Free THIEF: Part 4 by Kimberly Malone Page B

bedside.“Um…look, I—I don’t know what to say here.I’ve never been in a situation like this.With anyone.”
                  “Don’t say anything.”I study my fingernails, but my fingers are so puffy and bloated, it makes me depressed.I put them in my lap and look back at Alex.“I mean, there’s nothing to say.Not till we know what’s going on, at least.”Biting my lip, I pause, then correct myself: “’Til I know what’s going on.”
                  “I’m not leaving, Erin.”
                  “Alex.”I look him in the eye.“Seriously.”
                  “Erin,” he says again, “I’m not leaving.I promise.”
                  “You don’t have to stay.My aunt will be here soon, and my friend—um, my cousin…whatever she is, is coming tomorrow.”I hold up my hands, finalizing my point before I start babbling.“Point is, I have people on their way to help me out.I don’t want you to feel obligated.”
                  “I wouldn’t stay if I didn’t want to.”He reaches for my hand.I cringe at how fat my fingers look next to his, but he acts as though he doesn’t even notice.“And I know you’ve told me not to say this, but I don’t care, I’m saying it anyway—I’m sorry.”He holds up his finger, silencing my interruption.“This completely, totally…sucks.You said shitty things happen to everyone, but I feel like an awful lot has happened to you lately.And as someone who’s never had anything shitty happen to them—”
                  “Knock on wood,” I interject, and he gives me a look that makes it clear he doesn’t appreciate the joke.
                  “—I have to say sorry.Because I feel…I don’t know.Guilty.”
                  “What?”I’d reel back a little, if I wasn’t propped up in a hospital bed.“Why?”
                  He shrugs.“I just do.Why do bad things happen to some people, and not others?”
                  “Karma, maybe,” I joke.Actually, I’m only half-joking.I wonder what kind of karma, if any, Silas is experiencing right now.I’m surprised to find I believe in the notion even a little.Then again, a lot has changed about me since summer.
                  “Look, I get it,” he says, letting go of my hand.He seems to think better of it and takes it again, this time with both of his.“You’re using humor as, like, a defense mechanism.Can’t say I blame you, or that I wouldn’t be doing the same thing.But I want you to know…you can tell me what you’re feeling.”
                  “Can we not?” I snap, suddenly angry.I pull my hand away with more energy than I really have.“Can we not do this whole sensitivity, touchy-feely thing right now?If I want to be defensive, I’ll be defensive.And like I said, you don’t have to stay.You aren’t my boyfriend.”
                  Alex looks stricken, just for a second.Then, he sits back, nodding.“You’re right.”
                  Instead of feeling satisfied hearing I’m right, I’m disappointed—for some reason, I think I was hoping Alex would fight back, just a little.
                  Silas would.
                  “I’m still not leaving, though,” he adds, and when I look at him, surprised, he smiles just a little.
                  “Well…thanks, I guess.”
                  “You’re welcome.I guess.”
                  We go back to Wheel of Fortune , sitting in stalemated silence.
                  A few minutes go by.The contestants on the show are kind of stupid, their guesses way off even though the puzzles are obvious.Still, Alex and I don’t venture our guesses.It’s like we aren’t sure of anything at all right now.
                  A nurse’s cart rolls and clanks in the hall; I hear some