Page 22 of Pretty Thing

Her bedroom door is half open.

Eden stands by her dresser in an oversized hoodie and a pair of underwear, gripping the edge hard enough her knuckles look bloodless. My eyes trace up her bare legs to the ocean-colored underwear. Jesus H…

Her face twists with pain when she tries to put weight on her foot. She isn’t wearing the support. Why is she trying to change alone? She needs me. That single thought has me marching through the door into Eden’s room.

“You shouldn’t be standing without your cast.”

Her head snaps toward me, sleep still clinging to her expression. She looks so strong and yet so vulnerable, pretty in a way that doesn’t feel fair to the rest of the world.

“Felix…how did you get in here?”

She stands a little straighter and pulls the end of the sweatshirt down to try and cover herself, which does nothing.

“You left the door unlocked.”

She stares at me.

I stare back.

“I…I could’ve sworn I had.” She shakes her head, brows knitting together.

I jump in before she questions it further. It’s too soon to tell her I made a key. It will just freak her out.

“I went to shower, change, and grab some breakfast for us.” I hold up my hand with the small offering. “The eau de hospital smell just wasn’t doing it for me.” I tease her, and the hint of a smile is my reward.

“Don’t you remember me telling you that I’m taking you to your physical therapy today?”

Eden’s frown deepens and it’s easy to see that she doesn’t want to go, but she must go or she won’t heal properly. I glance at the clock sitting on her nightstand.

“We have to leave in forty minutes. Do you want me to help you?”

A second passes too long before she sucks in a deep breath and winces immediately after.

“Don’t do that,” I say.

“What?”

“Take such deep breaths. Remember, your ribs are cracked.”

“That’s not something I can forget. I doubt I’ll breathe properly ever again.” She shifts positions slightly.

“You will,” I state and let her see the confidence in my eyes.

I move forward and steady her with my hand on her waist. Eden’s eyes go wide, and she freezes like a shy little deer.

I touch her shoulder and she tenses. “Let me help you so that you don’t end up falling? I promise I won’t try anything.”

She slowly relaxes, and with a sigh, Eden’s eyes soften and my chest warms with that tiny look. She really has no idea how incredible she is or what she is doing to me.

“Okay. Thanks.”

The glimmer of trust mixed with uncertainty is a new drug to my system.

“I hate this so much. The pain, the restriction of what I can do, the knowledge that even if my body heals…this emptiness…it will stay. They’re never coming back,” she chokes out.

“But I’m here now. So…” I set the coffee tray and bag down on her dresser and then wrap my arm around her waist to help her to the bed. Eden’s face twists in pain as she sits, but she doesn’t cry out.

There are dark circles beneath her eyes, and her hair is tangled on one side from sleep. Her sprained ankle that is an ugly shade of purple and green. It is the least flattering look ever. Something about her looking wrecked and human, but choosing to lean on me, punches straight through my ribs. My heart beats faster.