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Yeah, I was fooling myself, thinking that I wasn’t hurting too much from last night.
I was in quite a bit of pain and trying to find the willpower to stand up without groaning.
“Olive?”
Oh, hell. This was not what I needed right now.
“I’ll be out in a minute,” I called, though it sounded more like a breathless plea.
“Do you need help?” Cue Ball called.
More than was physically possible. “No, no. I’m just trying to...” Stand? Breath? Live?
“I’m coming, doll. Cover up if you’re not decent,” he warned.
Getting decent was the reason why I was so out of breath. Putting my bra on had almost taken me out.
My door swung open, and Cue Ball rushed in. “What happened?” he asked. He rushed to my side and pushed me back onto the bed. My head hit the pillow, and I closed my eyes.
“Something is wrong?” I asked softly. “This isn’t your normal routine after getting out of the shower?” I tried to joke over the pain.
“Can’t say that it is, doll. You need me to call an ambulance.” His voice was worried, and I knew he was seconds away from calling the ambulance.
“God no,” I gasped. “I just need a second to rest. My body is screaming at me to lay down.” I stared up at the ceiling and tried to gather my strength to get up.
“I guess it’s a good thing I came in here, then.” He brushed my hair off my forehead. “You need to listen to your body, Olive.”
I rolled my eyes. “I was taking a rest before you barged in here.” See, totally listening to my body.
“Did you forget that the reason why I’m here is to make sure you are safe? I guess that means also from yourself, too. You’re pushing yourself entirely too hard,” he insisted.
“I can’t lay around and do nothing, Cue Ball. The world doesn’t stop just because I’m hurt,” I pointed out. The world stopped for no one.
“What is it that you have to be doing right now?” He stood over me and folded his arms over his chest.
I held up one finger. “Get Rocky from the bus stop.”
“I can get him. We both know he would like that.”
I added another finger. “I have to replace my phone.”
“We can do that after you rest.”
“Make dinner.”
He shook his head. “Did you forget that we’re getting pizza after we take care of your phone?”
Actually, I had forgotten. I laid the back of my hand on my forehead. “I need to find a new job.”
“You have a job.”
“No, I don’t. My job blew up last night. I need to find a new one.” I may have forgotten we were going to get pizza tonight, but I hadn’t forgotten about being blown up.
He walked to the doorway and shut off the light.
“What are you doing?” I demanded.
“You’re going to take a nap until I bring Rocky back from the bus stop. There is no reason to be superwoman right now. Rest.”
“Cue Ball,” I groaned. “I don’t have time for this.” So many things needed to be done, and they weren’t going to be done if I was sleeping. “I need to do a couple loads of laundry. I’ve been putting it off, and Rocky is dangerously close to having no clean underwear.”
He pulled the door halfway shut. “Your body is telling you that you need to slow down and rest, Olive. Listen to it, or I’m going to make you listen to it.”
“Is that a threat?” I asked. “And the laundry,” I moaned.
“It’s a promise, doll. Sleep for an hour, please,” he pleaded.
I rolled my eyes. “Fine, whatever. But as soon as Rocky gets home from school, we are going to get a phone and visit Faye. I can do the laundry when we get home.”
“Promise.” He pulled the door shut, and I listened to his footsteps fade down the hallway.
One hour of rest was all he was going to get out of me.
He kept brushing aside the fact that I didn’t have a job, but I knew I didn’t. There was no way the club was going to keep paying me to do nothing.
I needed to find something else, and time was ticking away.
Just a one-hour nap, and I was jumping up to take care of Rocky and find a job.
Once all the dust settled from the explosion, and Cue Ball went back to the clubhouse, it was only going to be Rocky and me.
Just like before.
*
