Chapter XXII
After the doctor had finished, he gave me an injection of painkillers and prescribed rest. He gave Dante some medication and explained to him how to take it.
My hand was bruised. Giovanni suspects that my hand hit something hard when I was unconscious.
This caused bleeding in the affected muscles and led to the swollen muscle tissue.
Giovanni explained how I should support my hand, but I could no longer keep my eyes open.
The painkillers made me incredibly tired, but before I could sink into a dream, a feeling of nausea rose up inside me.
I opened my eyes in a flash. Dante looked at me and Giovanni's gaze was also on me.
In a panic, I threw off the bedspread I had covered myself with and jumped out of bed. I ignored the pain in my hand.
I ran to the bathroom and just made it to the toilet before I had to throw up.
I felt a presence behind me, but couldn't look around.
One hand held my hair back and the other ran it up and down my back.
I knew it was Dante, just by the smell of his perfume.
"It's fine..." he whispered, and it sounded more like he was saying it to himself than to me.
Still leaning over the bowl, I heard Giovanni's voice.
"Don't worry, this is the body's normal reaction to pain. In addition, the painkiller irritates the stomach. That's why I would also swap the tablets I gave you for injections, at least for two days. After that, your body should have calmed down."
Lucca offered to accompany Giovanni out, while Dante was still crouched behind me. I was uncomfortable with him seeing me like that, but I was still glad for the support, because my body was more than just lifeless.
When I tried to get up again, he did most of the work, carefully pulling me up and leading me to the sink.
I tried to focus on my breathing, but my concentration was on his hand, which was still on my back. He helped me wash and dry my face and then led me back to the bed.
I snuggled into the soft bedclothes and closed my eyes. I could still hear Lucca and Dante whispering, but I couldn't understand a complete sentence. I drifted further and further away and just before I could say hello to the land of dreams I felt a hand on my waist. Strange, I think I'm going completely crazy now. Before I could think about it any further I finally fell asleep.
A loud noise made me jump up in bed. It was the door, someone had slammed it. Tell me, am I going to be woken up like this every morning? Madhouse!
I ran my good hand across my face, this time thinking about my injury. But before I could get up, I was pulled back into bed. I tried to get up again when the grip on my hip tightened again and my back was pressed against a breast.
Wait a minute, a breast. I turned around as best I could in this vice grip and looked into Dante's sleeping face. I screamed in surprise. What is he doing here?
My scream made his eyes widen too. He was so shocked that he loosened his grip a little, which I immediately took advantage of and fled from him.
"What are you doing here?" I asked him, stammering. To be sure, I looked around the room again. Well, this is my room, so he's in the wrong place.
"Don't scream like that, it's still too early," he admonished me and got out as well. He was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday. I quickly looked down at myself and breathed a sigh of relief. I was also wearing the same clothes.
It was like scales falling from my eyes that the hand on my waist from last night was on my waist. I hadn't imagined it after all. It was his.
"I asked you what you were doing here?" I repeated, waiting anxiously for his explanation. He grinned at me and tilted his head slightly. "Someone had to look after you last night so that you didn't throw up in your sleep or get a fever."
Oh, I hadn't thought of that. I immediately felt guilty for having judged him so hastily. But now that he says it, it actually makes sense. "How are you feeling? Are you still sick?" I was so shocked by his behavior that I could only shake my head in response. An uncomfortable silence spread between us. We stood about two meters apart and just looked at each other.
"I'm going to take a shower." With that, I broke the awkward situation and turned to the bathroom. I heard footsteps behind me and at first I thought Dante was leaving my room, but he followed me into the bathroom. I turned to him in a flash and stood just a few millimeters in front of him. I hadn't expected him to be so close already. I slowly let my gaze slide up from his chest. This man was built like a Greek god, I mean he had muscles that I didn't even know existed. I reached his eyes and lost myself in that clear blue color for a few seconds. His eyes usually look cold and emotionless, but right now they remind me of the water in Lake Baikal. So clear and pure.
I pulled myself out of the trance and took a step back to create some space between us. What does he want in my bathroom?
I looked at him confused, "What do you want here?"
A grin crept onto his lips and he leaned slightly towards me, as if he was telling me a secret. "Someone has to make sure you don't drown." He gave me a dirty wink. And I was naive enough to believe that he did it to help me.
Oh God, I even felt guilty for my thoughts. He's in for a treat. I took one of my slippers that was in front of the shower and started to chase him out of my room.
"Anastasia, stop it. Hey, I'm not a little boy anymore." At first his tone sounded amused, but then it changed to annoyed. With a quick movement he ripped the slipper out of my hand and carelessly threw it away from us. I had managed to chase him to my bedroom door.
A house full of insects, maybe I should call an exterminator. Speaking of insects, now that I think about it more carefully, the reason I wasn't woken up by the fly today could be because Dante was lying in my bed. That would also explain the noise that woke me up. I had to grin inwardly. Without lifting a finger, I had already ruined her day.
Dante opened a door and was already about to leave my room before he stopped on the door hinge and turned to me again.
"Oh yes, before I forget, never lie to me again, Amore!"