His face melted into concern. “We’ll find something you can eat, ok? Nora will take care of it and I’ll take care of you. Please let me?”
I nodded and smiled shyly. “Ok. But you need to get enough rest, too. You’ve got your test tomorrow morning. Anything you want to go over today?”
He shook his head. “I’m really not worried about it. Well, maybe the essay, but I’ll do some practice writing later while you’re resting.” He grabbed towels for us and wrapped himself in one before carefully drying all of me. When I was dry enough, he wrapped my hair in a towel and walked me out to his bed, grabbed another t-shirt and pair of boxers, and helped me dress.
"Thank you, Nurse Danny, for taking such good care of me," I whispered.
He shook his head. “I like doing it. Now I’m going to go change those sheets so you just relax here for a minute.”
He sat me down on the bed and I laid back, feeling utterly wrecked. The shower was fun, but any energy I had was flagging, and I could barely keep my eyes open.
The next time I woke I heard voices speaking softly in the corner and opened an eye to see Danny and Jane both with guitars. Guess he figured there was no time like the present to start teaching her. She studied his hands intently while he spoke very patiently with her. I had wondered whether he could be patient enough to teach her. It seemed like I'd worried for nothing. I watched them for a few minutes and then went to use the bathroom.
I tried to avoid looking in the mirror because I knew what I’d see. Black circles surrounded my eyes, my skin was pale, and I could tell by the sandpaper-feel of my lips that I was getting dehydrated. I felt wobbly after using the toilet so I took a minute to lean against the counter, smiling to myself when I remembered what we had done in here not too long ago. But then I couldn’t get myself moving and realized I needed some assistance.
“Danny,” I cried weakly. No response. I tried to call a little louder and this time I heard him running.
“Hey honey... Oh, shit! Why didn’t you call me?”
“I did. I kind of got stuck.”
He shook his head at me and helped me walk out to the bedroom.
“I really need to drink water, can you bring me some?”
He nodded gravely. “And I’m bringing you some food so you can take some more medicine. It’s been over twelve hours since your last dose.”
He hurried to the kitchen and I watched Jane play a series of chords.
“Looks like you’re picking that up,” I said softly.
She turned to smile at me, put the guitar down on the stand, and hurried over to the bed. “Are you ok, Jesse?”
I nodded, smiling as best I could to cover the pain. “I will be. I just let myself get too run down and when that happens, my arthritis starts attacking my healthy tissue. I get fevers and have to stay down until I can get it under control. I haven’t been this bad, though, since I first got sick. Guess I really blew it this time,” I was saying as Nora and Danny came in with sustenance.
“Damn right you did,” Nora said, placing a tray over my lap. “I’d really like you to eat some of this, but the important thing is to get you hydrated. Drink this water and if you tolerate it ok, I think we should switch to something with electrolytes in it.”
I nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
She raised an eyebrow at me and stepped back from the bed with her arms crossed “When’s the last time you’ve had an exam?” I thought back and my response time gave her the answer she needed. “That’s what I thought. I want you to go this week. Tomorrow, preferably. Maybe we can get you on some medication that will keep this at bay? Have you ever had acupuncture?” I shook my head and she nodded sternly. “I’d like you to consider it. It can be helpful.”
“I’m open to it, it’s just that it’s not covered and I...” I trailed off when I got that look from both Nora and Danny.
“Fine. If you have a place in mind, I would be happy to try, and thank you for taking care of me.” I tried to eat a bit of oatmeal and it was like glue going down. I drank a few sips of water and that tired me, too. I tried a couple bites of the pineapple and that went down a little better. More water and I was exhausted. I leaned back and my face must have convinced Danny I couldn’t take any more. He lifted the tray away and Nora took it back to the kitchen.
“Thank you, baby. I’m just going to rest some more, you can go...” He motioned for me to move over, he crawled in on one side of me and Jane climbed up on the other.
Danny reached for a remote and said, “What do you want to watch?” I tried to smile, but all I could do was cry. He held me to him as long as I needed. Jane even held my hand. When I was able to get a hold of myself, Danny handed me a tissue and said, “If you don’t pick something, I’m going to let Jane, and you know what happened last time. We got stuck with Fred!
“Oh! We could watch Fred 2 or Camp Fred,” Jane offered excitedly.
Danny groaned. “NO! I can’t take it! Please, Jesse, please pick something.”
I chuckled and said, “I would love to watch something funny or scary. Nothing sad. I don’t want to be sad.”
Danny kissed my forehead and rubbed his lips there for a moment. A screen lowered from the ceiling and the drapes closed. Ok! I guess this is how Danny watches TV in bed! He scrolled through the movies On Demand and he and Jane settled on The Princess Bride.
I called out lines with Danny and Jane giggled, loving the story she was seeing for the first time. Lying in Danny’s arms with Jane snuggled up next to me, I felt like part of the family. We started up Best In Show afterwards, and Jane and Danny couldn’t believe there were really people like that in the world. Nora brought more food in and sat with us while Danny fed me bits of fruit and crackers. Miraculously, I kept the food down and felt stronger by the afternoon.
“Daddy, have you ever thought about having a dog?”
Danny frowned. “I don’t know, I’ve never had one before. Your grandfather didn’t want ‘livestock in the house,' so I never got to have any pets.” He turned to look at her and asked, “Are you trying to tell me you want a dog?”
She shrugged, but it was obvious from her expression that she was trying hard to hide the fact that she very much did.
“A dog would be a very big responsibility, Janey. Are you ready for all that?”
She rolled her eyes. “Daddy! I take care of my horse! Mom didn’t want any animals in the house and so I stopped asking her for a dog, but I love them very much.”
Danny thought for a minute and said, “Let me get through my tests this week, you do some research on what kind of dog you think would be good for us, and we’ll talk then.”
Janey just stared at him like a pod person. “You are so, like, easy about everything. I thought you would freak out if I asked you for a dog.”
“Why would you think that? People get dogs all the time. Why would I say no?”
She bit her lower lip and mumbled, “I guess... I just thought... Well, I don’t know how long I’m staying so I didn’t know...”
Danny paused the movie, stood up from his side of me, and walked around to sit next to Jane. He took her hands in his and took a deep breath. “Baby girl, I don’t see you going back to live with your mom. Maybe down the road, if that’s what you want, but you’re living with me now. I know it’s an adjustment from the weekends and holidays we’ve always done, but this is your home now. If you want a dog, we’ll get a fucking dog! Simple as that.”
Janey looked at him, wide-eyed. She blinked. After a few moments of her sitting and staring like that, Danny asked, "Are you ok, baby?"
She swallowed and, in a whisper, said, "You want me here, Daddy? For good?"
"It's what I've always wanted, baby! I don't know what your mom told you, but the only reason I didn't take you when I left was because I thought you needed your mom more than you needed me. That and I was a mess. I wanted to get my life together and get my diploma before I fought for you. So yeah! I want you here for as long as you want to be h
ere."
There was so much these two had never told each other, it was so good to hear them share the feelings they'd obviously had for a while.
Then Danny frowned. "There are going to be rules, though, that's for damn sure. We'll decide as they come up, but you will need to listen to Nora and Jesse like you listen to me, is that understood?"
She giggled and nodded.
"Damn right,” Danny proclaimed in his best fatherly voice, then bit his lip and his frown got deeper. "And I'm not ready to deal with boys yet." He looked proud of his parental moment.
Nora and I both burst out laughing and she said, "Well the no-cussing rule is going to be tough to enforce, Danny!"
We finished watching the movie and Nora left to make dinner. The three of us lay there talking for a long time and for a while I was able to forget my pain. Until I had to get up and use the restroom. Danny told Jane to go help Nora set the table while he helped me up.
"That was pretty heavy in there," I said as he walked me back to the bed. He was deep in thought and I wasn't sure if he heard me, but then he nodded.
"Do you really think she didn't know I wanted her with me?"
"Babe, it's hard to tell. She may have been confused as to why she wasn't with you. I just hope Brooke never told her anything negative."
He shook his head. "I can't believe she hasn't even fucking called her! How could she just give up?"
I didn't have an answer. "We can't control what she does. I think you may want to encourage Jane to talk to the therapist about it since she told me she doesn't want to talk to her, not yet."
He exhaled loudly. We were sitting on the bed next to each other, him holding my hand between his.
"So tomorrow's the big day," I said to him, gauging his response.
He smiled like he had it covered. "I feel ready. You prepared me well."
"No, you're just so damn smart, you should breeze through it."
He laughed and then looked at me. "So two months until I get the results?"
I nodded. "I'll take the rest of your work to Gloria tomorrow..."
He cut me off. "Honey, you need to stay in bed. Why don't you just send it with me and I'll hand it in? You can stay here and make a doctor's appointment."
My turn to exhale loudly. "Yes, Sir," I exclaimed, and he wrapped me in his arms.
"You're really too tired to fight me properly, aren't you?"
I laughed weakly and lay back down. “I guess I am. Mind if I just lie here while you guys eat dinner? I promise I’ll have a bit more to eat later, I’m just tired.”
He nodded sadly. “Whatever you need.” He let go of me and I got comfortable on his pillow.
“I’ve missed your bed,” I whispered.
He knelt next to me and smiled, brushing my hair back from my face. “I miss you. I’m glad we’re done with school after Wednesday,” he said with a conspiratorial smile.
I wasn’t feeling entirely confident. I chalked that up to feeling like shit and refused to worry anymore about whether or not he would still want me around after he had his diploma. He pulled the blanket up to my shoulders and bent down to kiss my forehead, but I put my hands to his face and directed his kiss to my lips. He groaned against me. Our kiss grew more heated, our hands tangling in each other’s hair. He slid his body next to mine on the bed and pulled me against him. Being with him like this was soothing to my soul. It allowed me to forget the rest of my body for a while. It wasn’t the pull-each-other’s-clothes-off kind of kiss. It was an expression of love and need. I sighed happily and pulled back to catch my breath, feeling tired again.
“Danny,” I panted and he smiled apologetically at me.
“I’m sorry. You just look so damn kissable right now.”
I giggled and he kissed me some more, this time playfully, until we heard Jane yell from the hallway that dinner was ready.
“You go eat. I’m just going to go back to the guest room and rest.”
He shook his head. “Please stay here, for tonight? When we’re done, I’m going to come feed you and then hold you while you sleep.”
“But you need to get a good sleep tonight!”
He kissed me to shut me up. “I sleep better when you’re here, I promise.”
He stood up and I loved the way he looked, all disheveled hair and swollen lips. I narrowed my eyes at him and said, “On second thought, don’t cut your hair. I think you look even more perfect right now.”
He ran his hand back over the mess and blushed. “Ok, we’ll decide when you’re in your right mind.”
I shook my head and rolled over in all that black satin.
Chapter Four
I woke up later, much later by the hour on the clock, and I was alone. I listened for a moment and heard voices coming from the other room. Male voices. Guess “the guys” had dropped by. I rolled over and felt pretty damn stiff. I was tired of lying in bed and didn’t feel as awful as I had earlier. I stood up and stretched out a bit, feeling weak but no longer dizzy or nauseous. I pulled my hair back and checked my appearance in the mirror. It would have to do. I needed to move around.
I crept down the hallway to the kitchen, and found Danny and the guys sitting around the counter, Nora entertaining them. Danny spied me in the hallway and jumped up. I smiled as he approached me, wrapping me in his arms.
“Hey! Did we wake you?” He felt my forehead for a fever and looked me over.
“No, I just needed to get up and move around. I could use a snack, too, I think.”
He looked relieved and started to tug me into the kitchen. I hesitated. “Honey, they’re family. C’mon.” I rolled my eyes and followed him.
“Hey, Jesse! You feeling better?” Nora felt my forehead and then asked what I wanted to eat.
“Something light, if it’s no trouble. Thank you.”
She put some soup and crackers on the bar and Danny shooed Bronson off his stool.
“Move over, dude. She needs to eat.”
I felt my face flush, but all of the guys stood, making sure I made it to the chair, fussing over me the whole time. “I’m fine, thanks. Please pretend I’m not here,” I pleaded, knowing they wouldn’t.
“We were just quizzing Danny for his test tomorrow,” Alex offered and Julian laughed.
“No, we weren’t! Don’t try to suck up to the teacher! We were actually just about to listen to some of the stuff he’s written.”
I looked around and saw the guitars set up near the couch along with an amp. My eyes went back to Danny’s and I smiled. “Don’t mind me. Keep playing.”
He looked nervous, but walked back over to his guitar. The guys sat around the couches with him and Bronson picked up another guitar.
“Ok,” he cleared his throat and played an intricate piece with a lot of power. I could see the others were affected by the intensity in the music. He played a couple more pieces that were similar in their level of passion and fire. Next he played a slower one that was so damn sexy, it gave me chills. That one completely pulled me away from my soup, even though my stomach was still craving more. I checked to be sure I wasn't obvious in my sudden enthusiasm, and I made quick work of wiping my face in case I was drooling or had soup all over.
It’s virtually impossible to describe what it was like to watch Danny immerse himself in his music. It was more moving than watching him experience ecstasy when we were intimate. It was even more heart-wrenching than watching him with Jane. He was soulful, angry, impassioned, wretched, cruel, angelic... No one state held him for long, and he moved between them fluidly as his fingers slid along the fretboard. He was humming along, probably wishing he could sing the lyrics that would likely be just as intense as the emotions he emitted. I felt my body reacting, yearning to hold him and ease him, desiring to touch him and excite him. I worried everyone could see my condition, so I forced my attention back to my soup and crackers.
It was quiet for a moment as he set his guitar on the stand and smoothed his hair back.
“That’s b
rilliant, D," Julian spoke in an awed voice. "I fucking love it, man!” I turned around to see Danny blushing from the compliment.
“Thanks, Julian. I’ve had a lot of shit to get out, some good, some fucked up. But that’s some of what I’ve got. I’m going back to the doctor on Thursday, and if he clears me to sing, then let’s get to work, dammit.”
He was obviously excited about getting back into the studio and working on his craft. I was glad to hear him feeling so positive. I wanted this for him, this energy and this purpose. I finished up my soup and cleaned up my dishes. Nora had gone to bed already and I didn’t want to leave a mess for her. It was nearing one a.m. and my body was so confused from sleeping the last day and a half away, I was completely awake. I poured myself some ginger ale and turned to find Danny watching me as the guys packed up their stuff. His expression was as intense as the music he’d just been playing. I offered him a smile, but his expression didn’t change. That pull was back and suddenly I was feeling much better.
“So we’ll celebrate for real when you’re feeling better, Jesse.” I shook myself as I realized that Alex was talking to me.
“Definitely! Danny has worked so hard and I know he’s going to pass the exams with no trouble. Unfortunately, the results don’t come out for a couple of months, so we’ll have to wait to officially give him his diploma.”
I smiled again at Danny but he was still staring. I felt hot all over, and not from a fever this time.
Danny walked the guys to the door and told them he’d call Thursday. I waved at them from the kitchen and tried to get a hold of myself. I figured some fresh air would do me some good, so I walked out to the backyard and breathed in the first fresh air I’d had since yesterday. I walked toward the back wall and looked out over the L.A. skyline. It was a clear night, for once, and there was little smog. A few stars were twinkling far, far away. I stretched out a few of my joints, taking inventory. Ankles felt good, knees were at their usual level of stiffness, wrists and hands felt pretty good but were definitely swollen. Last, I rolled my head around on my neck and rolled my shoulders. The rest and care I’d been given had worked wonders! Normally it took much longer to bounce back from one of these flare ups, and I hadn't had one quite this bad since the beginning. I tried not to dwell on the possibility that this is what I'd have to look forward to.
Teacher: Act Two (A Hollywood Rock n' Romance Trilogy Book 2) Page 6
