Infraction Read Online Free

and pulled over the other chair in the room to sit next to Sarah.
     There was some small talk, and more about my injuries revealed to Teresa, along with
     tales from Spain. Teresa let me know Armando sent his love, and he was coming home
     in the next week.
    Most of the visit I spent listening. I was too tired to concentrate on conversing,
     and didn’t have anything of importance to add. I was pretty sure I drifted off once
     or twice. It made me happy Sarah and Teresa were getting along so well; I could hear
     in their tone their genuine interest in one another, and it set me at ease.
    My head lolled to the side, and I looked out the doorway, watching the people walking
     back and forth. I stared in wonderment when Nathan entered through the door behind
     a nurse. I was shocked he’d come back. He was dressed in jeans and an old gray Harvard
     Law tee that clung to his body just right. I tried not to lick my lips at the sight,
     but it was no use. It was lucky I was able to pull it off that my lips were dry, and
     nothing more. My audience remained oblivious to my ogling him. Why did he have to
     look so good? Butterflies swirled in my stomach as I remembered the loving words he’d
     spoken to me, while my chest tightened over the memory of the pain he’d inflicted
     not long before that.
    I once said he was a contradiction, and I was beginning to see I was becoming one
     myself, at least where he was concerned.
    “Nathan!” Sarah said, smiling up at her son.
    “Hi, Mom,” he greeted, bending down to kiss her cheek.
    He straightened up and our eyes met. His façade was back on, but I watched it fall
     away as soon as he looked at me. Walking forward, he smiled; I was confused as to
     why he did that. Upon reaching me, he leaned down and pressed his lips to the top
     of my head, his hand cupping the side of my face.
    “Good morning, beautiful.”
    I quirked my good brow at him. I scoffed, “Yeah right.”
    “Lila,” he said in a warning tone.
    “Look, this isn’t one of my ‘down on Lila’ moments. I was hit by a fucking van. My
     eye is almost swollen shut. The left side of my face feels as big as a beach ball
     and hurts like hell. So that tells me I look like someone used half my face as a punching
     bag. Don’t think I’m very beautiful at the moment.” I knew I was pretty bad off; I
     didn’t need a mirror to tell me that.
    He let out a frustrated sigh. “You are always beautiful, even when a van uses you
     as a punching bag.”
    I stared up at him for a moment before looking down at the tube in my hand. Why did
     he have to be sweet right now? I needed to be mad at him, but he kept saying and doing
     things that were chipping away at my resolve.
    “Oh!” My head popped up as I remembered we weren’t alone. “Teresa, this is Nathan.
     We…um…work together. Nathan, this is Teresa.”
    I knew no more introduction was needed; he knew who she was. He had an excellent memory,
     and his eyes lit up with recognition.
    “Teresa, it’s wonderful to meet you.” His hand reached out to grasp hers.
    She stared up at him, looking mesmerized. Not that I blamed her; he had that effect
     on me quite often.
    “It’s nice to meet you, as well,” she said in automatic response, still confused as
     to who he was. I hadn’t even had any time to mention him yet.
    Nathan leaned against the bed near my head as the chairs were occupied by his mother
     and Teresa. His fingers, every once in a while, would run through my hair or touch
     my arm.
    Teresa looked from me to Nathan and back. “So, Nathan, what brings you here today?”
    The room went eerily quiet, and I found myself very interested in the dots on the
     ceiling tiles.
    “I mean, that isn’t the greeting you give someone you work with,” she added. “And
     it isn’t customary the mother of someone you work with comes to keep you company while
     you’re cooped up in a hospital.”
    Nathan let out a small, nervous laugh under her gaze. His hand