28. Chapter 27
J inx had almost drowned. Or he had drowned? Did drowning mean it ended in death? Can you drown and survive, or was it called something else then?
Julia wanted to research the terminology, but Mrs. Holden was squeezing her hand in comfort, and she didn’t want to pull away. It was just the two of them there now that night had fallen.
It was easier to look at Jinx now that the oxygen mask had been removed, though his breathing still sounded too loud to Julia’s ears.
He had a white bandage wrapped around his head, covering a nasty gash.
She’d seen it when they changed the soaked through bandage.
Head wounds bled a lot. Trust Jinx to somehow have something fall directly on his head while he worked with his client in the pool. No one had ever seen anything like it.
He’d been knocked out underwater, and he’d drawn water into his lungs.
More than the doctors had liked. That’s why they were keeping him.
To give him oxygen to help things get back to normal quicker, and hopefully to prevent any chance of pneumonia.
It was a minor risk, more common when the body was weak.
Jinx was fit in a skinny, toned way. He would be fine. Everyone had agreed.
Sleep was the best thing for him, but she wished she’d seen him awake for more than a few minutes.
Part of that was the head injury, which they continued to monitor, but it hadn’t even needed stitches.
Unless they had used glue and she hadn’t noticed.
She hated that she knew very little outside of the surgeries she helped with. She should know more.
“All these years, and this hadn’t happened.” Mrs. Holden rubbed Julia’s fingers. “I always worried about him being around water. Remember how you fished him out of the lake that one time?”
More than once since he’d fallen in as an adult, too. Julia didn’t say that. The lake had only been a few feet deep, and he hadn’t been knocked out. The situation wasn’t the same at all.
“You were there for him back then. Remember that near miss at the bus stop? I think I was most afraid then, even though I tried not to be.” Mrs. Holden sighed, a sad smile lifting her lips.
“God sent me my baby boy as a constant reminder that I wasn’t the one in control.
Can’t say the lesson ever stuck, though.
I still fret.” She patted Julia’s hand. “A little less, now that you’re back in his life. ”
Julia’s throat tightened. “I missed him,” she admitted.
It was only in quiet moments like these that she could acknowledge the hurt she’d felt over the past few years.
Jinx hadn’t been in town very often, but whenever she learned that he had been and that she hadn’t seen him, there had been a part of her that had squirmed.
She’d blamed that last encounter after the party, thinking she’d gotten things wrong.
She hadn’t, though. That night had caused it, but not because of her.
“I’m glad you’re together again,” Mrs. Holden said. “You’ve always been good for him, Julia. Good for my whole family, even me. I’m glad you’re here.” She tilted her head toward Julia’s, and they rested against each other. “I hope he’s there for you as much as you’re here for him.”
She remembered how careful he’d been when he was there for her during the two off nights he’d been around for. “Jinx is special,” she said.
His mom lifted her head. “He said you’re dating now. Really dating.”
Julia wanted to look away from her searching eyes, feeling way too transparent when her smile softened.
“It’s true, isn’t it?”
“Yes. We’re together.” Her heart squeezed at saying that out loud. ‘Together’ made them sound like an established couple. Was that what they were? “We’re still feeling things out.”
“I’d hoped his feelings wouldn’t remain one-sided.” Mrs. Holden took Julia’s other hand, clutching them both in hers. “Oh, you two will have the cutest babies.”
Julia wanted to bury herself in a hole.
“Stop, Mom,” Jinx wheezed out, coughing after. “No babies.”
Julia jumped up from the couch, moving over to the bed. The lighting in the hospital room was dim, but she could still see his eyes open, a part of her settling when they focused on her.
“Hi,” he breathed out.
She couldn’t return the word, not with her throat closing down to hold back her tears. She hadn’t cried, not yet. Crying would mean he wasn’t fine and besides, she wasn’t a crier. She took his hand, finding it cold to the touch and enveloping it with both of her own to fix that.
His mom had risen as well. “There’s my baby boy. How are you feeling?”
Jinx coughed again, his lips twisting. “Water?” he asked, his voice raspy.
Julia released him to find the hospital cup nearby. “Slowly,” she warned as she brought the straw to his lips. He’d had more than enough water inside him.
Jinx didn’t drink too much like she’d feared. His head settled again, and his voice didn’t sound as scratchy when he thanked her.
“You took quite a hit on the head,” Mrs. Holden said, patting his leg. “Is the pain bad?”
“No. I feel okay.” His eyes took in the room, and he had a rueful smile when he met Julia’s gaze. “The universe strikes again, huh? Sorry about this.”
She shook her head, clutching at the hospital cup.
“You gave us all a good scare. The doctors said you’ll be just fine by tomorrow, though you should take it easy for a few days. Want to come home and be pampered by your momma?”
“Not if you’re going to be talking about babies,” Jinx said with a scowl. “You know Julia doesn’t want any.”
Mrs. Holden didn’t look offended. “I know, I know. I was just teasing her a little. If you would have opened your eyes a moment sooner, you would have seen the cutest panicked look on her face.” She grinned at Julia.
“Don’t you worry, my baby boy has been telling me for years that he wasn’t going to make me a grandma.
Good thing Phoebe always wanted to be a mother, though I don’t get to watch them nearly enough. ”
Julia cleared her throat, hoping her voice wouldn’t give away how close she was to crying. “That might change.” The last word broke, and she shut her eyes. They burned with tears.
“Oh, honey.” Mrs. Holden put her arms around Julia the way she had back when she was a scared little girl worried her mother was going to die. “You don’t have to hold it back. I was scared, too, but look. Jesse is still here, and he’s going to be just fine.”
Tears leaked past her eyelids and down her cheeks. Her breath caught in her throat on a withheld sob.
A hand linked with hers, and she looked down, seeing her fingers tangled with his.
“I’m here,” Jinx said, his smile the bright, boyish one that made her chest way too tight. “I love you, Julia. I’m not going anywhere.”
She choked out a sound, and her eyes locked with his.
She didn’t let go of his hand as she continued to cry in his mother’s arms, the feelings inside familiar and comforting and embarrassing all together.
She hated emotions. They were always so messy.
But she was through pretending like she didn’t have any when it came to this man who continued to stare at her like she was the best thing in the world, even while snot ran out of her nose.
T hat swirling swoop in his stomach was back before Jesse even opened his eyes.
“You’re staring again,” he rasped, his voice full of sleep. Contentment mixed with guilt as Julia stroked the stubble along his cheek.
“You’re worth staring at.” She pressed into his side to brush a kiss over his lips. “Don’t act like you don’t like it.”
“Of course I like it. I like everything about you.” His eyes opened so he could see her, surprised when the sunlight filtering through the shade was bright enough to make the green of her eyes sparkle. She was dressed in scrubs. “Wait, did you turn off my alarm?”
She kissed him lightly one more time, her forehead crinkling as her hand shifted to his, resting against his skin. “I’m not imagining it. You’re a little warm today. You should stay home one more day.”
His chest constricted. He focused on his body, hoping it wasn’t what he feared.
He’d woken up with a slight headache, but he’d figured that was left over from the cut on his head.
Was there any itching in his groin? He hadn’t thought so, but now he could almost feel it.
He’d had phantom symptoms before, just from the fear of an outbreak, so he wasn’t sure.
The ache that sometimes developed in the back of his thighs wasn’t there. He sat up, pushing Julia back. He’d missed a few of his antiviral pills because he was so out of it from the accident. His head dropped to his hands as he breathed through the panic rising up his throat.
“It might be an outbreak. We shouldn’t have sex this week.”
“Hey.” Julia leaned into his shoulder, her arms circling his body in a hug.
“Everything’s fine. It might not even be that, and even if it is, you’re not up for any head banging.
” Her fingers brushed over the healing scab in his hair.
“I’m not worried about sex at all right now. We’re more than that.”
Jesse pulled in a steadying breath. “I know. Sorry.” Julia had been with him ever since he’d woken up in the hospital, and the way she’d looked at him ever since made him feel like he was floating, though he tried to talk himself down. He’d scared her, that was all.
“Don’t be sorry,” she murmured. The chill that had tried to overtake him slipped away the longer she held him.
“Not gonna lie, I don’t hate that you’re thinking about things like that, but”—her voice lowered as she leaned closer—“it’d be awkward with Charles’s room so close, even if you were up for it. ”
He let out a surprised laugh, groaning at the thought. “Yeah, no, I wouldn’t like that.”
She kissed his shoulder, and the rest of his lingering panic faded. “Come on. Let’s get you a pill and your first hit of coffee.”