34. Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Three
Rory
T he last two days have been filled with blissful moments, stolen kisses, cute conversations, and lots more cuddling while I finished reading the book Chrissie recommended to me.
Jaylen was there to hold me and wipe my tears when I read through the sad, triggering chapters. He listened when I explained why I was laughing, or sighing in adoration, and he never once made fun of me, or made me feel silly when I claimed I was falling head over heels for men that didn't exist.
I've also realised that Jaylen would make the perfect book boyfriend.
He's got the good looks, the charming smile, the protective nature, the sculpted body, and he says the most perfect things that have you feeling a whole heap of different emotions.
During our question game last night, I also learnt that his cousin, Sophia, is not only into reading, but she's always dreamt of opening her own bookstore, and apparently Kaleb has bought her a store in London that he's currently having done up for her as a surprise.
I had to call Chrissie last night once Leo dropped me home and admit that she was, in fact, correct when she said Sophia was an icon and had Kaleb wrapped around her finger .
Imagine a man loving you so much that he secretly helps your dream come true just to see you happy.
Entering the hospital this morning, I'm practically skipping down the corridor, excited to see Jaylen again.
I really should ask for his number because the moment I leave the hospital at night, I start missing him, and even though I know he's always asleep when I leave, it'd be nice to be able to speak to him in the morning before I come in to the hospital.
After putting my stuff into my locker, I make my way to Jaylen's room, my heart beating fast inside my chest, and a warmth spreading through my body at the thought of finally being close to him again.
As I push open the door, I'm graced with the sight of Jaylen standing by the window with Jess beside him, and I immediately stop in my tracks, not wanting to interrupt them when I know they're still gradually rebuilding their relationship.
As I backtrack, Jaylen looks over his shoulder, spotting me, and he shoots me a cheesy grin, and winks at me, causing the swarm of butterflies in my stomach to flutter around in excitement.
"Hey, beautiful," he says, walking over to me and wrapping his arms around me, plastering me against his chest as he drags me back in to his room.
He places a kiss against my chest before loosening his hold on me, and his eyes sweep over my face.
"Hey," I murmur, blushing profusely.
"Great, now I'm surrounded by more mushy, lovey-dovey couple shit," Jess groans from across the room reminding me that she's witnessing this little moment between us .
I try to move away from Jaylen, but he keeps me close, looping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me into his side as he turns to glare at his sister.
"You're just jealous and miserable because you're single and not getting laid," he retorts.
"So, same as you then, yeah?" she argues back.
I struggle to contain my laughter when I see the offended expression on Jaylen's face.
Jess looks away from her brother and her eyes land on me.
"Good luck putting up with him. I promise, he'll drive you crazy, and soon enough, you'll be sick of him just like the rest of us," she says, shooting a faux disgusted look at her twin.
"Oh, please. Rory would never be sick of me, would you darling?"
He looks down at me with a playful smirk, and I smile back at him in appreciation because without me having to ask him or point it out, he called me Rory even though he knows the truth now.
"Never in a million years," I reply, feeling my lips stretch wide as my smile grows.
"Okay, that's my cue to leave. I can't watch this shit anymore," Jess says, bustling out the room.
As soon as we hear the door close behind her, he swoops down and presses his lips against mine, kissing me within an inch of my life before he finally lets up and lets me breathe.
"I've been waiting for that," he mutters, pecking my lips once more.
"We were with each other about ten hours ago, Jaylen."
"Ten hours is far too long," he groans, releasing me from his hold and moving over to his bed, groaning as he sits down and starts massaging his thighs with his knuckles .
"Are you okay?" I ask, concern laced in my voice as I watch him grimace.
"Yeah, just think I might've overdone it a little bit this morning."
"What have you been doing?"
"Jess and I walked around the ward," he says, sheepishly.
"You didn't use the crutches, or the walking frame for support, did you?"
He shakes his head in response.
"Jaylen," I sigh, sitting down beside him. "I know you want to be able to do everything by yourself, but you're going to need some help every now and then."
"There's no chance I'm walking around this hospital with a Zimmer frame, looking like some frail old man."
"You're walking around the ward, not the hospital. Half of the people here are in comas, so they won't be looking at you. Plus, I personally don't think it'll make you look like a frail old man at all, baby."
His eyes connect with mine and a smirk slowly crawls onto his face.
"Even though that was a blatant lie, I'll forgive you for it because I love when you call me that."
"It just kind of slipped out."
"Well, you should let it slip out more often," he says, winking at me.
I cover my mouth, physically holding my laughter back.
"I thought that would sound sexy, but as soon as I said it, I knew I'd fucked up," he mutters, cringing at himself.
My laugh bursts free, and I fall back onto his bed when he rolls his eyes and feigns being sad.
After messing around with Jaylen in his room for a few hours until his aunt and sister come to visit him, I check in on Mr Krill before heading to the staff room for my lunch break, hoping to catch Lola along the way so that she doesn't think I've abandoned her.
I open up my locker and go to grab my bag when I see a folded note resting on top of it with what looks like a picture underneath.
Frowning, I glance around the empty room before reaching for the note and picture.
Before reading the note, I tuck it behind the photo, intrigued to see what it is.
I gasp in surprise and a cold shiver runs through my body as I bring the picture closer to my face, analysing it as if to be sure that it's a picture of me and Jaylen from the other night in his hospital room.
I'm sat on top of him, my mouth parted, eyes closed, and my head is tipped back.
He's beneath me, and although you can't see his face in the image, you can see his hands gripping tightly on to my hips.
My panicked, ragged breaths fill the room around me as I hurriedly shove the picture back in to my locker and unfold the note.
Does the boss know?
My heart stops inside my chest as I read the words multiple times before throwing the paper back inside my locker and slam it shut .
My eyes are wide, my breathing's erratic, and the sound of my heart pounding and my blood pumping is all I can hear.
I press my back against the metal locker and squeeze my eyes shut, forcing myself to try and take some calming breaths.
It can't be him.
You're just being paranoid, Aurora.
He doesn't know where you are.
He can't find you.
He couldn't have been that close.
It can't be him.
My breathing slowly evens out, and I wrench my eyes open as I continue to internally reassure myself that the note and picture isn't from Danny.
"You're safe," I whisper, trying to force conviction into my voice. "Everything's okay."
My fingers run through my hair as I take deep breaths, willing myself to remain calm.
Surely it can't be from Danny.
It must be from someone else.
Danny wouldn't care about whether Markus knew what was going on between Jaylen and me.
He certainly wouldn't come here just to take a photo and then leave.
He likes to play games, but surely if he'd found me, he would've made his presence known by now.
I sink down to the floor, curling my legs up to my chest and resting my chin against my knees.
Does this mean another nurse has realised what's going on and is threatening to expose me ?
Jesus Christ, I might actually lose my job.
"Fuck," I whisper-shout, banging my head against the locker behind me.