Spooky Business (The Spectral Files #3) - S.E. Harmon Page 0,110
stern. I wanted to make that it perfectly clear that there would be no bad-mouthing my parents. If that was a problem, I was more than willing to undo all the progress we’d made.
“Yes, I imagine that they are. I hope to get to know them a little better. And you, of course. I know we got off to a rocky start.” She shouldered her purse and came toward me, fingers gripping the strap. “It’s just that Daniel is my only baby. It’s just been the two of us for so long.”
“I know.”
She paused in front of me, her brown eyes earnest. “I just want the best for him.”
“I know that, too.”
She leaned up and brushed a kiss on my cheek. “It just took me a while to realize that maybe that’s you.”
I blinked. “Oh. Well, I… oh.”
She let out a charming little laugh. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
I stood there for a few moments after she left, Jack trailing behind her. I did the things that had become my nightly routine. I turned off the overhead lights and flicked off the TV. Then I opened the curtains, revealing a view of downtown Brickell Bay. Lights twinkled merrily over a darkened city.
I pulled my chair closer to Danny’s bed and kissed him on the lips. Then both cheeks. Then his forehead. It would probably be appropriate to say something sweet. Hello, my love. Something like that.
But that just wouldn’t be us. And I knew Danny wouldn’t appreciate me turning our love into something straight out of a Hallmark movie. “If you don’t open your eyes soon, I swear to God, I’m going to kick your ass,” I informed him.
I linked my fingers with his and rested my head on the side of the bed. For the first time in days, I slept.
*
I woke to the feeling of a hand in my hair, stroking it gently. It felt so good that I didn’t want to completely wake up. The smell of coffee teased my nose. For a brief second, it was like nothing had happened, and I was at home in bed with Danny’s hand tangled in my hair.
I frowned. No, that was an actual hand in my hair.
My eyes popped open to find Danny looking up at the TV, which was on Mute, sipping on a Styrofoam cup of what smelled like coffee. I must’ve made a surprised sound because suddenly those beautiful baby blues were trained on me.
I blinked at him stupidly for a few seconds. “Hi.”
His mouth curved in a tired grin. “Hi,” he said, his voice a little scratchy from disuse. “There’s that sparkling conversation I came back from the dead for.”
I still felt like I was dreaming. “How long have you been awake? And why are you drinking coffee?”
“It’s decaf. And I’m allowed,” Danny said defensively. “They’ve been plying me with liquids. I’ve only been awake a couple of hours.”
“A couple hours!” Danny hushed me and I lowered my voice a few decibels. “Why didn’t you say anything? I’ve only been waiting ten fucking days for you to wake up.”
“I like watching you sleep.”
“When I watched you sleep, you said I was a creeper,” I said indignantly.
“Well, you were,” he said, sipping his coffee again. “I wasn’t doing it creepily. Besides, if you could sleep through all the hubbub that happened when I first woke up, I figured you needed the rest.”
His perceptive gaze could laser through me like no one else. “Things have been… difficult.”
Calling our situation difficult was like calling Godzilla a gecko, but it was better than the alternative. The alternative involved me finally losing my shit, and that was never a good look. I bit down on my lower lip to keep it from wobbling. As usual, he could see through me like a glass dipped in Windex.
He put down his coffee and held out his arms. “Oh, baby, come here.”
I’d like to say I didn’t fall in his arms, but I did. I held him tight enough that he made a little noise, and I loosened my grip reluctantly, just a tad. “Sorry,” I said into his chest. “I didn’t even ask you how you’re feeling.”
“I feel like shit. But the doctor thinks I should be ready to go home in a few days. Maybe tomorrow, if everything looks good.”
“Tomorrow?” I grumbled. “What kind of hospital would let you go so soon? I would’ve done better to take you to Dr. Frankenstein’s lab.”