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It’s got to be hell. That is the most irritating sound ever.
“Shut that off, Satan. It’s too noisy,” I murmur.
“You’re waking up.”
No way is that voice the devil. She sounds like an angel so I must be in Heaven. Maybe it’s… “Mary?”
“Um, no, it’s me, Allie.”
Who the hell is Allie? I open my eyes a crack. Right, the astro-whatever-the-hell-she-is. She’s sitting in a recliner with her laptop, but when I open my eyes a little more, she gets up and walks over to the bed.
I smile at her. At least, I think I’m smiling. I can’t really feel my face at the moment. “Hey there.”
“Oh, you’ve got a little drool,” she says, grabbing a tissue and patting the skin next to my mouth.
Awesome. “Sorry about that,” I slur.
“Don’t apologize. Drooling is one of the symptoms,” she tells me. “I’m just glad you’re finally awake.”
I open my eyes fully, only to see I’m in a hospital bed and the sky has grown dark. The room is filled with balloons, flowers, and gift bags, which means word has obviously gotten out about my accident. Part of me knows I’m going to be very embarrassed about this, but at the moment I have no idea why.
It all starts rushing back to me in a very far-off, dreamy way. The spider. The bite. The pain. The ambulance. The ER team scrambling around and putting an IV in my arm. I look over to my right. It’s still there with a drip bag attached to a pole next to the bed. Glancing down, I see the sheet tented up. Right, that’s why I’m going to be embarrassed. Wait. Do I still have an erection? That can’t be a good sign. When I look back at Allie, she nods, her expression full of understanding.
“Yeah, apparently, that might take a while to go away,” she says. “Is it still quite painful? I can call for more meds.”
I shake my head a little and close my eyes, because apparently, shaking my head will make me dizzy. “I can’t feel anything, but shouldn’t that be gone by now?”
She chews on her bottom lip. “I would’ve thought so. The doctors here haven’t dealt with this particular spider bite before so they weren’t too sure how long it would take.”
“It’s a bit concerning.” And humiliating. So, so humiliating.
“Um, I have some hand cream in my bag. I could leave and you could … you know.”
This is by far the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. Why couldn’t that spider have finished me off? I force myself to look at her. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Probably better to just let it run its course.”
“Right. Makes sense,” she says, making very deliberate eye-contact. “Oh, I called your brother and your parents. I just updated them on your … situation—well, not all your symptoms, but some of them. I figured I’d leave it to you to decide who to share that with. Also, I didn’t tell them about your nana’s gravy boat because in the big scheme of things, I don’t think they’ll care about something you did when you were a kid.”
“It was two years ago,” I say before I can stop myself.
She covers her mouth and stifles a laugh. “I just assumed.”
“Not my finest moment,” I answer. “Unlike today. I’m really killing it today.”
“You were a total hero today.” She stares at me. Her enormous dark brown eyes are completely mesmerizing. Or is that the drugs? Nope. It’s her. “Anyway, they said to say they love you, and your brother asked if you want him to come back. He said he could leave Oscar with someone named Pedro.” Pointing to my phone on the nightstand, she says, “I can call him back or hand you the phone so you can call him.”
Shaking my head, I say, “No, there’s no point in getting him to come all the way back up here. I’m going to be fine.” Wait. Am I going to be fine? “I am going to be fine, right?”
“Oh yeah, they were on it. They loaded you up with all kinds of drugs in record time.”
“Good stuff,” I say. “How long have I been asleep?”
“Um, about nine hours. They want to keep you here until … all your symptoms are gone,” she says. “Can I get you anything? Are you thirsty or hungry?”
I lay still for a second trying to figure out if I’m feeling either of those things. “Maybe a sip of water would be nice.”
“Sure, I’ll go get you some,” she says, standing up. “Oh, and I’ll tell the nurse you’re awake.”
I watch as she crosses the room and disappears out the door. While I wait, my mind wanders to the moment right before I got bit—to carrying her out of the office. I had my hand just under her ass, on her upper thigh, and even though it was an intensely insane moment, I can’t help but think about my reaction to holding her like that. It wasn’t personal or intimate … only, it was.
