Page 6 of Protective Love

"There's no issue. In all honesty, if Jaylen could see how beautiful you are, I'm sure he'd be praising the doctor that chose for you to take him on."

My cheeks heat and I face away from her, checking the line in his arm and busying myself with taking off the tape and replacing it seeing as it hasn't been done for a few days.

"Is there any change today?" she asks, reminding me that she already asked that question, but I didn't answer because we were both side-tracked by her making me jump.

I shake my head and feel a pang of guilt shoot through me when she frowns.

"As far as I'm aware by looking at his charts and assessing him, there's no—" I pause when I feel something grip my hand and I look down to where it's resting on the side of the bed to see Jaylen's hand wrapped tightly around mine.

Sophia gasps and stands from her chair, staring at me with wide, hopeful eyes.

"That's something new," she whispers. "That's a good sign, right? That's classed as movement, right?"

My heart beats wildly in my chest and panic begins to rise when I attempt to pull my hand from his grip but find that I can't release his hold from me.

"Should I get a doctor?" Sophia asks, her eyes frantically darting between the door, my face, and mine and Jaylen's connected hands.

I immediately nod my head and watch as she hurries out the room in search of a doctor.

My chest heaves as I allow my panicked breathes to flow freely out of me whilst I quickly try to dislodge my hand from his grip, still to no avail.

Tears prick at my eyes, and I squeeze them shut, digging my nails into the palm of my hand that isn't in his grasp, trying to calm myself down before Sophia returns.

It's my first day on the job, I can't be seen by a patients family member or a staff member when I'm like this. They'll realise that I'm an emotional wreck and then they'll probably have questions about why, or they'll think I can't do my job and then I'll be fired.

What am I meant to do if I get fired?

My eyes snap open when I feel Jaylen's hand lightly squeeze mine and when my gaze crashes with his, a ragged gasp escapes me and every muscle in my body freezes up.

His eyes are open.

He's staring at me.

His deep blue eyes are burning into mine, seemingly dragging me into the depths.

"Jaylen?"

Surprisingly, my voice is strong and clear when I say his name.

A tremor moves through my body as he continues to stare into my soul, unmoving and unresponsive.

"Jaylen? Can you hear me?"

Chapter Three

Jaylen

Holy shit, I can actually see.

My eyes are open, and I can see the blinding lights above me, along with the ugly wallpaper covering the wall across from my bed.

I try to move my head, but there still seems to be some sort of blockage in my brain that won't allow me to move.

I shift my eyes from side to side, scanning every inch of the room around me that I can see from this position and when my eyes land on the brunette standing beside me with her eyes screwed shut, I pause and allow my eyes to settle on her delicate face, admiring her.

When she opens her eyes and they connect with mine, I'm convinced my breath hitches.

Jesus. Sophia was not lying when she said the new nurse was beautiful.