By Your Side(54)

“Thanks.” I took both and spent the next thirty minutes fielding questions about Jeff while we made cookies.





CHAPTER 36


If I hadn’t promised Jeff, I wouldn’t have been sitting in my car in the parking lot of the hospital trying to outlast Dallin. He’d been in there for at least an hour already. I could see his car parked two rows away from mine. I didn’t want to take over his time. So I waited. This would keep me from a potentially anxiety-inducing confrontation. It was a good compromise, I thought.

It took him another forty-three minutes before he finally walked through the sliding glass doors and into the parking lot. I waited until he got into his car and drove away, then I went inside.

Mrs. Matson was in Jeff’s room and Jeff was talking to her. I smiled. It was good to see him a little more coherent.

“Hello!” Mrs. Matson said when she saw me.

Jeff smiled. “Hey.”

“Hi. You’re awake.”

“I’m on the front hours of my drugs instead of the last hours like yesterday. It helps.”

I laughed.

He shifted in his bed, turning more toward me, and cringed. Drugs or not, he was obviously still in pain.

Mrs. Matson stood. “Here, have my seat. Dallin went to rescue my husband from up the street. He ran out of gas.”

“Oh. He’s coming back.”

“It will be a party,” Jeff said.

“Don’t get too worked up,” Mrs. Matson said. “I don’t want the nurse yelling at you.”

“I won’t, Mom.”

She left us alone and I sank slowly into the chair by his bed. I looked at Jeff, trying to read his expression. Had Dallin said anything about me? About what he’d accused me of the other day? Jeff seemed relaxed, happy, like he always did. He rarely had a different expression. I couldn’t read Jeff very well. Hopefully, like me, Dallin didn’t want to do anything that might upset him right now, while his body was still recovering.

“Hi,” I said again.

He leaned back against the pillows.

“Any news on when you’ll get out of here?”

“I guess when my oxygen level is better and I’ve proven I can walk.”

“Can you?”

“I don’t know. I start physical therapy tomorrow.”

“Lucky you.”

He twisted the tube hanging down by his arm once around his finger. “I can’t wait to get out of here. We need to have an epic adventure as soon as possible. I was thinking tubing, but instead of sliding down the snow in tubes we go to the car graveyard and find old car parts to use, like a hood or a backseat. Tell me that wouldn’t be fun.”

That didn’t sound like fun at all to me. My heart jumped just thinking about it. “Only if there’s still snow when you’re all better. Maybe we’ll have to do that next year.”

“It’s happening this year.”

The door creaked open.

Jeff lowered his voice and quickly whispered, “Play along with me for a sec.”

I was confused.

Dallin walked in. “Dude, your dad does not know how to fill a jug of gas. He—” Dallin stopped immediately when he saw me there.

“He what?” Jeff asked.

“Nothing. He just couldn’t.”

“I’m glad you saved him. Should we think of a superhero name for you?”

“I already have one.”

Jeff’s face went from smiling to worried as he stared toward the foot of his bed.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I . . . I can’t feel my toes. Or my feet for that matter.”

“What?” I stood, wondering if I should get the nurse when Jeff winked at me. Oh, was this what he meant earlier? I was supposed to play along with this?

He poked at his thigh. “I can’t feel this either.”

Dallin walked closer, concern in his eyes. I didn’t think this was going to help our relationship right now.

He touched Jeff’s foot. “Can you feel that?”

“Jeff,” I said. “Not a good idea.”

“No, I can’t.” Jeff picked up a pen from the table by his bed. “Autumn, stab my leg with this. Not hard, but enough to break the surface.”

I rolled my eyes. He just went one step too far with this prank. Dallin would never believe that.

“Funny,” I said, ready to clue Dallin in. “I’m not going to stab your leg with a pen.”

Dallin stepped forward and swiped the pen out of Jeff’s hand. “I’ll do it.” And before I could blink, he swung his arm, pen and all, down onto Jeff’s leg.

I screamed, throwing my hands over my mouth in shock. My eyes shot up to Jeff’s face expecting to see pain, but there was only a big smile. Then he laughed. Then he coughed.

“We totally got you,” he said. Dallin laughed as well.

“You guys are punks,” I said, my heart still racing. I leaned against the table, trying to catch my breath.

“Why are you freaking out? It was a joke,” Dallin said.

“I’m not. I . . .”

Jeff cringed through more coughing, his hand going to his side. He was clearly not well enough to do stupid stuff like that.

“Jeff, don’t get too worked up,” I said.