Page 47 of Herbs & Hex-breaking

Dex fetched the big pillow and helped me get settled. “I’m going to make you an ice pack,” he said. He went to the kitchen, and I heard him rummaging around. When he came back he was carrying a freezer bag full of ice and a clean kitchen towel.

Deftly he draped the towel over my bruises and laid the icepack on top of that. He folded a pillow in half to help hold the ice pack in place, since my opposite arm was bandaged.

“Where is your ibuprofen?” he asked.

“Bathroom cabinet,” I said, trying to get comfortable.

He nodded and was back again with a glass of water and the pills.

Accepting them gratefully, I said, “Thanks Dex, for being here and helping me.”

“No place I’d rather be.”

Dex did stay the night after all, but not in a romantic sort of way. We ended up propped up in my bed side by side, with me under the covers and him on top of them, watching a movie on a streaming service. Somewhere close to the end of the movie I fell asleep, and when I awoke it was a bit after three o’clock in the morning.

I jolted awake from a nightmare—something stupid about spiders—and was surprised to discover that I was snugged up beside Dex with my head on his shoulder.

It was different waking up with him. Gazing up at his handsome face while he slept, I had a moment to wonder how different things would be for us now if he had stayed with me instead of taking off to avoid his relatives and their drama back in October.

In the quiet before dawn, it hit me that I was already halfway in love with Dex. It was more than his looks. It was the quiet steady way he’d helped, that he hadn’t put any pressure on me to pick back up the physical side of things. On the contrary he’d been damn near gallant. He’d simply been there, stable, supportive and strong, for whatever I’d needed.

Feeling safe, I closed my eyes, burrowed closer to his side, and eventually fell back to sleep.

Of course, I was twice as sore when I got up a few hours later. The day after an accident and all that… Peeling the sports bra off had been hell, but I managed it on my own. The warm shower had helped soothe some of my aches and pains, however, it took twice as long to dry off as I expected. I didn’t think about the bandages on my left arm until it was too late, and they were trashed after getting all wet in the shower. So, I had to peel those off too.

I look terrible, I realized seeing my reflection in the bathroom mirror. Not as bad as Hattie had in the ER but still, but my torso was very bruised. By the time I staggered out of the bathroom wrapped in a short sleeved robe, my mood was piss poor.

To my surprise I found Lorna in my room. “What are you doing here?” I asked. “Aren’t you supposed to be out of town?”

“Dex texted me last night while you were sleeping,” she explained. “He filled me in on what happened, and I changed my plans. I told him I’d come over early and help you so he could go back to his place to shower and change.”

“Sounds like the two of you have it all figured out.”

“Yes, we do,” she said nicely, despite my sarcasm. “I volunteered to take the morning shift and keep an eye on you.”

I managed not to roll my eyes—barely. “I don’t need a babysitter, Lorna.”

“No, but you shouldn’t be alone after everything that’s happened either.”

I tightened the belt on my robe and jumped at the unexpected pain. “Damn it!” I hissed.

“Darlin’ you look rough,” she said.

“I’m pretty sore today,” I admitted, walking over to my dresser. Pulling open a drawer, I fished out a pair of underwear.

She reached for the lapel of my robe. “Let me see how bad the bruises are.”

“Lorna...” I eased out of reach. “While I appreciate the offer, would you at least let me put some underwear on first?”

Her lips twitched. “What, are you shy?”

I glared at her. “Not particularly.”

“Tell you what,” she said. “I saw the first aid kit out on your kitchen table. I’ll go fetch it and give you some privacy.” With that she left my bedroom area.

Getting my underwear on ended up being trickier than I thought. And Lorna had to end up helping me with my bra. She did so briskly and efficiently but was concerned when she saw how purple my right side was.

Lorna also carefully examined the deep scratch on my arm. “You’re definitely going to need help bandaging this back up,” she said, pointing at me. “It’s bleeding again.”