Nick learned a new lesson in misery as he lay in bed, alone, in the hospital for days on end, bored out of his mind. His mom stayed with him as much as she could, as did Menyara, but they couldn’t be here constantly. Kyrian would stop in and visit at night and some of the dancers from his mom’s club in the daytime. Stil , he spent most of the time by himself.
Scariest part?
School was starting to look good. He shivered in revulsion of that awful thought.
“Hi … um, Nick, wasn’t it?”
He opened his eye to find Nekoda of al people standing in the doorway. With her hair pul ed back into a thick ponytail and dressed in a volunteer’s uniform, she came deeper into the room.
Heat stung his cheeks as she looked at his ragged state of ick. Nick cleared his throat. “Yeah, it’s me, but I like to think I looked better when we met. ’Cause right now, I’m pretty much hogging al the ugly.”
She laughed. “No offense, but yeah, you did look a bit better. But I have to say you real y rock the crazy headgear you have going right now. Not an easy thing to do to make that look good.” She winked at him.
He could only imagine how foul he appeared. His head was stil wrapped up, his exposed eye bruised and swol en. One shoulder was in a sling to keep it stil and the other arm attached to monitors and an IV. He had a faded-out hospital gown that was freckled with the oh-so-manly-looking flower things al over it. Gah, at this point, he’d rather be back in his orange Hawaiian shirt.
Al he needed to look like a bigger goober was to drool on himself. Which he might do if she kept talking to him.
She stopped next to his bed and glanced over al the monitors that beeped and hummed. “So what happened to you?”
“I got shot.”
Her brows arched high. “In the eye? Is that why it’s covered?
”
“No. I got hit there with a board, a fist, a foot, and probably a few other things. There’s a bunch of stitches above my eye.
Doc says the bandage for that can come off tomorrow. I’m sure I’l look even better then.” His voice was thick with sarcasm. “I was clipped in the shoulder.”
“Oh,” she said, calming down as she scowled at his sling.
“Did it hurt?”
He wanted to say no, duh, but his common sense caught his tongue before he insulted her. Even though it stil hurt, he straightened up into his tough posture. “Nah. I took it like a man.”
She shook her head at him and didn’t comment on his bravado. “So why did you get shot? One of your witticisms go awry?”
Nick wasn’t sure how to answer that. He didn’t want to take credit for something he hadn’t real y done—like saving people he’d helped put in harm’s way. So he settled on a lesser truth.
“Wrong place. Real wrong time.”
“Did you see who shot you?”
“No,” he lied. He hadn’t even told the police who it was even though they’d bugged him several times. Rule one on the street: Narcs don’t live long. Besides, he intended to settle this score on his own and the last thing he wanted was for Alan and group to be protected by prison wal s when he went for them.
This was going to be between “friends.”
“Like they say in the movies and shows, it al happened so fast. … ”
She fretted over him. “Wel , I’m sorry you got shot. It explains why I haven’t seen you in school.” His ears perked up at that. She’d been looking for him?
Man, for that news, I’d take a bullet any day. It was al he could do not to give her a goofy grin.
She leaned closer. “But I’m happy you lived and that you’re okay.”
“Yeah, me too. It would have real y cramped my future plans had I died. … ” He flashed what he hoped was a charming smile at her then changed the topic. “So you work here?”
“Volunteer. Twice a week,” she corrected. “I’m told things like this look good on a col ege application.” Wow, she was worried about that already? It made him feel like a slacker. “We’re only in ninth grade.” She shrugged. “Yeah, but every year from now until graduation matters and everything we do affects if and where we get in. So I’m trying to make a difference.”
“Gah, you sound like my mom.”
“Sorry.” She wrinkled her nose up in the most adorable way.
He didn’t know why, but it made his stomach tighten and heat flood his cheeks—if he kept that up, he’d be able to rent himself out as a lighthouse at night.
“So can I get you something to drink?” she asked. “Some ice? I have magazines and books on my cart if you want something to read.”
“I’d kil for Nintendo.”
She laughed. “No Nintendo on the cart. Sorry.”
“You got any manga?”
“Manga?” She scowled. “What’s that?”
Crap. It was too much to hope she’d share some of his more unusual interests. “Japanese comic books. I’m addicted to them.”