Page 82 of Bluebird

I threw my hands behind my back like a guilty child. “Nothing!”

He grabbed my elbow, easing out my hand to examine it. His eyes followed the trail of gore up my arm then onto my head. “Ah, shit, Blue. That’s not nothing!”

“I’m fine, Luke.” I didn’t want him to make a fuss over a little scratch.

He swiftly pulled off his t-shirt, wrapped it in a ball, and tenderly pressed it into the back of my head. He stood in front of me with his exposed chest, as he applied the necessary pressure to my head wound. His hard wall of muscle glistened with sweat, and I felt giddy. I couldn’t tell if I was reacting to his closeness, or if I was losing a ton of blood.

“So, this is what it takes to see you naked,” I joked deliriously, feeling wobblier than before. I couldn’t seem to control what was coming out of my mouth. I was either concussed or intoxicated by the proximity of Luke’s body. Possibly both.

His eyes surveyed the area where he found me. “What did you hit your head on?” he demanded, ignoring my terrible attempt to flirt.

“I fell…I fell back…there,” I whimpered, motioning to the barn door.

“I need to get you inside.”

I giggled. “I need to get you inside.”

Luke let out a stifled groan and lifted me off my feet. He cradled me like a baby, trudging his way back to the house in the drenching rain. I took the opportunity to snuggle into his chest and rapidly felt myself lose consciousness against his warm torso.

* * *

“Natalie…Natalie…”

A vaguely familiar voice sang my name and my eyes flickered open. I was lying on our lounge room couch with the town doctor hovering over me, shining a light in my eye.

Marni’s father, Dr Alan Rogers, looked exactly the same as I remembered.

“Well, there you are,” he praised with a smile.

Confusion set in and I tried to sit up. My head throbbed, and I moaned as the memory of what happened floated back into my mind. The doctor carefully eased me back into a lying position.

“You’ve had quite a knock to your head, young lady. I’ve put in a few stitches to close up the wound and given you a tetanus shot. I suspect you may have a bit of concussion, so you will need to rest for a few days.”

“But I’ve been resting for weeks already,” I grumbled, frustrated with my continuous bad luck.

“Yes, your mother informed me about your recent procedure,” he said. His voice tempered in sympathy. “You’ve had a mighty tough time lately.”

I sighed. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

“It will get better. It always does.” He gave me a light pat on the arm. “If you ever need to talk to anyone, professionally, I’m here.”

I groaned internally. He was still treating me like I was six years old, which only added to my irritation. It was bad enough I was being treated like a child by my own family.

He continued to chatter on and on, but I couldn’t focus on anything he was saying. I was distracted by the sight through our living room window, where my mum and Luke stood on the front porch.

Mum was doing all the talking and Luke was looking pretty unsure of himself. He nodded politely, stuffed his hands into his pockets and glanced back through the window. His eyes grew wide when they met mine and he flew back into the house, my mother trailing after him.

“Everything okay?” he asked the doctor.

“I’m fine.” Annoyed that he didn’t ask me directly.

Luke ignored me. “Alan?”

“Yes, she’ll be fine, Luke. Luckily you found her when you did, before she lost too much blood. We’re dealing with a little bit of concussion and a few stitches. She’ll be right as rain in no time.”

I glared at Luke exasperatedly until he faced me.

“Well, last time you said you were fine, you had blood pouring out of your head. So forgive me for not believing you right now,” he defended himself.