The Day He Went Away by Millikin Jennifer

Author:Millikin, Jennifer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JNM LLC
Published: 2016-11-09T16:00:00+00:00

***

“This is a nice apartment,” Nick says when we walk in. He looks around. “Very…feminine.”

From my place in his arms I turn my head to see what he sees. Lots of mirrors… Harper's idea. Candles everywhere. Harper's candles. A lot of ivory and light pink. Harper.

“Thanks. You can probably put me down now.” I point and flex the toes below my hurt ankle.

Nick frowns. “I don't think you should be holding your own weight yet.”

He strides to the couch and puts me down. “I'll be back in a second.” He goes to the kitchen.

Only his upper half is visible above the half-wall. He opens the freezer, then some drawers, a couple cabinets, and I hear glasses clink.

“Why don't you ask me where stuff is?”

He looks up at me and then looks back down. “I'm learning.”

“Learning?”

“Yeah.” He walks around the wall and back to me, arms full.

“Lie back,” he instructs.

While I'm doing that, he grabs my hurt foot and places it on two pillows.

“Keep this elevated.”

I nod, watching him wrap a bag of frozen peas in a kitchen towel. He adds the frozen peas to the top of my ankle.

“I have ice packs in there.”

“I saw. Peas are better. Try not to move. It needs to stay on there.” He studies my ankle, then looks around. He leans back, grabs a pillow off the loveseat, and gently tucks it under my head.

“How do you feel?” he asks on his way back into the kitchen.

“Embarrassed.” I sigh and push the hair out of my face. “I can't believe that happened. I've hiked that mountain a hundred times.”

Nick walks back to the couch. “Why were you up there so late?”

I look away.

“You don't have to tell me. It's okay. Here.”

I look back. In one hand Nick holds a water glass, in the other, a bottle of pills. “Anti-inflammatory. Two or three?”

“But if I take those…” I need to see Ethan. If I take those I can't drink.

“If you take these…?” Nick's eyebrows rise on his forehead.

“Nothing, nothing.” I hold out a hand.

Nick places the pills in my palm and helps me sit up. He hands me the glass of water.

I don't know if I'll see you in my dreams now. The thought is soul crushing.

I swallow the pills individually, each one heavy like a stone. When I'm done Nick takes the glass. I lie back down.

“Tell me about Connecticut.”

I close my eyes as Nick talks. His voice is deep and smooth.

“…green. Different than the green here. The green back home is like the original color from the crayon box. Here it's more olive green.”

His words start sounding far away.

“…and the roads are way better out here. It's so easy to get around. And the Mexican food. Don't even get me started. I never knew what I was missing…”

When I open my eyes again I'm in my bed. Nick's pulling my sheet up around me.

“Sorry,” he whispers as he pulls the comforter over the sheet. “I was trying not to wake you.”

“It's okay,” I mumble.

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