“Go away.”
“No.” I climb up onto his bed and squeeze myself between the wall and his body. He closes his eyes, unwilling to look at me.
“I’m sorry for what I said. I panicked because we didn’t use any protection.” I whisper the words, fearful that someone may overhear us. “I’ve seen so much damage while working here, and all the negativity just swarmed over me and I blocked out the good stuff, like how you make me feel and how when I’m with you I forget that I’m supposed to be the responsible one and ward off your advances, but I’m often the one coming on to you. But I realized as soon as you walked out that you wouldn’t do something that might hurt me, would you, Bodhi?”
That question gets him to open his eyes and finally look at me.
“I would never do anything to hurt you, Kimberly.”
“I know, but my mind and heart weren’t communicating, and I spoke the words before I knew what I was saying.” I close the gap and kiss him softly on the lips. “I fear that I’m not good for you, Bodhi. This is the last thing you needed.”
“What I need is you,” he says. He pulls me closer to him. We stay like this for a few minutes until my tummy rumbles.
“You’re hungry?” he says.
I nod and smile. “I missed lunch.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you brought us dinner, then, isn’t it?”
“It is.” I sit up and climb over his legs as he rolls over. He finally gets up and sits on the edge of his bed, taking one of the plates.
“Thank you,” he says, and I look at him questioningly. “For this, but mostly for realizing the truth. I was contemplating leaving tonight after everyone went to bed.”
My heart falls, knowing I put doubt in his mind. “Well, it’s a good thing I didn’t listen to you when you told me to go away.”
“Yeah, good thing.” But Bodhi’s words don’t match the tone of his voice. He’s not okay. Fear starts to set in that the damage I did can’t be undone. I can’t risk staying in his room tonight, and there is no way he can stay with me in my apartment. There’s only one solution.
“I want you to tell Dr. Rosenberg that you don’t feel well.”
“Why would I do that?” he asks.
“Because she’ll put you in a different room over in the medical area, and that means I can stay in there as long as I want.”
“You want to spend the night with me?”
I nod as I take a bite of my food. “I do, but we can’t do it here.”
“We can’t do it in there either. What, are you going to crawl into my bed?”
I laugh and shake my head. “No, I’ll sleep in the chair next to your bed.”
Bodhi studies me for a moment before he smiles. “I’ll try to convince her.” He winks, causing my heart to skip.
We finish our dinner, chatting about what life is like for him outside of Serenity Springs, and he tells me that he’s not excited about his parents coming in tomorrow. He says that right now things are good with his dad, but he fears that after tomorrow’s meeting with Dr. Rosenberg and his parents, they’ll brush aside his concerns.
Once we finish, I take the dishes back to the cafeteria and hunt down Dr. Rosenberg to let her know that Bodhi isn’t feeling well. As I predicted, she rushes to his room, and he somehow convinces her that he’s in a lot of pain. She has an orderly wheel him down to the medical ward, and because it’s almost time for her to leave, she asks me to check in on him throughout the night, which I happily agree to.
After everyone goes to bed, I go into his room and pull the chair up next to his bed. At first he wants to make out, but I convince him to let me read to him. There’s something sensual about watching him listen to me read as he holds my hand.
Chapter 13
Bodhi
I have a session with Dr. Rosenberg and my parents today. I would much rather be in the medical ward with Kim reading to me, but here I am sitting in Dr. Gordon’s office with Dr. Rosenberg, waiting for my parents to arrive, because I can’t stand to be in Dr. Rosenberg’s office. Just the thought of going in there freaks me out.
When my parents walk in, we hug and take our respective seats. I don’t know how they feel about being securitized, but if it’s part of my healing process, it has to be done.
“Good afternoon. I’m Dr. Rosenberg. I have been treating Bodhi since his arrival at Serenity Springs and have gotten to know him pretty well over the past few weeks.”