Ignite (11 page)

I squinted my eyes and tried to get my bearings, but everything was spinning. I quickly shut them again, unable to adjust to the brightness.

I felt someone move next to me. I didn’t hear them, I didn’t see them, I felt them. Someone touching my hand moved.

Why would someone be holding my hand? Who would be holding my hand?

I tried to open my eyes again and my mouth moved at the same time. I tried to swallow, but my throat wouldn’t work.

“Water,” I gasped, and it barely came out.

Seconds later, I felt something against my lips. I tried to drink what was slowly being poured down my throat, but I kept sputtering everywhere. It was so tiring, and I felt like I was going to drown.

I opened my eyes further and the room spun. Oh god, this was awful.

Someone helped me sit up, and I blinked a few more times before my vision started to clear.

Kill. Me. Now.

Dean Powell was wiping water off my face. Maybe it was drool, even. I had no way of knowing.

I groaned.

“No,” I managed to rasp, wanting to climb under the pillows and never come out.

I looked down and found I was wearing a hospital gown.

Super.

Where were my clothes? Why was Dean allowed out of a hospital bed? How had we been rescued?

None of these questions were answerable at the moment, especially when my stomach churned and I wanted to throw up for several reasons.

“How are you feeling?”

Kenzie! Oh good. I hadn’t been left alone with Adonis himself while I was drooling and wearing a hospital gown. Except that now there were witnesses. I groaned again. Maybe not so good.

I puckered my lips and tilted my head to the side in response.

Wait, I was definitely going crazy.

The sick feeling was wearing off, and instead it was replaced by a strange, bubbly sensation that took over my entire being. I was no longer angry, just complacent and unable to control my motor functions.

Great.

Dean was staring at me.

I giggled.

Whoops
.

I shouldn’t be giggling at him. I put my hands to my mouth to cover it and realized I had an IV hanging from my arm.

“Ew, guys, why would you let them do this?” I was so sad. They should know I hated needles.

I put my arm back under the blankets and started to cry.

“Should we call someone?” Dean said, leaning over to try and support my head as it fell back against the pillow. I started to wail.

Kenzie nodded and ran out of the room.

“No, don’t leave me alone with you,” I said, blubbering.

I didn’t look at him to see his reaction.

“Please don’t be mad at me,” he said, rubbing my back. “I can’t tell if this is you being serious or not.”

I opened my eyes and pouted again.

“Oh I’m super serious,” I said, not seriously at all.

His lip quivered as if he was trying not to laugh, but I quickly burst into a fit of giggles two seconds later.

Wait, he smelled really good. This wasn’t real life. Dean Powell wouldn’t want me to not be mad at him, and he definitely wouldn’t be sitting at my bedside right now. It was a dream! Cool. I could do dreams. Maybe I could even control it.

Kenzie came back in, followed closely by Jed and a pretty nurse who looked way too young to be doing this job.

“Ms. Lindsay,” the nurse said a little too loudly. “Glad to see you’re up.”

“Oh I’m
wide
awake now,” I said, brandishing my good arm. I nearly hit Dean in the face. I giggled again.

Everyone in the room looked at one another.

“Okay,” the nurse said slowly. “Do you feel like you can answer some questions? We did everything we could while you were asleep, but I just have some final questions. They might be a bit personal, do you want anyone to leave?” She eyed Dean and Jed.

“Nope, it’s cool.” I said, trying to imitate Snoop Dog. Snoop Lion. Whatever.
You can’t just change your name.

“Alright then,” she said, looking down at her clipboard. “Do you feel any pain?”

Oh this was funny. I shook my head.

She started creeping on Dean instead of writing on her clipboard, and I caught her.

As if on cue, the machines that were attached to me went crazy.

I hated the beeping. It was awful.

“Here, let me take those off,” she said, coming over to the other side of the bed. “Sometimes if you move, it thinks you aren’t breathing anymore and thinks I need to be alerted.”

She pulled the wires to the machines off but left the IV in. I laid my head back down on the pillow and immediately started laughing again. If this was a dream, I could say anything I wanted.

“Nope,” I said, closing my eyes. I should probably go back to sleep. That sounded like a good idea. “I’m pretty sure it’s Dean’s rugged sexuality interfering with the machines.”

I heard someone clear their throat, and then stifled laughter from across the room.

“Oh my god,” Kenzie said, acting embarrassed on my behalf. “Is this normal?”

“Sometimes the anesthetic is hard to come out of,” the nurse said, still too close to me.

I waved my hand out in front of me to make her go away, then felt with my other one for Dean’s hand. Then I snuggled against it. I liked this dream.

“So then, are you family?” the nurse said, gesturing her pen at Dean. Then she put it in her mouth suggestively.

“Oh my god,” I complained, because this nurse was in love with Dean. Kenzie cut her off.

“Is this relevant?”

The nurse looked shocked.

“Stop it,” I whined. “He’s just my friend or something.”

“Or something,” he said softly.

Then he cleared his throat, and so did Jed.

Oh right, Jed was here.

“Anything else?” he asked, immediately shocking the girl out of her Dean-induced reverie.

“My mouth tastes weird,” I announced loudly.

Dean handed me the cup of water and I noticed a hospital bracelet tacked to his wrist. I held my IV arm up.

“Hey, we match.”

He nodded sadly and helped me take another sip.

“Guys, can we go home now?” I asked.

The nurse fumbled with some paperwork.

“I just need some signatures, and then you’re all clear. Dr. Evers will come in and debrief you.”

I started giggling again.

“What?” Dean whispered in my ear, and I could tell he was smiling.

I shivered from his breath on my skin.

“Debrief. It’s just funny,” I closed my eyes again, feeling the pull of sleep.

“If you can keep her awake, that’s probably better,” the nurse’s voice was so loud. She looked at me like I was some sort of invalid.

I waved my arm at her again.

“Lauren,” Kenzie said, shaking my arm. “Did you hear her? Try to wake up, okay?”

I groaned again, wanting them to leave me alone.

“Hey,” I felt Dean’s voice close to my ear again, and his hand squeezed mine. “If you stay awake, I’ll tell you a secret.”

I opened my eyes, suddenly interested. I was like a kid in a candy store. I reached out with my IV arm and touched his nose. He blinked slightly, but didn’t move.

“You’re pretty,” I said, feeling like I was twelve.

Kenzie started laughing again, and Jed excused himself to go find Dr. Evers.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” he chuckled, his breath falling on my face.

“Guys I’m just going to close my eyes, okay?” I assured them, feeling myself falling asleep, but I didn’t want them to get worried and wake me up.

“Just for a second, right?” Dean asked, and he sounded like he was talking to Emma.

I nodded.

As my eyelids fell, I could have sworn I heard someone whisper in my ear and brush my forehead.

Good thing it was all a dream.

EXCEPT THAT IT wasn’t.

I started to fully come out of the anesthesia while they were trying to load me into the car. After Kenzie and Jed made sure that there was nothing wrong with me, Dr. Evers told me I was free to go, so long as I didn’t do any strenuous physical activity for the next week or so. That was fine with me, because I didn’t want to do anything but sleep.

Sleep was good. Apparently the reason they kept me under for so long was because my body was in shock and needed to heal. That didn’t make sense to me, but then again, I had been feeling exhausted before the avalanche adventure.

I refused to let the nurse wheel me around and threw a fit when Dean tried to do it because it was so embarrassing. Then I apparently passed out while they were arguing with me so Dean decided to capitalize on the opportunity and carry me to the car.

I woke up feeling like I was floating, and saw Jed’s face sideways from where I was laying. He didn’t look happy.

“Guys, can I please just lie down? I don’t want to sit up,” I begged them when they tried to make me sit up with my seatbelt on. I felt nauseous and my head would pound every time I was fully upright. I was also kind of afraid I would become narcoleptic and hit my head on something if I fell asleep.

Jed didn’t say anything, but narrowed his eyes and nodded at Dean. Kenzie carried the bag with all of my belongings and hopped in the front seat with Jed.

I was in and out of consciousness, but I remember Dean putting the seatbelt around me even though I was lying with my head on his leg. One of his hands was tangled in my hair, and the other was trailing a soothing path down my arm. I remember wondering why he would do that, but my brain didn’t let me think for too long before it decided to shut off again.

It was as if nothing had ever been that peaceful, and even though the motion of the car was making me feel nauseous, I just wanted to stay right there.

The embarrassing part happened when Dean carried me inside to the guest room that had become my temporary abode, and Kenzie put my clothes away in the drawers. They hadn’t even been in there before. I wanted to stop her and tell her I wasn’t staying long, but I didn’t know how to confront them like that. Or how to talk at all, really.

Because of the low, sloping angle of the ceiling, Dean had to duck when we reached the bed. Why was the ceiling like that anyway? I put my hand out to steady myself and it brushed his cheek. It felt like sandpaper.

“I’m going to stay for a while, okay?” Kenzie said soothingly, interrupting my momentary Dean observation.

“Love you Kenz,” I said with my eyes closed. I was so grateful to have her back.

She squeezed my hand.

“Love you too, L.” She walked out of the room, leaving me with my uncle and the man to whom I was feeling strangely attached to.

I heard Jed clear his throat.

“I guess I should go,” Dean whispered.

I thought I had imagined it.

I opened my eyes and saw Dean standing a few feet away, with Jed leaning against the doorframe. He must have been really mad, because he hadn’t said a word that I could remember since I’d awoken.

Great.

Jed nodded at Dean, his mouth still set in a grim line.

Dean put his hands in his pockets and smiled at me as he started for the door. Even in my stupor I could tell it was a sad smile, and I started to panic. He couldn’t leave. He was the one who had kept me alive when I was stupid and got us stuck in an avalanche. It made me realize I was having strange separation anxiety. I also couldn’t remember most of what happened in that frigid, dark room, but I did remember what happened before it. Suddenly, it didn’t matter. I didn’t feel right not having him there.

I shot up in bed and my head felt like it was going to fall off.

“No!” I screamed a little too loudly.

Dean turned around and took a few quick steps toward me as if he’d forgotten Jed’s judging glare. Then he slowed himself down and glanced back, putting his hands back in his pockets.

He leaned down and looked straight into my eyes. I swear I’ve never seen so deeply into a person’s soul as I did in that moment. Or maybe it was just the drugs. Either way, it calmed me down.

“I’ll be back soon, I promise,” he said earnestly, as if he knew I needed to hear it.

“Okay,” I said much more placidly. I tried to keep myself from showing visible signs of how upset I was, because propriety kicked in and I realized that I must look like a total idiot because I was suddenly obsessed with a guy that I barely knew.

He smiled again, more warmly this time. Then he nodded at Jed and exited the room.

“Get some sleep,” Jed said sternly as he turned off the light, leaving me alone in the darkness.

I shut my eyes and wished for any oblivion that didn’t include those geometric clouds. I didn’t want to be awake. I was mad at Jed for making Dean leave. Shouldn’t Jed be happy that he basically saved my life? My anger didn’t last long, because head began to throb, and I fell asleep once more.