Page 28 of Protective Love

"Actually, do you mind if I get some sleep?" I ask, not wanting to have to listen to the conversation they're about to have.

Sophia and Jess both watch me with worried eyes.

"Come on, let's leave him to rest. He's had a long day," Kaleb says, scooting Sophia off of his lap so that he can stand up.

"Okay… we'll come back tomorrow, yeah?"

I nod at my sister's question and I smile as they each say goodbye, but as soon as they leave my room, the smile drops from my face and my eyes fall shut as I think about how differently the situation could've gone down earlier.

When I hear the door open again after a few minutes, I let out an exaggerated sigh and loudly groan.

"You claim that I'm the annoying one, but yet none of you can seem to stay away from me," I say, opening my eyes and swinging my head to the side so that I can glare at the culprit.

When my eyes catch on a mess of brunette waves, I mutter a curse and give Rory an awkward smile.

"I'm sorry," I tell her. "I think it's fair to say that I didn't know it was you walking in."

She stands awkwardly by the door and nods her head, glancing around the room.

"Yeah, I realised… I saw them leave and Sophia told me that Leo would be waiting for me at the end of my shift to take me home."

She continues to stand in the doorway, both of us just staring at each other while the silence in the room grows.

"Are you coming in here to read again?" I ask her, hoping she'll get the hint that I want her to sit next to me again and keep me company.

"Do you mind if I do?"

"Of course not. I'm fine with it. Take a seat and get comfy," I blurt, blabbering on like a lunatic. "Sit anywhere you like!"

What the hell is wrong with me?

Jesus, I'm such an embarrassment.

She giggles and finally walks across the room towards the chair beside me.

I watch her as she sits down, slouching slightly in the chair and then slinging her legs over the arm, getting herself comfortable, then she opens up the book and begins reading.

Silence descends upon us and my eyes flick around the room as I start to feel awkward.

I begin to tap my fingers against the bedsheet covering my body, giving myself something to do and I focus on my movements as I try to regain some more control.

When I manage to move both of my hands simultaneously, a surge of hope and determination shoots through my body.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I put all of my energy into trying to force my arm to move and when I feel it twitch and swing out to the side, hitting something hard, I almost shout in excitement.

That is until I peel my eyes open and find Rory gaping at me.

My eyes flick down to my arm that's dangling over her lap and I realise that I must've accidentally smacked her book out of her hands.

"Oh, fuck," I groan, shooting her an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry!"

Chapter Fifteen

Rory

My hands wrap around his wrist as I push his arm back onto the bed, resting it at his side and then I lean down and pick my book up from the floor, flicking through the pages again to find where I was at.

"I didn't mean to do that," he says, his cautious gaze locked on my face. "I was just trying to make myself move. I never actually expected for it to work, but clearly it did."