Chapter Eighteen
Eighteen
Simon
“Don’t move, Spencer!” I dashed to the kitchen and grabbed a fistful of paper towels. I hurried back to the living room, feeling my heart pound in my chest at the sight of how deep the wound in her palm was. I pressed the towels into her hand then turned to examine the bed frame.
Using the flashlight on my phone, I illuminated the part that she’d grabbed. There was a rusty spring that had broken free from the frame. I had no doubt it was the one that had injured her.
“Sit.” I guided her to the recliner, not wanting her to black out if the sight of blood bothered her. I then bolted up the stairs shouting for my sister. “Lorelei!”
“No, don’t bother her!” Hannah cried after me. I ignored her.
I charged into my room, where my sister was snoring. “Lor.” I shook her awake. “Do you have a medical kit?”
“Huh? What? What’s happening?” Her voice was groggy with sleep as she sat up, pushing her dark hair out of her eyes.
“Hannah punctured her hand on a rusty spring on the couch.”
“Oh, shit!” Lorelei threw aside her covers, fully awake now. She crossed the room and grabbed a very large medical bag and then charged down the stairs with me on her heels.
Dude had risen to his feet and was pressing his nose into Hannah’s hands as if he wanted to act as nurse. “I’m okay, buddy. No worries.”
“Kitchen now,” Lor ordered, not waiting for Hannah as she charged to the sink and turned on the hot water.
“It’s fine, you shouldn’t have disturbed her sleep.”
“I saw the wound. It’s not fine. It looks deep.” I cupped her elbow and pulled her to her feet.
Lorelei was scrubbing her hands when we entered and she quickly dried them with a paper towel and pulled on a pair of blue gloves.
She took Hannah from me and led her to the sink, where she examined the wound and cleaned it.
She wrapped it with thick padding and some bandages and told Hannah to take over-the-counter pain meds if it started to hurt.
“Thank you,” Hannah said. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. Simon didn’t have to wake you.”
I would have protested but Lor beat me to it.
“Yes, he did. There are two things you don’t want to mess with: animal bites and punctures.” She began repacking the contents of her medical kit. “When was your last tetanus shot?”
“I don’t know.” Hannah shrugged.
“You will tomorrow,” Lor said. “Wait here.”
Hannah and I exchanged a look while Lor ran back upstairs. She was back down in moments, wheeling what I had thought was her carry-on but now realized was a medical-grade cooler.
She opened it to reveal assorted vials inside. She reached for one and closed the lid. “My vaccine cooler for my home-health visits.”
“Ah.” I nodded. My sister never ceased to amaze me.
Lor set the vial down on the counter and grabbed a packaged syringe from her medical kit. As she opened the packaging, Hannah stepped back or, more accurately, jumped back.
“No! I mean, no thank you.” Hannah’s eyes were wide and sweat coated her skin. She shook her head. “I’m good.”
“Hannah, the metal you punctured yourself with could cause tetanus,” Lor said in an understanding voice that was both pragmatic and patient. “You have to have this shot unless you can remember the last time you were vaccinated.”
“No.” Hannah shook her head vehemently. She was trembling and sweating and looked like she might throw up. It was clear she was panicking.
“Hey.” I approached her, pulling her gaze away from the needle in Lor’s hand. I cupped her face with my hands. “What’s going on, Spencer?”
“Nothing,” she insisted. “I just don’t need a shot.”
“Lockjaw, muscle spasms, seizures, believe me, you need the shot,” Lor said.
“I’m sure I was vaccinated.”
“In the past ten years?” Lor asked.
Hannah didn’t answer, which I took to mean she didn’t know.
“Talk to me, Spencer,” I said. Her face was just inches from mine and I could see the sweat beading on her brow and feel her trembling.
“I’m just not great with needles.” She lowered her head and I moved my hands to her shoulders. I didn’t know if I was holding on to her for her sake or my own at this point. I just knew that I couldn’t not hold her when she was so clearly terrified.
“You’re afraid of needles?” Lor asked. She put the syringe behind her back, no doubt to keep from traumatizing Hannah.
“Not afraid exactly. I know you’re right. I need to get the vaccination. I definitely don’t want lockjaw or seizures. It’s just…” Hannah’s voice trailed off and she shivered. “I just can’t.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked. The fear in her eyes was making my heart hurt.
“Not really.” Hannah shook her head. “Can’t I just take my chances and do without it?”
“I don’t want to be a hard-ass, but as a healthcare provider, I don’t feel like this is negotiable,” Lor said. “Simon, help her.”
“I’d love to. Any suggestions?” I asked. The only thing I could think to do to get her mind off the needle was to kiss her, but that seemed wildly self-serving and incredibly inappropriate, given the circumstances.
“Tell her about one of your really boring fishing excursions, you know, the ones where you and Charlie catch nothing,” Lor said. “That should numb her into a relaxed state.”
“Hey!” I protested. I glanced at Hannah and felt her shoulders loosen a little bit while Lor and I bickered. This might just work. “Just because you are afraid of the ocean and never come with us—”
“I am not!” Lor protested just like I knew she would.
“Oh, please, who failed lifeguard school?”
“That was not my fault!” Lor argued. “I have a genuine fear of sharks because of you and Charlie.”
“How do you figure that?” I asked.
Lor immediately started humming the theme from Jaws and said, “Every time I went swimming one of you snuck up behind me and grabbed my leg, pretending to be a shark. It’s amazing I can even take a bath, you two freaked me out so much.”
I felt Hannah’s shoulders shake and glanced at her to make certain she was laughing and not crying.
“That was all Charlie’s idea,” I said. “Technically, you’re not afraid of sharks, you’re afraid of us.”
“Oh, no, it’s definitely sharks, and it all comes from childhood trauma,” Lor said. “Just like you’re terrified of heights.”
I went still. I hadn’t really counted on Lor exposing me like that, but as I felt Hannah relax fully, I knew I would have confessed anything to help her through her panic spiral.
“Are you really?” Hannah’s face turned up to mine.
“Not afraid…terrified.” I didn’t love exposing my fear, but if it made it easier for her to get the shot, I’d do it gladly. “I’ve tried everything—cognitive behavioral therapy, medication, all of that stuff—to get over it but the fear remains.”
Her gaze held mine and there was an understanding in it that took my breath away. “What happened to cause you to be afraid of heights?”
I felt Lor go still beside me. This was one of those moments where I could bluff it out, pretend it was just a silly thing I couldn’t get over, but I didn’t want to.
Not with Hannah. I knew we were sharing this house for only a little while longer and then going our separate ways, but I still felt the need to be my authentic self with her—because, as I was quickly realizing, I had feelings for her. And I trusted her.
“When I was eight, I was up in our tree house and I missed Dad’s call to dinner.
Our mom was away, visiting a friend, so Dad was in charge.
He was furious that I didn’t come when called.
I didn’t hear him, but he didn’t believe me.
He came outside and took the ladder away, leaving me up in the tree house all night.
I was terrified. I cried for hours. I never went up in the tree house again, so I guess he made his point. ”
“What a horrible thing to do to a little boy. I’m so sorry, Simon.
” Hannah cupped my cheek with her bandaged hand.
It was the first time she’d called me by my first name since the day we’d met, and the sound of it in her low husky voice made something in my chest hum.
If I were a cat, I’d probably be purring.
“Ouch!” Hannah started, and we both turned to see Lor removing the needle from Hannah’s upper arm and swabbing it with an antiseptic wipe. “Sorry, but it seemed like as good a time as any.”
Hannah sighed and said, “No, you’re good. I barely felt it and I much prefer a little pinch than lockjaw or seizures.”
“Get some rest,” Lor said. “If your hand starts to get hot or you feel feverish, come wake me immediately.”
Hannah nodded. I gave my sister a quick hug and said, “Thanks, you’re the best.”
“I know.” She hugged me back, snapped the lid on her medical kit shut, and dragged her rolling cooler back upstairs.
We watched her go and then I turned to Hannah. “You sure you’re all right?”
“I’m fine. Did your father actually do that to you?” she asked. “I’m really hoping you made the story up to distract me.”
Embarrassed heat filled my face. I led the way back to the living room.
Using my foot, I pushed the fold-out mattress back into the base and then replaced the cushions.
I didn’t want to get poked in the butt with a loose spring and get the same wound Hannah had, although I knew I was up on my tetanus vaccine because my sister made it her business to be in my medical business.
I sat on the couch and Hannah sat beside me.
She tucked her legs beneath her and Dude climbed up on her other side, wedging her neatly between the two of us.
I wanted to put an arm around her, pull her close, and comfort her, but I didn’t.
The line between us—of strangers owning a house together—was blurring with every moment I spent with her.
It occurred to me if I wanted her to tell me why she was afraid of shots then I needed to be honest about my fear of heights.
“He did.” I cleared my throat. “Among many other tough-love parenting choices.”
“You were just a boy.” Her face crumpled in distress.