matters.” Becca frowned at him as I rubbed the back of his neck.
“Exactly. Don’t worry about a car,” Amy agreed, reaching for her phone in her pocket. “It’s Jackson. He’s headed home.”
The apartment crowded with everyone that we loved within the hour. We ordered pizza for a mid-day meal, sitting around and talking as I watched Hayden’s eyes droop.
“You should get some sleep, Hay,” I whispered as he blinked, looking over at me. “Come on. I’ll help you.”
Everyone told him to feel better before I took him to bed, helping him get the sweatshirt off before he pressed back into the pillows. “Thank you.” He smiled at me, looking pale behind his bruises.
“I love you. Don’t ever scare me like that again,” I kissed Hayden gently, handing him the remote before I stool up. “I’ll be in soon.”
The TV glowed in the dark room as I closed the door. I walked down the hallway to our guests, watching as they all stood up. “We can go. He needs rest.”
“The man sleeps through every alarm we’ve tried. You can stay if you’d like.” There was a part of me that didn’t want to be alone.
“I’m going to go call some friends,” Gram smiled and hugged me. “He’s going to be fine, sweetheart.”
“I know. That was just scary,” I whispered, holding her tight. It kicked in that anybody could die at any time. Gram was getting older and probably closer to it than I cared to think about.
“That’s how life is, but you both have so much living to do.” She kissed my cheek, and I watched as she wrapped Ava up in a hug. “I love you all. See you soon.” It was Ava’s second hug with Gram, and it made me want to cry.
“Are you okay?” Amy asked as Jackson moved to get Gram home safe.
“Yeah. Just emotional. Tired. Everything for the last few hours has been a lot.” I pressed my eyes closed, willing the tears away. I felt like I needed a few solid hours of sleep, but I planned to email my clients to explain the situation. I was only asking for one more day.
They stayed just a little longer, hugging me before they left. Everyone told me to call if I needed anything, and I closed the door as silence overtook the apartment. I cleaned up the living room the little bit that it needed, sending the emails from the couch once I finished. I couldn’t help but think how much worse this could’ve been. As it was, I hated seeing him bruised and hurting from someone else’s carelessness.
I locked the house and headed back to bed. Something played on the TV, but Hayden was sleeping peacefully. It was night and day compared to last night. I changed into sleep shorts, climbing into bed to look him over.
“I love you,” I whispered, kissing his head gently. Curling up on my pillow, I realized that I was awake again. I turned to look at the TV, sighing as I watched the end of a movie that we both loved.
Chapter Twenty
Hayden
“You weren’t kidding when you said Gram’s friends went to town, were you?” I asked, looking over the food in the fridge that was stacked neatly in containers.
“No. They’re over the top, but we have guests every day for lunch and dinner.” Gray smiled, turning to look at me from the desk that we had against the wall. He wasn’t usually here, so I felt stressed and unfocused. It was also the entire situation.
“That’s true. Ava is blowing through a lot of it.” I smiled, pouring another cup of coffee as he gazed at me. It had been four days since I came home, and I was feeling so much better. “Thanks for everything you’ve done the last few days.”
“I love taking care of you,” Gray assured me, watching as he sipped the steaming liquid.
“I feel like a burden. I know you have work to do.” I wandered over to the couch, sitting down gently before placing the cup on the table in front of me.
“I am a pro. I can do this shit in my sleep,” Gray grinned as he chuckled. “How are you with staying home?”
“I’ve caught up on some shows. That’s good. I’ve slept a lot.” I shrugged. “I’ve spent a lot of time with family, and you.”
“That has been great.” I couldn’t argue that point. I loved being with him. I just didn’t know how to balance everything.
“Are you sure?” I asked, and Gray’s