“Hurt. And not in the fun way.” She pouted at him, but it didn’t make him laugh the way she’d hoped. Instead, he jumped to his feet and was beside her bed, reaching for her arm. She winced before he’d even touched her. “It’s throbbing.”
“Got it.” He pressed the button for the nurse, and Yasmine sighed.
“So, what’s going on?” she asked, leaning back against the bed. “I remember a lot of people coming to see me, but I’m not sure I wasn’t dreaming.” All her memories felt dream-like. Hazy. So maybe they weren’t memories at all. Though she was pretty sure her parents becoming exhausted was a real memory, so maybe the other ones were, too.
“You had a lot of visitors.” A ghost of a smile curved Zeus’ lips.
Yasmine reached out with her good hand to take his. She just wanted to touch him. The pain felt real. So did he when she touched him.
“All your friends… Naomi, Ashley, Audrey, Jennifer, Cassidy. Also, Grace and Sarah. Your co-workers, Amara and Veronica. Alexis from Audrey’s bakery came. Brenda and her book club. The whole team, of course.”
“Of course,” she replied solemnly, still trying to make a joke out of it. She wanted to see his smile spread, but it didn’t work. Inwardly, she sighed. “My parents were here the whole time, right?”
“Yes. They left about an hour ago to get some real food. I insisted and promised I’d stay ‘til they got back.”
“Have you eaten?”
“Mmm. Claudia’s brother Miguel came in, too, though he didn’t stay long. Claudia said that Darcy from Harris’ team will probably stop in to see you tomorrow. Oh, and the senator will be by tomorrow as well.” He gave her a look. “We’re trying to keep it as quiet as possible that the senator was there during the shooting.”
“Oh, well, there goes my plan to be on the news.” Yasmine made a face. “It was Pete James, right? I thought I saw him.”
“Yeah, it was him. He’s dead.” The words came out short and clipped.
Yasmine felt awful as a wave of relief swept through her. She’d never expected to feel glad someone was dead, but there was no denying that she did. The fear she’d felt over the past few weeks lifted at the knowledge that she was never going to have to worry about the man again.
“I… I wish I could say I’m sorry, but I’m not,” she confessed.
“I’m not, either.” Zeus fell silent for a moment.
She thought he maybe wanted to say something else, but then the door opened. A woman walked in, along with a man in a white coat Yasmine recognized. She’d seen him before.
Zeus frowned at the man. “Dr. Grande. Should I be worried to see you?”
“Not at all,” Dr. Grande said, hanging back just a step to let the nurse attend to Yasmine. “I just happened to be standing at the nurse’s station when you pushed the button, and I wanted to come see how Yasmine was doing for myself. That way I can update Jensen and Jennifer, and they’ll pass the message on.”
Oh, right, that’s where she knew him from. Jennifer’s other boyfriend. Or date. Or whatever. Yasmine squinted at him. He was hotter in person than he’d been in the pictures Jennifer had shown her. Something about the way he held himself. Good aura. She’d have to try to remember to tell Jen that later.
“Hello, I’m Melissa,” the nurse said, smiling at Yasmine, ignoring the doctor and Zeus, as she checked over the machines Yasmine was hooked up to. Yasmine had no idea how to read them, but since they weren’t super noisy, she figured that probably meant things were fine. “How are you feeling, dear?”
“My shoulder hurts. It’s throbbing.” Her tone was whinier now because the pain was growing with every passing second.
“No problem, hun, just give me a moment.” Melissa turned to her work while Dr. Grande picked up Yasmine’s chart to look it over.
“When can I go home?” Yasmine asked. Although when she said home, she didn’t picture her house. She pictured Zeus’. But first, she needed to know when she could get out of here.
“Possibly as early as the day after tomorrow, as long as you don’t start running a fever and there are no signs of infection.” Dr. Grande smiled at her. “I’d ask if you’ll have help at home, but I already know you’ll have plenty of it.”
“That’s an understatement.” Zeus smiled and squeezed her fingers.
Yasmine smiled back at him.
“You’ll help, right?”
“Of course.”
“Everything looks good right now,” Melissa said. “We’ll change out your bandages in a couple hours. Visiting hours are going to be over soon.” She gave Zeus a significant look. “The more rest you get, the more likely you’ll be able to get out of here sooner rather than later.”
With the knowledge that Pete James was dead, being left alone in the hospital didn’t sound as scary as it might have otherwise. If he’d still been out there, wandering the streets… but he wasn’t. Maybe it made her a terrible person, but she really felt nothing but relief.