Infraction Read Online Free Page B

perfect
     end to the meal.
    We were all talking after eating when the nurse came in with another round of meds.
     Soon I found my eyelids heavy, fighting against the light.
     

     
    The next time I awoke, Nathan was beside me, his fingers making light trails up and
     down my good arm. He was humming something, but I couldn’t make out the tune.
    An involuntary twitch in my hand caused his head to rise, and he smiled when he saw
     I was awake. Picking my hand up, he brought it to his lips and placed a light kiss
     on the scrapes.
    “Today any better?” he asked, his hand reaching up to brush a strand of hair from
     my eyes. His fingers lingered a while on my skin, and I leaned into his touch.
    “We’ll see. It’s a little bit easier to breathe than it was four days ago, so I suppose
     that’s an improvement.”
    “You’ll be out of here in no time,” he said. “You won’t have to worry about a thing;
     we’re going to take care of everything.” I looked at him in shock. He hadn’t implied
     what I thought he had. “We decided it’s best for you if you stay with me, where you
     will have friends and me to take care of you.”
    My expression morphed, and I resisted the urge to yell out, knowing that would cause
     me great pain. “No.”
    His brow scrunched in confusion. “ No ? No, what?”
    “Look, I’m not going to fucking sit here and have everyone make decisions for me.
     I’m a grown woman, and I can take care of myself. I have a mind of my own; I don’t
     need you.”
    He shook his head. “You’re not in any physical position to help yourself right now.
     You need round-the-clock care.”
    “Well, I think I can manage to set that up myself. They have services for that.”
    His spine straightened and his lip quirked up in a snarl. “Fuck services. You have
     friends and people who consider you family—who want to help take care of you. You can’t do it on your own.”
    My teeth mashed together as I glared at him. “Like hell I can’t.”
    I was about to continue, but we were interrupted by the sudden entrance of an unknown
     person.
    “Oh, good, you’re up!” I recognized her as the woman who was with his parents a few
     days ago. “Lila, I brought you a change of clothes and some toiletries from your condo.”
    I stared at the woman in front of me, trying to recall if I knew her. Did I have amnesia?
     She was addressing me as if she already knew me.
    “I think I’m hallucinating. Do you see her, too?”
    Nathan sighed. “Yes, she’s really there.”
    “Okay,” I said and turned back to the strange woman. “Who are you, and how did you
     get into my condo?”
    “Oh! Sorry! Erin Morgenson. I’m so happy to finally meet you.” Her hand grabbed my
     good one for a small shake. “Also, don’t worry, but I did some laundry so you have
     clean sheets, and I made sure all pathways were clear.”
    “Erin!” Nathan said with a hiss.
    She stared back at him. “What? It’s not like you were in any shape to do it.”
    “She’s going to stay with me.”
    I lay there and watched the odd conversation unfold before me, lost in what was centered
     around me.
    “She can not stay there! Not with the ‘redecorating’ you’ve done.” Her fingers made air quotations
     for the word.
    “Redecorating?” I asked, and they both turned to look at me.
    Nathan’s jaw tightened and he held a pained expression, while Erin’s was a little
     frightening, in a maniacal sort of way.
    “Erin,” Nathan growled in warning, but she just shrugged him off.
    “He lost it and tore down all the dry wall with his bare hands the night he left you.”
    His fist slammed down on the bed next to me. “Damn it. Always sticking your fingers
     in things.”
    Erin rolled her eyes. “She has a right to know just how crazy you are about her. And,
     fuck, it’s been years; let me have a moment of finger sticking.”
    “What you just described sounds psychotic,” Nathan said with a huff.
    “I’m no expert