Page 115 of Seer

I smiled happily as he wiped the towel over my neck.

A knock sounded. Cal put the bowl down and draped the edge of the blanket over me. He tried to get Ms. Jackson to gointo the bedroom, but they just stared at him, so he threw his hands in the air and stomped toward the door.

A few seconds later Cal shook my shoulder. “Greg. Wake up, you need to eat.”

The smell of pizza made me open my eyes.

“Can you hold the slice yourself, or do you want me to do it?”

My stomach growled. I reached for the slice and crammed half of it into my mouth. Cheese.Mmmm. I bit off as much as I could and chewed, smiling at Cal with my eyes to thank him.

He shook his head and kissed me on the cheek. “I’ll get you something to drink. And just to warn you, I have to call your mom. Lloyd told her you were okay, but she’s been blowing up my phone, so we have to show her proof of life.”

I hummed around my next bite of pizza, reliving Cal’s lips on my cheek.

I blinked when a second slice of pizza appeared in my hand. Cal lifted a glass of ice water to my lips, and it felt amazing going down. I drank the entire glass until the ice cascaded against my mouth.

Cal pulled the glass away and stroked my hair away from my forehead. He made a face at his hand and said, “I’ll be right back with a refill.”

I took a bite of the pizza and let my hand rest on my lap while I chewed. Ms. Jackson bent down to sniff it, so I held it out to them. Delicately they took the pizza from my fingers with their enormous teeth, and it disappeared into their mouth. I leaned my head on their warm shoulder.

Cal’s stress level spiked, and I opened my eyes. Something was odd about our connection, but I was more concerned with why he was irritated.

He came back into the room, holding his phone to his ear and setting a glass of ice water on the coffee table. He’d used a coaster, I noted approvingly.

“He’s eaten two slices of pizza and had some water. He’s a little groggy, but he’ll be fine after some sleep, I promise.” He paused. “Okay, but remember, I haven’t been able to get him in the shower or anything yet, so he still looks pretty grim. Alright, hang on. Ms. Jackson, will you let me sit next to Greg, please? Delphia wants to see him for herself.”

Making grumbling noises, Ms. Jackson stood up. Cal caught me with one hand before I fell over. The couch shifted as Ms. Jackson got down. Cal sat in their place, and I put my head on his shoulder, sighing contentedly.

He held his phone in front of our faces. His arm was hurting, I felt through our connection. I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could he patted my leg. “Look, Greg, your mom wants to talk to you.”

I peered at Cal’s phone. My mother was frowning through the camera at me. “Hey, Mom. I’m okay. We need to go though, because Cal hurt his arm and he shouldn’t hold the phone anymore.”

“Greg!” she said. “I?—"

I reached up and hit the red button on the side of the screen.

Cal chuckled and tossed his phone onto the coffee table. “You can call her back tomorrow.” He threw his arm across my chest and hugged me. “But thanks.”

I hummed into his shoulder. I liked Cal’s hugs.

“Okay, hug man, let’s get you into the shower and we can get some sleep.”

I let him pull me to my feet and support me on the way to the bathroom. He sat me on the toilet lid and removed my shoes and clothes, shoving them into a pile in the corner. Then he turned on the water and removed his own clothes.

I tried to look at him, to admire his naked body, but my eyes kept closing and wouldn’t let me see anything.

Cal wrapped an arm around my back and lifted me to my feet again. We got into the tub, but I blocked most of the spray from reaching Cal.

New house has bigger shower stall, I told him.

“Good. Lean against me so I can reach the shampoo.”

I curled into Cal’s chest, patting his damp skin and wishing I could just stay this way.

You’ll sleep in my bed, right?

“I will, I promise. Tilt your head back so I can wash your hair.”