AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My stomach churned, and I felt like throwing up as I tried to sit up. The room was spinning and I fell back. From there, I don’t remember much except Oliver picking me up in his arms.
The next time I woke, I was in the ER being attended by two nurses and a doctor in a white coat. My arm had a tube attached to it with a drip bag hanging on a hook above me. Oliver was leaning against the wall as the hospital staff did their job. He left when they brought in a portable X-ray machine.
I didn’t want to be fussed with but I knew it was required. My face reddened when I realized I was in a hospital gown. It meant that someone had seen me naked.
“Miss Stewart, stay still while we take an X-ray,” the technician said.
I waited patiently as he snapped a few shots. Oliver came back in the room after they took the machine out. He looked exhausted and worried as lines creased his forehead.
“Sweetheart, how do you feel?”
“Like shit. What’s this stuff in the bag?”
“A saline drip. You need fluids and they gave you antibiotics. The doctor suspects you have pneumonia.”
I moaned. “Great, not again.”
Oliver raised his eyebrows. “You’ve had it before?”
“A couple of times. It must be why my lungs are killing me.”
“Damn it,” he cursed, “I should never have gone to London.”
“Stop feeling guilty,” I protested, before breaking into a fit of coughing.
“Relax, you need to rest.”
I closed my eyes only to be disturbed by the staff entering the room. I opened my eyes to see the doctor, a tall man with sparse gray hair and a lopsided smile.
“I’m Dr. Cancro. I’m pretty sure you have pneumonia. We’re waiting for the slides.”
I grunted. “It feels like pneumonia.”
“We’re administering antibiotics in the drip. You’ll need to rest until this passes.”
“As long as it’s not here. I hate hospitals.”
He smiled before he left the room, leaving me with a hovering Oliver.
“Sit down. I’ll be fine,” I said, trying to muster a reassuring smile.
“I can worry about you, so stop telling me what to do,” Oliver shot back, his eyes blazing with concern.
“I guess I won’t be coming to work for the rest of the week,” I murmured, feeling the weight of exhaustion settle over me.
“You think I give a shit about that? I won’t be going to the office either. I can work from home.”
“I don’t want to keep you,” I insisted, my voice weak.
“For fuck’s sake, would you stop worrying about me?” he growled, his frustration boiling over.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, feeling a pang of guilt.
His voice softened instantly. “Don’t you understand what you mean to me? Nothing compares to you, nothing.”
I inhaled deeply, wincing at the sharp pain in my chest. Everything hurt, and all I wanted to do was sleep. I closed my eyes, trying to block out the discomfort. I heard the chair scrape along the floor, then felt Oliver’s warm hand enveloped mine.
“Just rest,” he murmured, his thumb gently stroking my knuckles. “I’m here. You’re all that matters.”
