Page 54 of Passing Notes
I blinked, trying not to get caught watching him like an insipid, love-addled fool. I was almost grateful for the hot tears filling my eyes, as they forced me to finally look away from him. I wiped them with the corner of the towel before he could see me in such an emotional state.
Since him, no one in my life had treated me with such selfless tenderness. My sisters and I took care of each other, but with them it was usually us finding our way through our shared problems—it was empathy, it was commiseration, it was us leaning on each other to make it through. Nick was different; with him I felt like I could let myself go and he could handle whatever I may need.
Our eyes met and I silently vowed that I would make him feel exactly as safe and comfortable as he was making me feel. Whenever he needed me, I would be there for him. I froze when I realized that was what our entire past relationship had been based on; we’d always been there for each other. Until it had ended.
“Lift your arms, baby.” His eyes burned with a faraway look, and I gasped when I realized what he’d found.
“Nick, I?—”
His voice was incredulous. “You kept it.”
I lifted my arms as he slid one of his old high school football jerseys over my head. “Umm...” I couldn’t form words. I was burning with fever, overcome with memories, and struck speechless by the love shining in his eyes.
“After all these years, you still have it.”
“I couldn’t get rid of it, I?—”
“Shh, lie down.” His gentle palm cupped my cheek as he pushed me back and tucked me in, pulling my quilt up to my chin and dropping a kiss to my forehead. “I’m going to run to my house and grab some things. Your medicine cabinet is sorely lacking. We’ll talk more about everything when you feel better.”
“Okay,” I murmured, my eyelids heavy with exhaustion.
“But Clara? I have to say one thing before you crash.”
“Yes?”
“Seeing you in that shirt again means the world. Knowing that you kept it is everything to me. You have to know that.” I nodded, unable to fight against my eyelids closing.
It was dark when I woke. The weather had not improved but my stomach had.
Blindly, I reached into the dark for the lamp at my bedside table to turn it on, smiling when I found a bottle of water and two Tylenol sitting in my tiny butterfly jewelry tray.
“How are you feeling?” Nick’s deep voice rumbling across my room sent a shiver up my spine.
“You stayed.”
“Of course I did. I would never leave you like this.”
I paused and took stock of my body. “I think my stomach is better, it’s just sore now.”
“I have chicken soup I can heat up when you’re ready and I brought over some necessities—crackers, non-moldy bread for toast, applesauce, Gatorade. You need to keep your pantry full, sweetheart. What if I wasn’t here to take care of you? Dehydration is a real concern when you’re throwing up.”
“I know. I just—” My voice was small. “Sadie used to do all that stuff. I usually just order in or pick something up whenever I leave the house.”
Thunder crashed in the distance, and I jumped. Growing up hadn’t gotten rid of my fear of thunderstorms, no matter how many times my mother had told me it would.
“Still?” He remembered. We’d gotten stuck in a thunderstorm one of the nights we’d snuck off to Sky Lake. We ended up huddled on the floor of his truck until the storm faded away. How we had both fit down there was a mystery for the ages.
I nodded. “Will you stay with me? I’m too sick to sleep in my closet. I don’t want to be alone.”
“Oh, baby.” I lifted the covers, and he slid in behind me, spooning me up against the big wall of his chest. “Shh, I’m here...”
“You’re so warm.” I snuggled backward, and he hugged me tighter.
He whispered into my hair, “Go back to sleep,” then kissed the crown of my head. “I’ll be here as long as you need me to be.”
CHAPTER 17
NICK