He looks at me carefully, and then glances around the room before lowering his voice. “Jessa, did you travel without me somewhere?”
“Mm-hmm. It was easy this time. Piece of cake.” I point at him with a crooked finger. “You didn’t think I’d be good at this, did you?”
“I never said that.”
“Well, other you seemed to think I was pretty awesome,” I tell him, giving him a smug smile.
“Is that so,” he answers drily.
“And boy, can he kiss,” I add. My eyes slide closed, and I drift away again into a dreamless sleep.
When I wake, Finn is gone, and I can hear my mom talking quietly with Ben. My head is a little clearer, but now I can feel my shoulder a lot more.
I shift onto my side, to find the button that raises the bed up, but I groan as everything starts to hurt. My mom and Ben both turn at the sound.
“Looking pretty gnarly, St. Clair,” Ben teases.
“Just out for an afternoon swim,” I quip. My mom joins him on the other side of my bed. She reaches down, taking my good hand.
“I’m just glad you’re okay,” she says. Tears start to fill her eyes, and she blinks them back before she leans down to smooth my hair off my forehead.
“They’ll be bringing you more pain medicine soon. Your dad stopped by, but you were asleep and he didn’t want to disturb you. He’ll be back tomorrow.”
I frown, and it pulls at my bandage again. “I have to stay here all night?”
Mom’s hand gently strokes through my hair again. “You’re hurt, honey. Are you hungry?” she asks. “Can I get you anything?”
I hadn’t been, but now that she’s said it, I am starving. “Yeah. I’ll take whatever. You know what I like.”
She glances toward the door. “I think they brought you soup, but you were still sleeping. They may still have it out there.”
“Soup is fine,” I say, clearing my throat. My voice is husky and my throat feels raw. I guess that’s what happens when you swallow a creek.
“I’ll be right back,” she reassures me, kissing me again.
Ben takes her place, folding my good hand into his. “Hey, listen, St. Clair,” he says. “Just because I’m dating another girl doesn’t mean you have to throw yourself off a bridge.”
I roll my eyes. “Please. How did it go?”
“How did what go?”
“The coffee date, stupid. What’s her name, anyway?”
“Oh, the date,” he remembers. “Didn’t happen. My truck broke down on the way home from school, and Dad had his car at work.”
“Better luck next time,” I say.
“Right. So what were y’all doing, anyway?” he asks. “Danny said he was up a tree with your new boyfriend.”
“My new … Danny said that?” That’s not like Danny. He probably considers Finn to be more his friend than mine. They were climbing trees together, after all.
“Well, is he?” Ben doesn’t realize he’s squeezing my hand as hard as he is. I give it a tug, and he releases me.
“Sorry,” he apologizes. “None of my business.”
“No, it’s okay. Finn’s just a friend.” I can’t quite meet his eyes.
“Yeah. There’s a lot of that going around,” he mumbles. “Do you know anything about the person who almost hit you? Did you see who it was or anything?”
“There wasn’t time. It all happened so fast.”
“What about your friend?” He overemphasizes the word.
“Not that I know of. Maybe that’s where he went—down to the police station or something.”
“I told Finn to go home and clean up—he was soaked,” my mother says, reentering the room. “He wants you to text him when you feel up to it. He’s a nice guy. How come I haven’t seen him around before?”
“We just met last week.”
“Your brother certainly likes him.” She slides a tray onto the bedside table, then turns the table to pull it across me. “Danny’s pretty upset by all of this. I sent him down to the cafeteria to get ice cream.”
“Well, I’m not too thrilled about this, either,” I reply, raising my eyebrows.
“I know, sweetie. Here, try the soup. They said if your head isn’t hurting, you can go home sometime tomorrow.”
“When can I go back to school? I have a paper due.”
“I’ll call the school,” she reassures me. “I’m sure Ben can turn in your work for you. The doctor wants you home until next week. Your dad and I are switching weekends so you don’t have to be moved unnecessarily.”
“Great.” I sigh, trying to shift myself upright more so I can eat. Mom puffs up the pillow and slides it behind me, but it jostles my shoulder and I let out a groan.
“I think you’re due for your medicine,” she says with a frown. “They said it’s better with food in your stomach. Let me go get the nurse.”
She steps back out into the hallway, and I reach clumsily for the spoon and end up knocking it off the tray. Ben picks it up off the covers and puts it in my good hand.
“Do you need me to spoon-feed you?” he asks.
“I’m not that bad off,” I say. “Just groggy.”
“So what grade is Finn in?” he asks me nonchalantly, while he opens a pack of crackers.
“I’m not sure,” I hedge, and really, it’s the truth. “I just met him. He doesn’t go to school here.”