Chapter 13
Clare
Oversized Sweats and Hallmark Movies
A soft shake caused me to open my eyes.
“Clare, the doctor is here to talk to you.”
I opened my eyes to see Wes looking at me with a worried expression on his face.
“What?” I asked, wiping the sleep from my eyes.
“The doctor is here to talk to you and Tim.”
Once the words made it past the fog in my head, I jerked upright and quickly stood.
“How are they?” I asked as I felt Wes wrap his arm around me to keep me steady on my feet.
It was then I heard my brother’s voice from the other side of me asking the doctor the same question. I wasn’t sure how in the hell my brother had managed to get leave and be in Boston as quick as he did, but I was thankful he was here. I was also thankful Wes had stayed by my side the entire time.
“They’re both going to be okay.”
I felt my body relax and my knees nearly buckled out from under me. Thank goodness Wes had his arm around my waist.
“They both had some internal bleeding initially, but it is all under control now. They’re doing much better now, but I would still like to keep them in the ICU for at least one more day before moving them into another room.”
“There isn’t any lasting damage, is there?” Tim asked.
“Not that we can tell. We have them both in an induced coma so they can rest and heal a bit more. Tomorrow or the next day we’ll be able to know more when they wake up. But, they’re both out of the woods, and if all goes well, they’ll be going home sooner rather than later.”
Turning, I buried my face into Wes’s chest and cried tears of relief. When his strong arms wrapped around my body, I instantly felt a peace sweep over me.
Tim spoke with the doctor for a few more moments while Wes guided me over to the small sofa and sat us down. I was so exhausted, I just wanted to curl up and go to sleep.
“Shh, it’s okay now. They’re going to be okay.”
“I was so scared, Wes.”
He gently ran his hand over my back. “I know, but they’re going to be okay now.”
“Clare,” Tim said as I glanced up at my brother. “The doctor said we won’t be able to go in and see Mom or Dad until maybe late tomorrow morning. He suggested we both go home, get some food and some rest. Do you want to come to the house with me?”
I knew I didn’t want to go to my parents’ house. And the thought of going back to my small apartment instantly made me feel so alone.
“I don’t think I want to go to Mom and Dad’s place,” I softly said.
Wes cleared his throat. “You can come to my house. Both of you, if you want. I’m not far from the hospital, and I can grab us something to eat on the way there.”
“That’s really nice of you, Wes, I appreciate it,” Tim said. “I think I’m going to go to my folks’ place. I’d like to be in my own bed. Plus, my girlfriend, Laura, is flying in tonight and she said she’ll pick us up some food.”
Tim looked back to me. “Are you going to be okay at your place? You’re more than welcome to come over and stay with me and Laura.”
Letting out a weary exhale, I said, “I think I’ll take Wes up on his offer. I don’t want to be alone, but I don’t want to intrude on you and Laura either.”
“You wouldn’t be,” Tim quickly stated. “You know you’re welcome to come home with me, Clare.”
I knew my brother wouldn’t have minded me staying with him and Laura, but I also knew they would want their own privacy. I shook my head. “Thank you for offering, but I know you’re excited to see Laura, and I want you to have that privacy.”
Tim reached for my hand and gave it a soft squeeze. “I’m going to stop by the nurses’ station and make sure they have both of our numbers.”
Wrapping my arms around my suddenly chilled body, I replied, “Sounds good. Thank you, Tim.”
He bent down and kissed me on the cheek. “I’ll call if I hear something, and you do the same.”
“I will. Be safe driving and tell Laura hi for me.”
Tim winked at me, then started for the nurses’ station. I closed my eyes and rotated my neck in a circle. Sleeping on that small sofa hadn’t exactly been comfortable.
“You’re exhausted” Wes whispered, reaching his hand out to brush a loose strand of hair away from my face. “How about I order some takeout and pick it up on the way to my place?”
My stomach took that moment to growl. “That sounds really good, thank you.”
Before I knew it, we were out of the hospital and in Wes’s car. I fought to keep my eyes open and quickly lost the battle. I somewhat heard him ordering food and talking to someone. The smell of something heavenly filled the car, and I only managed to open my eyes when I felt Wes park his car.
“What did you end up getting? It smells so good.”
“Italian from the place next to my condo. They’ve got great food.”
Wes got out of the car, three bags in his hand, as he opened the passenger side door for me. I got out and stretched. My entire body ached from being on that hospital sofa for nearly two days. Tim told me Wes had slept a few times on the floor, and I knew he had to be just as tired as I was.
“I feel like someone has used me for a punching bag.”
Wes laughed as we started for the elevators. “I’m sure you do. You’ve probably been wound up so tight with anxiety and fear, on top of an uncomfortable sofa.”
“Yeah,” I said as he pushed the button to go up.
“I’m just glad your mother and father are going to be okay.”
Dropping back against the elevator wall, I sighed. “So am I. I was so scared there for a little while. Especially when no one was coming out to tell us anything.”
“That is the worst feeling. The not knowing. I’m so glad your brother could get there, as well as your friends.”
“So am I, Wes, so am I.”
I soon found myself in Wes’s condo, standing in the foyer suddenly feeling so unsure about my decision to come here. I could have gone to Autumn’s place.
Wes set the to-go bags on the counter and glanced my way.
“Why don’t you go ahead and put your stuff in my room. I’m going to plate this food for us and heat up the bread.”
“O-okay, right. Thank you.” I started for his bedroom, then stopped and looked his way. “You’re sure you don’t mind me being here?”
He smiled, and the way it reached his eyes caused something in my chest to squeeze.
“I don’t mind at all, Clare. I’ll sleep out here tonight instead of the guest room in case you need anything, and you can have my bed. It’s more comfortable than the guest bedroom bed.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary at all, Wes. I can sleep in the other room.”
He glanced up at me again as he started to unpack all the food he bought. “I want you to take my bed, Clare. Why don’t you take a shower and get comfortable.”
My eyes went wide. “I don’t have anything to sleep in.”
Wes left the food and headed into his room with me following closely behind him.
He pulled open a drawer and moved some things around, then pulled out a shirt. Boston Red Sox, how appropriate. Opening another drawer, he pulled out a pair of sweatpants. Turning to face me, he held them out for me.
“The pants might be a bit big, but if you tie them tight enough, they should be okay.”
Feeling tears start to well up in my eyes at his kindness, I forced myself to smile and push the emotions down.
“Thank you,” I said as I took the clothing from him. “I don’t think I could have been alone tonight. I hope you didn’t have any plans or anything. I’ve already ruined the last couple days for you.”
“Nonsense,” he replied. “Go take a hot shower, I’ll keep the food warm, so you don’t have to rush.”
The idea of standing under a hot shower sounded like heaven.
“Autumn said she put some toiletries in the bag for you.”
I nodded and made a mental note to text Autumn. When she dropped the bag off at the hospital, I had been sleeping and didn’t have a chance to thank her.
“There are clean towels in the cabinet in the bathroom. You remember where they’re at.”
“Yep, I do,” I said as the memory of being here when Wes was sick hit me. Seeing him naked and so hard. I had wanted to reach out and touch him so badly.
I shook the thoughts away.
As Wes walked out of his bedroom, I couldn’t help but turn and watch him. You could see the muscles in his back ripple with the movement. The memory of what it felt like to be up against his body assaulted me. His warm arms wrapped around me in such a protective way. I’d never experienced that before.
I closed my eyes and whispered, “Stop it, Clare. He’s in love with another woman.”
Dropping down onto the bed, I let out a soft groan and fell back. If I closed my eyes I’d be able to fall asleep, no problem at all. But I wasn’t about to do that. Forcing myself back up, I opened the bag and saw the Autumn had packed me a pair of jeans, clean panties, my toothbrush, deodorant, and socks. Of course, she wouldn’t have packed anything to sleep in if she thought I was going to be hanging out in a hospital waiting room.
I stood, grabbed the bag along with the clothes Wes had given me, and headed into the bathroom. Wes’s bathroom was like a spa. The shower was huge and had a rainwater faucet along with a few others coming out from either side of the wall. It was going to feel like a massage taking a shower in there. His guest bathroom had a basic shower and tub in it, nothing like this one. The soaker tub was huge. There were two sinks, both spotless. The only thing that would tell you which sink was Wes’s was the toothbrush and the soap that sat on his side.
Stripping out of my clothes, I reached in and turned on the shower. I grabbed my toothbrush and opened the top drawer of the sink on Wes’s side and found the toothpaste. I quickly brushed my teeth, then stepped into the steaming hot water. It felt like heaven when I stepped under the rain shower and let the hot water spill over my entire body.
I could have stayed in there for days, but when my stomach continued to protest during the entire length of the shower, I quickly finished up. After drying off, I slipped on fresh panties. I pulled the Boston Red Sox shirt over my head. It was so big it fell to the middle of my thighs. The sweatpants were huge, but I was able to pull the drawstring tight and tie them so they wouldn’t fall off. I glanced in the mirror and laughed. I looked ridiculous in the oversized clothes. It was a good thing I wasn’t trying to seduce Wes.
With a quick look at myself in the full-length mirror I sighed. My eyes were bloodshot, and I looked like I hadn’t slept in days.
“You look like shit,” I softly said as I pulled the towel off my head, quickly towel dried my hair, and hung it up in the bathroom.
The moment I opened the bedroom door I moaned.
“That smells so good.”
Wes turned and froze in place. His eyes slowly swept over my body from head to toe, and when his gaze landed on mine for a hot second, I thought I saw desire there.
Ha! Wishful thinking, Clare. He’s probably thinking you look like a drowned rat.
“Sorry it took me so long. The hot water felt so good, and your shower is heavenly with all those faucets throwing water at you. Best shower I’ve ever had.”
He raised a single brow, and I knew he wanted to say something smartass back, but he simply stared at me.
I glanced down at my ragged appearance. “Thank you for the clothes. I’m sure I look terrible and homeless in them, but they are so comfortable.”
“The opposite,” Wes replied, his voice sounding a bit gravelly.
Excuse me, what did you say?
Wanting to change the subject back to a safer topic, I asked, “What did you get?” Waiting for his reply, I slid onto one of the stools at the island.
“Lasagna, ravioli, a salad, and some bread that I just took out of the oven. The food was still pretty hot.”
My stomach growled and we both laughed.
“What can I do to help?” I asked.
“Nothing at all. You just take it easy.”
Smiling, I fiddled with the napkin he slid over to me.
“Wine?”
Sighing, I replied, “Wine sounds perfect.”
Wes placed a plate full of food in front of me followed by the glass of red wine. He pulled a stool around so he could sit across from me.
“It looks and smells so good.”
Wes took a bite and moaned. “It’s so good.”
He wasn’t lying. The food was amazing. Wes started to ask questions about my parents, and I soon found myself sharing stories of the places we would go on vacations. He sat there and listened with a smile on his face while I took a walk down memory lane. I talked about the one Christmas my father put my Barbie mansion together. How he had taught me to ride a bike on a camping trip. Wes then asked what they did for a living.
“My father is a lawyer, retired from the Marines in his early forties, and went to work for a firm in Boston.”
“Really? I didn’t know that. Is that why Tim went in?”
I shrugged. “Probably. My mother is a therapist. A sex therapist.”
Wes choked on his food. “What?”
Laughing, I nodded. “Yeah.”
“It sounds like you and Tim had a great childhood,” Wes said with a smile.
Nodding, I said, “We did. They made sure we had a fun time growing up. My father was raised by two very strict parents, and my mother never knew her father. He left before she was born.”
“Damn, that’s a dick move.”
I let out a small laugh. “Yeah, it was. My mother and father wanted Tim and me to have the childhood they never had, and in some ways, I feel like they spoiled us.”
Closing my eyes, I slowly exhaled, then looked back at Wes. “I was so scared, Wes. I thought for sure I was going to lose them.”
He reached across the table and took my hand in his. “You didn’t lose them, so don’t even think that way.”
I quickly wiped a tear away. “Thank you for letting me stay here. I don’t think I could be home alone.”
Squeezing my hand, our eyes met. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“You are?”
Wes nodded. “That’s what friends are for, right?”
The bubble of happiness quickly deflated, and I forced myself not to show even an ounce of disappointment.
He filled my wine glass up again. “Why don’t you head on over to the sofa and enjoy your wine. Put whatever you want on the TV, and I’ll clean up.”
“I can help you clean up.”
Wes held up his hand. “You’re the guest, you relax and let me take care of you for once.”
“Thank you, I think I’m going to take you up on watching some TV.”
Taking the glass of wine, I headed over to his large sofa, grabbed the remote, and sat down.
I turned on the TV and punched in the channel number of my favorite station.
“No, oh God, no. Not the Hallmark Channel.”
Smiling, I took a sip of wine before I set it down on the side table. “Oh, come on. It’s Christmas movies. Who doesn’t love Christmas movies?”
Wes pointed to himself. “This guy, right here. He doesn’t love Christmas movies. Especially Hallmark ones. There isn’t even any sex in them.”
I frowned. “How about this. We watch one movie, and then you can turn the TV to whatever you want it on.”
“One movie? That’s all?”
Holding up my finger, I said, “I promise. If you hate it, we’ll change the channel.”
Wes smiled and my stomach did a little dip. “You’ve got a deal.”