“Well, he was right about that. I can’t explain how I felt when I took that call today. They didn’t tell me anything. Just that you’d been in an accident and they were taking you in. Then Mia’s phone rang too—” Luke shuddered. “Whatever. My point is, you and I getting our shit together doesn’t need to come at the expense of everything else. You aren’t going to run out on him, are you?”
“What? Fuck, no. I want to stay, like with him, in his house, for as long as he’ll have me. And if it doesn’t work out, I’ll just move in with you and ruin your life too.”
“Charming. But it doesn’t have to be that way either. You have a job and regular money. I’d help you get a deposit on a place if that’s what you wanted.”
“I don’t want that. I want to live with Gus and only annoy you some of the time.”
“Because you love him?”
“Yeah, I really do.”
Luke nodded as if we’d settled world peace.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Gus
I threw up every time I opened my eyes. So I didn’t bother. At my bedside, I was dimly aware of Mia’s presence, and then Luke’s a little while later. But as much as I loved them, they weren’t Billy, so ignoring them and letting whatever headache-fuelled cloud I was floating on take me away was the easiest option.
At some point, a voice I didn’t recognise told me I was going to ICU.
I ignored them too, and I had no idea how much time had passed by the time being awake became a state of mind I couldn’t blank out.
There was an oxygen mask on my face. I pulled it off and scrunched my eyes against the fluorescent light shining into my face. Moving hurt. But I did it anyway, and groaned as my aching muscles protested.
“You’re awake then.”
I blinked and followed the sound of a voice I didn’t recognise. A nurse was at the end of my bed, making notes on a clipboard. He had blond hair and tattoos, and the kind of bod I’d have been all over if I hadn’t had a head full of Billy. But I did have a head full of Billy, which made the fact that he wasn’t here all the more horrible.
The nurse was still looking at me. I licked my lips. “I’m awake.”
“Good. It’s five o’clock in the morning, so your family got sent home, but I’ll give your sister a call when it’s light to let her know you’re back with us.”
“How long was I gone?”
“Since they brought you and your friend in last night.”
“My friend—shit, Billy? Where is he? Is he oka—” Damn. Too many words. My stomach gave a warning flip, and the nurse moved like a ninja to pass me a cardboard basin.
He fiddled with the oxygen supply while I got myself under control, and replaced them with tubes that fit into my nose. The sensation of having arctic air blasted into my skull wasn’t entirely pleasant, but it helped with the nausea, and unlike the mask, I didn’t feel like it was trying to kill me.
I sucked it all down and fought for the coherence I needed to get my words out. “What happened to Billy? Is he okay?”
The nurse set his clipboard down. “If you want me to answer questions, you’re going to have to ask me in English, okay? Your sister isn’t here to translate.”
“Am I speaking French?”
“You’ve been slipping in and out of it, but to answer your question before you get upset again, Billy’s your housemate, right? He was with you at the cottage?”
“I think so.”
“And you remember what happened there?”
“No. And I don’t care. I just need to know Billy’s okay.”
I couldn’t believe I hadn’t asked already. How many hours had I spent knowing he wasn’t here, but giving no thought to why that was? Or what the hell had happened to me to lay me out in a hospital bed? Fear gripped my heart. I felt like I’d been hit by a bus. What if I had? And it had hit Billy too? What if—
The nurse laid a cool, gloved hand on my arm. “Easy. Billy’s okay. They kept him in A&E for the night as a precaution, but he didn’t absorb nearly as much carbon monoxide as you did. He’s fine. His brother took him home.”
Billy’s okay. He’s fine. I absorbed those words before I found room for the others, but before I could ask more questions, we were interrupted by a doctor.
The nurse squeezed my arm, then stood back. “I’ll be back in a little while. Just try and stay calm, okay? You’re doing really well, Gus.”
He left.
The doctor took his place and pulled up a chair. “Morning. Good to see you awake. How are you feeling?”
I made a blah sound and waved my hand. It was all I had.
The doctor nodded. “I’d expect you to feel quite under the weather, but the good news is your test results are pretty stable. If your oxygen levels continue to rise, we should be able to move you to a ward this afternoon.”
“Where am I now?”
“ICU. You really worried us for a little while, but I’m pleased with your progress. Do you remember what happened at all?”
I started to shake my head, then changed my mind. “No. Just that I threw up a lot, and I’m not at work anymore.”
“You haven’t noticed the bruises all over your body and the lump on the side of your head.”
I touched my fingertips to my temple and winced. Now my pounding headache made sense. “Did I hit my head?”
“Among other things. There was a carbon monoxide leak where you were working. Your colleague noticed you didn’t come home and returned to find you. By then, the leak was quite profound and you were unconscious. He pulled you out, and very grateful we are too, or you wouldn’t be here. Your friend saved your life.”
“Is he okay? Have you seen him?”
“No. I didn’t need
