Page 136 of Things I Read About

“Wait!” Shep yells, carrying an IV bag.

“Back off, Shepherd.”

“I would,Nathaniel, but your ass is just full-on hanging out of your gown, both cheeks in the breeze.” Then Shep, amazingly, helps Nate with his gown.

Am I high?

He is cursing every foul word he knows under his breath as he does it.

Probably not high, then.

I’m feeling some shock, though. My mouth is hanging open, eyes wide.

My sisters are laughing, Emerson and Matt have very odd expressions on their faces that I can’t read, and my Dad is upset.

“You.” Nate spits the word at me leaning over my bed, huge and angry, beautiful.

Dad puts a hand on Nate’s arm. “Hey, son, you can’t just barge in here.”

“Yes, he can,” I say.

“Yes, he can,” Shep says.

My dad shoots Shep a look and Shep starts giving him weird hand signals that make no sense.

“What did I tell you, Sally?” Nate’s voice croaks out. He’s pale and panting and I think he’s going to bleed through his bandages. Still stunning, though. “Sally. What did I say? After Katniss?”

I hear Skye whisper, “Katniss, the archer fromHunger Games?”

“Shh! Katniss the goat,” Sadie whispers back.

“Sir! Sir, please!” The nurse sounds a bit hysterical.

“Nate,” I say, starting to get worried about his state. “You need to go back to the ICU.”

He scoffs. “If you think I’m ever leaving your side again, you are not the genius we all think you are.” My eyes go wide as he sways on his feet, even though his voice stays firm, livid. “Now, what did I say to never, ever,everdo?”

“Get in the line of fire?” I shrink a bit as I say it.

“And then what do you do? You go and jump in front of a bullet. A bullet, Sally!” Nate starts to sway badly.

“Sir.” The nurse puts her hands on his biceps to try to guide him away. “You really can’t be out of the ICU, please.” She turns to Shep for help. “This man is a hazard to himself and to her, right now. I am calling security.”

“No, she’s the hazard,” Nate says, his eyes drooping. His words begin to slur. “My little hzrr…”

“Oh hell, Jon help me, he’ll squash me like a bug,” Shep calls out as Nate falls backward.

All the men rush to help because Nate is going down.

“Nate!”

His dark eyes roll back into his head. “Gimme aminn babybybyby—”

And he’s down. Two men in scrubs come in and help the nurse assess Nate’s vitals and adjust the IV bag. The men I’m related to stand for a second, panting, since it took all of them to catch Nate and lay him down gently.

“I don’t even understand how he made it to the elevator, let alone this room,” The nurse says.

“He’s a marine.” I say, my eyes stinging with pride.