The hospital’s harsh beam, bleeping of machines, and stale disinfectant set Garret on edge. He watched the rise and fall of Chayton’s chest, using that small feat as a guide for positive thoughts. Chayton was alive.
Hours had passed, but he still felt chilled to the bone. The doctor had examined Garret and released him, but he wouldn’t leave without Chayton. He’d already lost too much and wasn’t about to take his brother for granted. So he stayed. And his brother slept.
Every time he closed his eyes, the only thing he saw was a nauseating glow of infinity.
Garret finally managed to sleep fitfully on a chair in the room with Chayton. When Chayton woke the next morning, he grinned at Garret, as if this experience was something to smile about.
“My arm wasn’t broken,” Chayton said.
“Good, you won’t mind if I break your leg, then.”
“Lighten up. We survived with all of our limbs intact.”
Garret’s head throbbed with such force he felt as if his brain cells had been plucked one by one and crushed into powder. He was sure Chayton’s had, because he was acting like an idiot.
“They said your brain was normal, whatever that means, but you didn’t learn anything from this, did you?” Garret asked as the nurse came in and checked his vitals.
“Yeah, I learned to watch my step. I also learned to never let you lead.”
“Breakfast will arrive shortly,” the nurse said, practically cooing at Chayton as she fluffed his pillow.
Garret swallowed the sounds of his mirth. A nurse fluffing a pillow. He used to tease Chayton about the things women would do to get his attention, and this would go on his list. He needed to remember to enjoy the pranks in life again.
“When will I be released?” Chayton asked.
“The doctor will be here in an hour.”
“An hour? I don’t have an hour to waste.”
“I’m sorry. He has to check you out first.”
“You charging me by the hour to stay in this bed?” his hot-headed brother asked. “I’m fine. Ready to go. I don’t need to wait for a doctor.”
“Here comes your breakfast now,” the nurse said, rushing out of his room as another woman rolled his breakfast cart in.
Garret chuckled. Charming Chayton no longer made the nurse coo over him, but he was thankful his brother was still alive to offer his jibes, no matter how annoying. He’d never forget his pale, lifeless body as EMS had taken him. For one terrifying moment, Garret feared he’d lost his brother.
He’d never been so scared. Another death of someone he loved. His fault.
“You sure you don’t have memory loss due to hypothermia? You’ve obviously forgotten how to charm the socks off women.”
“I just need to sleep in my own warm bed for a few days,” Chayton said. “Not this hospital bed. Then I’ll be back to normal.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. Our normal is dangerous.”