Dom was watching me closely, but I ignored him. I was craving company, but that didn’t include arguing with him.
Water. Medicine. Bed.
That was what I needed. Dom could stay or go. I didn’t give a fuck.
Sure you don’t.
I took a glass from the cupboard, but my hand was shaking so much I almost dropped it in the sink while filling it. When I opened the medicine cupboard, I quickly realised that food wasn’t the only thing I was running low on.
Balls.
A small whimper escaped me before I could stop it.
Behind me, I heard footsteps moving before the distinctive sound of my front door being opened. I blinked in surprise.
Dominic had left.
He’d actually gone.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. Wasn’t the first time he’d seen me suffering and left.
I guessed some things truly never changed.
I blinked back tears, all of a sudden feeling eighteen again. Younger, even. Desperate for someone to just…fixit all. A stupid yearning for a man who was twenty-eight, but it was there all the same.
Bracing my forearms on the worktop, I lowered myforehead until it rested against the cool surface. I groaned in relief. It wasn’t paracetamol, but it was the only painkiller I had at the moment.
Two more minutes, then I’ll go to the shop.
Far more than two minutes passed without me moving. I was genuinely debating whether I should just call it quits and slide to the floor right there. It might have been in need of a good mop, but at least it was close by. And cold. With how my skin was burning, I needed that.
Decision made, I started sliding down, but a strong arm caught me around the middle. “No you don’t, Shadow.”
A sob of relief tried to break free. Dom was back. “I thought you left.”
“Just to get supplies. Hang on, Ry. Let’s get you somewhere comfier than the floor.”
Suddenly I was airborne. Dimly, I thought I should protest about Dom carrying me like a baby. I was heavier than I’d been as a teenager, but Dom didn’t seem to have any difficulty lifting me.
“Here you go, baby,” Dom murmured as he carefully put me down. Soft cushions greeted me. The sofa. “Sit right here a second.”
My head lolled sideways as I drifted off. The next thing I knew, big hands were coaxing me into a sitting position. “Take these, Shadow.”
Exhausted, I thought about lifting my hand, but that felt like too much effort. Instead, I just opened my mouth.
There was a pause, and then two capsules were placed on my tongue. A glass of cold water was pressed to my lips next. “Drink.”
I took a few gulps obediently.
“Sleep now,” Dominic said quietly, laying me down on the sofa. “I’ll move you when I’ve got stuff sorted.”
I had no idea what he was talking about and I didn’t care. Dominic was here. He’d look after me.
I’d never fallen asleep so easily.
I wishedI could say I remembered what followed. My brain teased me with tantalising fragments. Being tucked into crisp, clean sheets. Spoon-fed soup. A deep voice commanding me to drink water. Blindly accepting whatever tablets were put into my mouth.
Overriding all of them was a sense of calm. Despite the illness ravaging my system, I felt oddly serene. I had to be sick. If I were in my right mind, I wouldn’t have put my health and well-being in the hands of the one person who’d proven he couldn’t be trusted.