Something jerked her out of a restless sleep and she blinked awake, back aching from being slumped in the straight-backed hospital chair. It took her a moment to adjust, staring up into bright florescent lights, and she groaned, stretching as best as she could without pulling something, which wasn’t far, before Leo’s movement caught her eye.
“Leo?” Im was leaning over him in a flash, one hand braced on the railing of the bed, the other pushing his hair back gently. “Hey, buddy. How’re you feelin’?” She wasn’t quite sure if she expected an answer, but just to see him awake was a relief. “You scared me back there. Don’t do that again, okay?”
♞— Warmth. The hand on his forehead contrasted with the general chill of the air. His eyes had opened, but he had not quite focused on the concerned face hovering above him. He knew where he was, who the woman was without really seeing her, and it was not only from that mothering care she smothered him with. At this point, the times she rescued him had become something of a record, like a mother’s chasing of a troubled child.
”I’ll be fine,” he croaked, not realizing how dry his throat was. He eyed the cup of water on the bedside table and reached out with a sluggish arm. Only then did he see the IV in his hand and he shuddered, pulling back.
