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“I got hit in the face on live television?”

He nodded and winced. “Like I said,bam.”

I shelved the horror, knowing it would be back in full force given time. “Where are the guys now? The ones who were fighting.”

Jake gestured behind him as an ambulance pulled up to the curb. “Back of this squad car, and that one.”

“Couple of buffoons,” Ty said. “Can’t believe they did that to you.” He was angry and protective. I would have thought it sweet if my head wasn’t pounding like something out of a cartoon. There had to be a mouse with a drum somewhere. Instead, there were people looking into my eyes with tiny flashlights. Paramedics. I thought about the people who made tiny flashlights for a living. My brain was being weird.

“I’m okay,” I told them. I felt mildly out of it, but it was nice how attentive everyone was. Ooh, and look at the pretty red and blue lights over there. All swirly and festive. “I’m all right.” I closed my eyes then because that felt really nice. “Did I tell you I’m okay?” Just a little snooze and I’d be good as new.

* * *

I woke up in a dimly lit small room with green walls and a curtain around me. There were some beeps and sighs from some machinery to my left. I had an IV. Huh. Why? I had to take a minute to work out the puzzle. The buzz of something nearby followed by a squeezing of my upper arm told me that something was taking my blood pressure. I glanced down. Yep. An automatic cuff. And there had been an ambulance ride. I’d been in and out for it. They’d given me something, and I’d gone to sleep again. Now, a hospital. But why?

That’s when it all came flooding back to me, ending with the realization of the granddaddy of all horrors: I’d been knocked out cold on live television. “Oh no,” I whispered.

“You’re up.”

I knew the voice. I smiled at the sound automatically, a warm and welcome caress. I turned to my right and saw Carrie sitting next to my bed. She didn’t fit into the puzzle. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Never seen that before. Her face was devoid of makeup, too. Even lip gloss, which I rarely saw her without. “Hi.” A pause. “What are you doing here?”

“Making sure you’re alive. Do you know how terrified I was?” I didn’t but was learning because her face told the story for me. Her eyes swam with anguish, and she kept clenching her hands into fists. Thatwas also new. Through my head fog, I could tell that this whole thing really had her worked up.

“I’m okay. I promise.” I jutted my chin. “You’re making fists, though.”

She looked down and relaxed her fingers. “I’m serious, Skyler. Don’t you ever do anything like that again. Do you hear me?”

“Yes.” I pushed myself up in bed, and the ache in my face doubled. “I will not insert my face between two lizard-loving lunatics in the future.” A pause. An awful thought. “Did you see it?”

She nodded, a look of distress crossing her features. “I was getting ready for work and had the broadcast on.” She placed a hand on her heart. “When I saw you fall, I swear, I wanted to jump through the TV.” She was standing, had her hands on her hips, and shook her head, looking at the wall.

I smiled. “You care about me.”

She sighed. “Yeah, okay. I do. So there. Very much. So you can’t give me any more heart attacks.”

“All it took was me getting clocked in the face. Why did I wait so long?” I looked around. “Also why am I in the hospital?” I had a hunch. My head hurt.

“They think you dodged a concussion, but they want to keep you overnight just to make sure you’re okay. It’s a highly public case, and they want to do everything right.” She shook her head. “Not only did you get punched by the idiot, but you hit the ground pretty hard. You’re on the good drugs, though, to keep you comfortable.”

“Oh.” My mind immediately started to play catch up, and a myriad of new considerations entered the picture. “My dog. And Sarah. What if she saw? Can we call her?”

“I already did. She’s already been here to see you. She took your key and went to feed Micky and will be back later. Said something about needing to smash your cheeks in.”

“It’s how she shows love.” I smiled to myself. “How’s my hair?” It occurred to me that I might look like Frankenstein’s bride over here with the woman I’m interested in looking on. Was there such a thing as hospital lip gloss, and could I get a hold of it?

Carried laughed. “It’s gorgeous. Thick and dark and beautiful, like always.” She smoothed the top, and I closed my eyes, enjoying her touch. I’d missed it in the days prior. She took my hand, and I looked down at our now intertwined fingers. The image was so natural it startled me.

“Speaking of visitors, you do have one more.”

“I do?”

Carrie nodded. “He refused to go home until he could talk to you and see with his own eyes that you were okay.” Carrie disappeared briefly and returned with a bleary-eyed Ty at her side, hands stuffed in his pockets like a nervous little kid.

“Hospitals have weird food.” He offered me a grin. “I’ve been stalking the cafeteria. You okay?”

“You didn’t have to hang out,” I said to Ty, while at the same time knowing that if he was hurt, I’d have been here, too. We were partners and friends, and our bond was growing by the day. I didn’t know how long I’d been there, but I had a feeling it was hours.

“Couldn’t just leave ya, you weirdo. Had to see that you were still, you know, kickin’.”