If those were in fact the circumstances, I guess it was a good thing for both of us that the victim had escaped when he did. I silently admonished myself for having such a self-serving thought, but pretty or not, it was the truth.
I rolled my head up and stared at the ceiling for a minute or two. I didn’t find any comfort there, not that I was really expecting to.
As if the twinges in my gut weren’t enough to deal with, my neck was now starting to ache and the pain was threatening to advance into my skull. As a countermeasure, I slowly worked my shoulders up and down then tried to move myself into a more comfortable position. I’d only been in this bed for a little over a day now, but it was already taking its own toll on my body. Unfortunately, I had a vague recollection of a doctor telling me that I wasn’t likely to be leaving here for several more days yet.
I let out a groan as I settled back against my pillow. Unfortunately, my new physical arrangement didn’t seem to be any better than its predecessor.
“Are you okay?” Constance asked.
“Yeah,” I grumbled. “My neck is bothering me a bit. I guess I’m not used to laying around like this.”
“Do you need another pillow or something like that?”
“Nahh…I don’t think so. But thanks anyway.”
“No problem.”
I waited for a moment then added, “And I mean thanks for everything, Constance. You’re a hell of a friend, and I want you to know I appreciate everything you’ve done. I know you’ve put up with a lot these past few days.”
“That’s what friends do,” she replied.
“I know, but I just wanted to say it. Ya’know what I mean?”
She chuckled. “Don’t get maudlin on me, Rowan. I’m not sure I’d know what to do.”
I allowed myself a grin. “So I guess this wouldn’t be the time to tell you that you’re like family to Felicity and me and that we put you in our wills?”
“I’d say most definitely not. Unless there’s a huge amount of money involved.”
I snorted. “Don’t worry. I think it’s just the drugs talking anyway.”
“Probably,” she agreed. The melody of another chuckle fell in behind the comment before she added, “But seriously, thanks. And just so you know, the feeling is mutual.”
“You’re welcome,” I said. “And thanks.”
Quiet flowed into the room once again, so I tilted my head forward to watch the activity on the other side of the window wall. As expected, it was much the same as earlier, but at least it was something to look at.
The small amount of ice that remained in my cup had melted for the most part, so I took a sip then gave the Styrofoam vessel a tilt and completely drained it. After swallowing I let out a thin sigh and continued to stare through the glass.
“Do you want some more?” Constance asked.
I looked over at her. “Don’t worry about it… You just sat down.”
She pulled herself up from the seat and then shrugged. “Now I just stood up. Would you like some more?”
“I guess since you put it that way, yeah,” I said. “Thanks.”
“It’s not a problem, Rowan.”
She stepped over and took the cup from me then set about refilling it from the container on the tray at the end of the bed. I started working my shoulders in small circles as best I could in an attempt to loosen some of the kinks in my neck. The ache seemed to have blossomed now and was creeping upward into the base of my skull. As I slowly twisted my head side to side, I felt a tingle working its way up my spine. In that same moment, I noticed a mild burning sensation on my arms. I tilted my head forward as I raised the appendages and immediately saw small patches of gooseflesh erupting here and there across my skin. The tingle along my spine settled into my neck, and I felt myself shiver involuntarily.
Constance had apparently just turned back around to hand me the cup when the tremor began.
“Are you sure you’re okay, Rowan?” she asked, arching an eyebrow upward as she watched me shake.
“I guess so,” I said. “I think maybe I’m just feeling a chill.”
She nodded. “Okay. That makes sense. They keep it pretty cold in hospitals. I had chills too when I was laid up. Let me see about getting you an extra blanket.”
“Thanks,” I told her.
I was still tensing my body against the sudden cold, and my abdomen was starting to announce its displeasure with me because of it. Constance abandoned the cup to the tray and stepped out the door of the room. The moment it opened, I could hear the scratchy buzz of a radio, probably coming from the nurse’s station. I couldn’t tell exactly what they were listening to, but it sounded like it might be some kind of round-table talk show. Whoever the guests were, however, they didn’t seem to care if they talked over the top of one another. Fortunately, it was out there and I was in here, so it wasn’t as annoying as it could have been.
A minute or so later, Constance was back at the bedside, and a nurse carrying a blanket came through the door shortly afterward. The strain on my muscles was now squeezing the nerves in my neck, so the ache was crawling across my scalp and leeching into my skull. Of course, in comparison to my old norm where headaches were concerned, this one was an amateur with no skill.
“How are you feeling this evening, Mister Gant?” the nurse asked as she began to unfold the pre-warmed cloth on top of me.
“Okay, I guess,” I said, teeth chattering a bit. “A little cold, obviously.”
She nodded as she continued tucking the blanket around me. “That’s not unusual.” She shot me a smile and then leaned a bit closer and adopted a faux confidential tone. “I’m always cold around here too. I even keep a sweater here all year ‘round.”
When finished, she turned and gave the vitals monitors a once over then directed herself to me once again. “Okay, well my name is Anastasia. I didn’t get to introduce myself earlier because you were still asleep, but I’ll be taking care of you tonight. Is there anything you need right now?”
I shook my head as I consciously tried to soak in the warmth of the blanket. “No, I don’t think so.”
She gave the morphine pump a quick check. “It looks like you’re okay there. How is your pain this evening?”
“Not bad,” I answered. “Although, I am starting to get a bit of a headache.”
“How bad is it?”
“Not bad I don’t guess. I don’t really know.”
“Well, how would you rate the pain on a scale of one to ten?”
“Maybe a high seven,” I replied.
She raised an eyebrow. “A high seven? I thought you said it wasn’t that bad?”
“I know…I know… But I’m sort of used to them being more like a twenty-five with occasional attacks of fifty or better.”
She chuckled, but I didn’t bother to point out to her that I wasn’t joking. I really didn’t feel up to inventing an explanation at the moment, and the real one certainly wouldn’t do. Especially if my in-laws were trying to have me declared incompetent so that they could take over the decisions about Felicity’s treatment. The last thing I needed to do was provide them with a witness who would testify that I qualified as delusional.
“I think we can probably get you something for that,” Anastasia told me. “Let me check with the doctor just to be sure, and I’ll be right back. Okay?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
Once the nurse had exited, Constance cocked her head and watched me carefully. After a short pause she said, “That came on pretty quickly, didn’t it?”
“Yeah,” I agreed, pushing out a heavy sigh.
The high seven had now progressed into a solid eight and seemed to be on the climb. It was still nothing by my usual standards, but it was definitely enough to let me know it was there. I looked past Constance and noticed the door had been left ajar, which explained why I could still hear the drone of the radio talk show wafting in from the nurses station. It seemed a bit louder now, and it was starting to annoy me.
“I wish they would…” I began.
