take care of you.”
“Fine. I’ll hire someone. I’ll pay.”
“With what money?” Cal blurted.
I glared at him.
He immediately realized what he had said.
Titus’s expression changed too. He remembered what I had told him in the car—how I wasn’t even sure I could afford the hospital visit.
“It’s settled,” Titus said. “We’ll take shifts. We’ll make a schedule.”
He looked at me.
“You live in a dorm on campus, right? Is there an extra bed?”
“Yeah. I don’t have a roommate. I lucked out.”
I used to have one.
Bryson.
Then he moved out to be closer to Kelly. He had wanted his own apartment anyway, and I couldn’t afford to split the cost with him.
I should have understood what that meant.
“So it’s settled,” Titus repeated. “The three of us can divide the time.”
Margie seemed satisfied.
Cal nodded too.
Bryson did not.
Kelly didn’t appear to care.
“f**k,” I muttered under my breath.
I hated being the problem.
And that was exactly what I felt like.
- Writer
