do…”
Misunderstanding
her worry, Carl rested his chin on the top of her head. “I’ll watch over you if
you do,” he said quietly.
Tears
threatened to break her calm. Relief that he wouldn’t leave her alone to face
the uncertainty she was facing combatted with guilt she felt over her desire to
be back at John’s side. Ideas, thoughts, plans…were forming in her mind every
time John entered her thoughts. What she was considering felt like a betrayal
to Carl, but doing nothing felt as though she were abandoning John. Turmoil
raged under her skin, the skin Carl’s fingers were trailing absently over.
Helping
John could very well mean the end of her friendship with Carl. Walking out on
John might be the end of something else. Indecision plagued her. Carl meant
everything to her, but a gut-deep feeling said she couldn’t take the easy way,
the safe route. She had done that once before and barely survived. But…if she
couldn’t handle the easy way, what hope did she have of not breaking to pieces
when the more difficult path proved too much to bear?
Chapter Nine
Bone Structure
Carl had
kept his word and not left her side, even when she fell asleep halfway through
the movie. Massive guilt bore down on her when she brushed off his invitation
to go to breakfast and instead spent the morning cleaning and rearranging. She
kept checking the time, judging how much she still had to do against when
visiting hours opened at the hospital. Time was running short while the boxes
seemed to multiply.
As Gretchen
pushed long-ignored boxes and books out of the way, she told herself Dr.
Sanchez’s supposition the day before that she would be around to help John
during his recovery was closer to the truth than Lynn’s teasing that Gretchen
was just as interested in dating John as she was helping him. Her friendship
with Carl argued that her interest in John was purely altruistic. Yet, every
time she looked down at her right hand she felt John’s hand on hers again. He
was saying thank you, that was all, but that touch
hinted at more than just a desire to see him well.
She found
excuses to touch him again that day. There were so few places she could even
manage such a thing without hurting him, but she’d found herself searching for
those few uninjured spots as she sat next to him. All the time spent talking
with Dr. Sanchez, her hands were itching to take his in hers. When he fell
asleep it was even harder for her not to reach out to him. Dr. Sanchez’s
seemingly casual comment about how physical contact was good for patients
recovering from a traumatic experience made Gretchen blush furiously and fold
her arms across her chest. The doctor had smiled sweetly and kept talking about
how Gretchen would need to be patient with John while he struggled with the
emotional trials of losing his memories.
Those were
the things she should be focusing on, how difficult it would be for John to
adjust to life when he left the hospital. His joke about not having any job
skills was unfortunately much too true. What was he going to do? Although, that
would only come after recovering from his broken bones and struggling through
the total lack of identity he would soon face. Gretchen reprimanded herself for
considering anything more than that. She needed to get her emotions under control
if she had any chance of helping him.
Shoving a
box into the closet, Gretchen chided herself for not having the many boxes
unpacked already. Her house still looked like it was in the first stages of
moving in some places. She had been busy, yes, but that was a poor excuse…one
she was paying for now. It would take a couple more days to really get the room
cleaned out, especially the closet she was currently piling everything into.
That made her want to groan out loud. Why didn’t I do this months ago?
Gretchen
stacked a couple of unhung picture frames on top of the box and stared at the
first picture. The faces of her college friends
Misunderstanding
her worry, Carl rested his chin on the top of her head. “I’ll watch over you if
you do,” he said quietly.
Tears
threatened to break her calm. Relief that he wouldn’t leave her alone to face
the uncertainty she was facing combatted with guilt she felt over her desire to
be back at John’s side. Ideas, thoughts, plans…were forming in her mind every
time John entered her thoughts. What she was considering felt like a betrayal
to Carl, but doing nothing felt as though she were abandoning John. Turmoil
raged under her skin, the skin Carl’s fingers were trailing absently over.
Helping
John could very well mean the end of her friendship with Carl. Walking out on
John might be the end of something else. Indecision plagued her. Carl meant
everything to her, but a gut-deep feeling said she couldn’t take the easy way,
the safe route. She had done that once before and barely survived. But…if she
couldn’t handle the easy way, what hope did she have of not breaking to pieces
when the more difficult path proved too much to bear?
Chapter Nine
Bone Structure
Carl had
kept his word and not left her side, even when she fell asleep halfway through
the movie. Massive guilt bore down on her when she brushed off his invitation
to go to breakfast and instead spent the morning cleaning and rearranging. She
kept checking the time, judging how much she still had to do against when
visiting hours opened at the hospital. Time was running short while the boxes
seemed to multiply.
As Gretchen
pushed long-ignored boxes and books out of the way, she told herself Dr.
Sanchez’s supposition the day before that she would be around to help John
during his recovery was closer to the truth than Lynn’s teasing that Gretchen
was just as interested in dating John as she was helping him. Her friendship
with Carl argued that her interest in John was purely altruistic. Yet, every
time she looked down at her right hand she felt John’s hand on hers again. He
was saying thank you, that was all, but that touch
hinted at more than just a desire to see him well.
She found
excuses to touch him again that day. There were so few places she could even
manage such a thing without hurting him, but she’d found herself searching for
those few uninjured spots as she sat next to him. All the time spent talking
with Dr. Sanchez, her hands were itching to take his in hers. When he fell
asleep it was even harder for her not to reach out to him. Dr. Sanchez’s
seemingly casual comment about how physical contact was good for patients
recovering from a traumatic experience made Gretchen blush furiously and fold
her arms across her chest. The doctor had smiled sweetly and kept talking about
how Gretchen would need to be patient with John while he struggled with the
emotional trials of losing his memories.
Those were
the things she should be focusing on, how difficult it would be for John to
adjust to life when he left the hospital. His joke about not having any job
skills was unfortunately much too true. What was he going to do? Although, that
would only come after recovering from his broken bones and struggling through
the total lack of identity he would soon face. Gretchen reprimanded herself for
considering anything more than that. She needed to get her emotions under control
if she had any chance of helping him.
Shoving a
box into the closet, Gretchen chided herself for not having the many boxes
unpacked already. Her house still looked like it was in the first stages of
moving in some places. She had been busy, yes, but that was a poor excuse…one
she was paying for now. It would take a couple more days to really get the room
cleaned out, especially the closet she was currently piling everything into.
That made her want to groan out loud. Why didn’t I do this months ago?
Gretchen
stacked a couple of unhung picture frames on top of the box and stared at the
first picture. The faces of her college friends
Similar Books
