9. Chapter Eight
Chapter Eight
Rory
M y eyes warily scan over the stern looking man that's walking beside Sophia towards me and I can't contain the small tremble that runs down my spine as his piercing green eyes scan over my face before moving on to the next person.
He seems dangerous.
Maybe it's his dark features, the dark clothes or the obvious gun tucked into his waistband. Maybe it's as simple as seeing everyone avoiding looking in his direction, I'm not sure, but he seems like someone I want to steer clear of.
I know they say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but honestly, I do. Not only with actual books, but with people too.
Sophia smiles at me as we pass each other in the hallway on my way back to Jaylen's room and I attempt to do the same, but I'm unsure whether I'm successful because I'm focusing on not looking at the hulking man that's walking with her.
His tattooed arm wrapped around her shoulders as he scans his gaze over every person they pass as if they may be a threat to them both.
Although Sophia seems sweet and has told me that her family is supposedly nicer than I think, I can't help but have my doubts about them .
Especially when she's walking with a guy like that, who I'm assuming is her boyfriend.
I tuck my paperback under my arm, squirt some sanitiser on my hands and then walk into Jaylen's room, prepared to spend the next hour until my shift finishes beside his bed, reading the book I've been engrossed in lately.
Walking into the room, I can already feel his eyes on me as I walk over to the chair beside him and aimlessly check the machine he's hooked up to and the IV bag hanging beside it.
As I sit down, I look over at him and give him a small smile.
Now that he's awake and can hear things and respond to them, I'm not really sure what I should do.
Do I try and talk to him?
Do I just pretend he's not there?
He continues to watch me as I get comfortable in my seat and when I open my book, only to see his eyes still on me, I decide that maybe I need to speak to him before I sit here and get lost in the fictional world that's had a hold on me for the past two days.
"Are you okay?" I ask, studying his face as I wait for him to blink in reply to my question.
When he replies with a yes, I nod my head and smile at him softly.
"Is it okay if I sit here and read my book for the next few hours until the end of my shift?"
He blinks once in response, indicating that it's okay for me to do so.
I watch him for a few more seconds, lost in the depths of his blue eyes before I shake myself out of it and lean back in the chair, tucking my knees up to my chest and resting the book on my thighs .
I manage to read a few sentences before my eyes flick back over to Jaylen, distracted by the feel of his eyes burning into me.
His brows raise slightly, and I'm unsure if it's just a twitch or an intentional movement.
When his eyes dart down to my book before jumping back to mine, I assume that he's wanting to know what I'm reading.
"You want to know what it is?" I ask, shocked that he seems to have taken an interest.
He blinks, just once, and a smile tugs at my lips.
"Well, the book's called Forget-Me-Not Bombshell .
Honestly, I picked it up because of the cover," I tell him, sliding my bookmark into the pages before I close the book and turn it around to show him the front of it.
"Then I read the blurb and the author's note and realised it's a dark why-choose romance. Total jackpot."
His eyes scan over the cover and his lips twitch slightly as amusement swims in his eyes.
"Why are you looking at it like that?" I ask, turning the book away from him as nervous tingles spread through my body.
His gaze flicks over to mine and my heart stops when I see his lips part, almost as if he's trying to say something.
Silence swamps the room, and when his mouth closes again and the amusement disappears from his eyes, my stomach swirls with discomfort.
"I'm sorry," I say, scooting my chair closer to his bedside. "I should've asked a question that you could respond to."
His eyelids flutter shut, and I watch the creases around his eyes appear as he squeezes them closed .
I tentatively reach my hand out, placing it gently against his arm, and when his eyes open again, I smile.
"Want me to tell you what the book's about?"
He blinks once, and I nod as heat prickles along my cheeks.
I thought he'd say no.
I hoped he'd say no.
I take a deep breath and roll my lips inwards as I awkwardly glance around the room whilst my mind works on overdrive, trying to come up with a description for this book that doesn't give away the fact that I was about to sit beside his bed and read about a woman in the Mafia who's getting railed by three different guys.
"Well, uh, the main character, she's urm," I stutter over my words, internally berating myself for getting so flustered.
A short, gruff sort of chuckle startles me, drawing me out of my panicked state as my eyes whip back over to Jaylen, seeing his mouth open again and his eyes filled with mirth as he watches me.
"Oh, my. D-did you just laugh?" I ask, putting the book down in my lap as I lean forward, staring at him in shock and disbelief.
His eyes widen and he quickly blinks.
"You didn't realise it was out loud did you?"
He blinks twice.
"I heard it," I state, gaping at him. "You laughed. It wasn't a proper laugh, but it was still something. Holy shit, this is amazing! I need to go and get Markus."
I stand from the chair, placing my book down on it and then head towards the door before remembering that it's late in the evening and Markus has probably already gone home .
Turning back to Jaylen, I see a panicked, almost frightened look on his face as he glances between me and the door.
"Markus has probably already gone home," I tell him quietly, stepping back towards his bed and watching as the fearful look on his face starts to diminish. "I'll just write it down in your notes and also inform him in the morning."
I walk back over to the chair, pick up my book and then sit down beside him.
"Why don't you try and get some rest? You've done a lot today. I can't imagine how exhausted you must be. If you want, I can stay with you until you fall asleep?"
I'm not sure why I'm offering to stay later, considering I'm already paranoid about being on a bus late at night in a new city and having to walk from the bus stop to my new apartment in the dark, but after seeing how scared he looked when I went to leave the room, sadness seeped into my bones and I couldn't imagine myself leaving him alone.
He blinks at me and his lips twitch as I think he tries to smile at me before his eyes flutter closed.
I watch him for a few moments, my eyes scanning his softened features and I find myself smiling over at him as I flick open my book and settle into the chair beside his bed, prepared to spend the next few hours losing myself in a fictional world I wished I could be a part of.