Imagines (Imago, Book Two) Read online

  Oh.

  “So, you banged yourself up pretty good,” Lyle noted, wiping a cotton swab above my eyebrow.”

  “I didn’t realise,” I mumbled.

  Lyle nodded like that was expected. “You’ve been through a bit tonight, huh? Did you really carry him all the way out of the national park? In the dark?”

  I nodded. Of course, I did.

  He gave me a sad smile. “That’d explain the state you’re in. Want some Panadol?”

  I shook my head. I couldn’t feel anything.

  Other nurses came in, then a doctor. They all fussed and talked stats, but I didn’t pay any attention. I couldn’t focus at all. I stood up off the bed and Lyle and the doctor put their hands on me to stop me. “You need to stay here,” the doctor said.

  “I need to find Lawson.”

  Lyle frowned. “I’ll go and see what I can find out. You stay here so I know where to find you. I’ll be real quick.”

  He disappeared through the curtain. The doctor shone his penlight in my eyes and asked me all the questions Lyle already asked, and I sat there for I don’t know how long. Forever, it felt like. Then Lyle came back and put his hand on my knee. “Okay, so he’s stable.”

  I let out a breath, instant tears welled in my eyes. “Oh, thank God. Can I see him?”

  Lyle shook his head. “He’s not in the clear yet, Jack. The toxins cause all sorts of stress on internal organs, primarily the heart, so they’re monitoring him pretty closely. He’s still unconscious. They’re running all types of blood tests and watching his brain activity. They’ve got him in the ICU. I can take you to the waiting room because you’ll only be sitting up here waiting, so you may as well sit there and wait. You’ll be closer, but you won’t be able to see him until the morning, at least.”

  I nodded, feeling the first flicker of hope. “Thank you.”

  Lyle filled in some more paperwork, and I was soon following him through a warren of corridors and elevators until the sign on the wall read Intensive Care Unit. Lyle pulled some chairs without armrests into a line. “That’s the closest you’ll get to a bed. At least it’s padded,” he said. He disappeared for just a second and came back with a folded blanket. “Get some sleep. It’s three o’clock in the morning.”

  I nodded, but apparently that wasn’t enough. Lyle made me sit down then lie down the best I could. He put the blanket over me, asked if I was okay one last time, gave me a gentle pat on the shoulder, and was gone.

  I closed my eyes, just a blink, because I wanted to stay awake in case Lawson woke up. But the next thing I knew, there were voices and a gentle hand shaking my arm. I opened my eyes to a strange woman’s face. I had no clue where I was, who she was, or why my body ached from head-to-foot.

  “Sorry to wake you. Lyle said you’d want to be there when Lawson woke up.”

  “Lawson,” I mumbled, then tried to get up. My body protested, every muscle, every bone, but I pushed through it with a grimace as I got to my feet.

  “This way,” the nurse said. “It’s still early, but I can take you in for just a sec.”

  I followed her with my heart in my throat, and she stopped at a door at the end of the long room near the nurses’ station. I peered in, and there he was. Lying in the bed, propped up into a half-reclined position. There was a doctor at his side, but I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

  He was still pale, his eyes half-open, he had oxygen tubes up his nose, and he looked like he’d been to hell and back. Then he saw me and cracked half a smile, which set me in motion. I was through the door and at the side of his bed―opposite his doctor―in four long strides, and without really thinking, I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him against me. Literally, almost pulled him completely off the bed. “Oh, my God, Lawson, I’ve never been so scared,” I mumbled into his neck.

  “Okay, sir,” the doctor said, pulling on my arm. “You need to let him go.”

  Lawson squeaked, and I quickly propped him back up in bed. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” I said, patting him down, trying to make sure I hadn’t hurt him. “I just… I just…” Then the tears started. Relief and every emotion I couldn’t name right then flooded through me and burned hot in my eyes. I put my forehead to his.

  Lawson put his hand to my cheek. “Jack.”

  I pulled back and wiped my eyes, then kissed the side of his head. The doctor cleared his throat, making me look at him. “Sorry,” I mumbled, not really sorry at all.

  “You’re the one who saved his life,” the doctor stated.

  Lawson closed his eyes and smiled. “He has a habit of doing that.”

  “He has a habit of almost dying,” I said with an incredulous laugh. “Anyway, I didn’t save him. I just got him here so you could do the saving part.”

  The doctor smiled at that. “He’s very lucky.”

  “Is he going to be okay?” I asked, taking Lawson’s hand. He had a cannula taped to the back of it, so I had to be careful.

  “Right now, he needs rest. We’ll run more tests later, but being conscious and alert is promising.” The doctor looked at his watch. “I suggest you get some sleep.”

  With that, he was gone. I leaned down, took Lawson’s face gently in my hands, and kissed him. “I love you. Go to sleep. I’m not going anywhere.”

  His eyes remained closed, but the corner of his lip lifted in a smile.

  I pulled a chair over to the side of the bed, sat down, and carefully took his hand. I tried to stay awake just to watch him, but my eyelids betrayed me.

  The next thing I knew it was daytime.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Lawson

  I felt awful. Worse than awful. Like I’d been hit by a bus. A fleet of buses. Like each bus had backed up and mowed me down again, in fact. I couldn’t actually pinpoint which part of me hurt the most. Every part of me ached and stung. My bones felt like razors, my lungs burned with every inhale, my head ached like a white-hot poker was embedded in my brain. Even my skin hurt.

  I blinked until my eyes would stay open, and then I saw him.

  Jack.

  He was in a chair beside the bed, sound asleep, leaning forward with his head near my hand. It took every modicum of strength to lift my arm and touch his hair with my fingers. He stirred, then shot up. “Lawson,” he croaked. “Oh, thank God you’re awake. How’re you feeling? You scared the crap outta me.” His eyes welled with tears. “Jesus, you scared me.”

  He had a gauze bandage above his eye. “You okay?” Wow, it even hurt to talk.

  Jack laughed and squeezed my hand. “I’m fine. So much better now you’re awake.”

  Then I realised he had scrapes on his knuckles. “You’ve cut your hand And above your eye.”

  Jack shrugged it off. It seemed he couldn’t take his eyes from my face. He leaned in and pressed his lips to my forehead, then he cupped his hand to my cheek. “How are you feeling?”

  “Awful.”

  He frowned. “I’ll go get the doctor. Be right back.”

  I closed my eyes again for just a moment, and when I opened them again, Jack was standing beside a tall woman in a white coat. “Mr Gale,” she said with a smile. “Nice to have you with us.” She leaned in and shone the light of hell into each eye.

  I clamped my eyes shut in response. “If you’re checking retinal dilation, would you mind not piercing my brain?”

  I heard Jack’s snort of laughter. “Oh yeah. He’s okay.”

  “No, I’m not,” I disputed, still with my eyes closed. “Everything hurts.” I suddenly felt nauseous. “Ugh.”

  The doctor told of side effects, speaking of pain, severe headaches, nausea, just to start with. “I’ll be back soon. Lawson needs to rest, but we’ll need to do liver and kidney function tests.”

  “Can he have anything for the pain?” Jack’s voice was like a homing beacon. “He said everything hurts. There has to be something you can give him.”

  Their voices muffled, and I drifted into sleep. But the feeling of queasiness never waned,
and I woke up with a start, needing to vomit. Jack, who was now sitting beside the bed again, lurched forward with a sick bag. I dry heaved into it, producing nothing but bile, reminding me that my entire body had been through a mince grinder.

  I fell back against the bed, and Jack soon had a damp cloth to my forehead, wiping down my face. I closed my eyes but lifted my hand for him. He knew what I meant because he threaded our fingers, and I fell back asleep.

  The next time I woke, it was because there were people talking close by. A familiar voice, and I blinked again and again to try and focus. I realised belatedly that my drowsiness must be chemically induced. But Jack was still sitting beside my bed, talking into his phone.

  “Oh wait, he’s just waking up.” He held the phone to his chest and smiled at me. “Hey. How’re you feeling?”

  “Better.”

  “They gave you something for the pain and nausea.”

  I smiled. Well, I think I did.

  Jack held up the phone. “It’s your mum.”

  “Oh.”

  “Want to speak to her for a second?”

  I nodded. “Sure.”

  “Okay, Hyacinth, I’ll just put him on. He’s drowsy and he can barely keep his eyes open, but here he is.”

  Jack put the phone to my ear and held it there. “Oh, Lawson,” my mother cried into the phone. “We’ve been so worried.”

  “’S okay, Mum.” I smiled again at Jack. “Jack’s looking after me.”

  “He carried you out of the rainforest on his back. In the dark and in the rain. I don’t know what we’d do if not for him. You would have died out there.”

  It took a minute for her words to connect in my brain. “Yeah. He’s kind of wonderful.” The words felt like molasses in my mouth.

  Jack took the phone back, and I was going to tell him to put it back to my ear but I couldn’t stay awake.

  “Yes, Mrs Gale. He’s nodding off again. I will. Of course. Yes, I’ll call you later. Okay, bye.”

  Then warm lips pressed again to my forehead. “That one’s from your mum.” Then he softly kissed my lips. “And that one’s from me.”

  * * *

  The next time I woke up, Jack was thumbing something into his phone. “Hey.”

  His gaze shot up and he sat forward in his chair. His phone forgotten, he took my hand. “Hey. You look a bit better.”

  “Drugs are good.”

  He laughed quietly and put the back of my hand to his face. For a moment he closed his eyes and when he looked at me again, he sighed. “Oh, Lawson.”

  He looked exhausted, and the white strip of bandage above his eye had some spots of red on it. His knuckles were scraped and there was another gauze strip on his arm. “You okay?”

  He nodded slowly. “I’m perfectly fine. Worried about you, mostly.”

  “Sorry.”

  He gave me a sad smile. “Do you remember what happened?”

  I thought back. My memories were a little hazy. Whether that was drug-induced or because of the toxin, I didn’t know. “The bank of the gully collapsed.”

  Jack nodded. “And you and two cane toads went with it. From what I can tell, they somehow fell on or near your face and secreted toxins into your mouth. Doctors said it must have been a direct ingestion for you to be so ill. I told them you wiped your mouth as you got up, and there was milky stuff in the mud smeared all down your chin and neck.”

  “I remember… the taste was… metallic and… putrid.”

  “If you’re tired, close your eyes,” he murmured. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  I shook my head a little. “What have they given me?”

  He afforded me a smile. “They had to do some tests first, to see what your kidneys and all that could handle. But something for pain and vomiting. I can’t remember what they called it.”

  I squeezed his hand, feeling my strength drain away. “What time is it?”

  “Five-thirty in the afternoon. I’m probably supposed to be leaving soon but I think they took pity on me.” He bit his lip and even blushed a little. “I might have told them we were engaged to be married so I could stay with you. Hope you don’t mind.”

  Even half-sedated, his words sent a thrill through me. A machine next to me beeped erratically. “I don’t mind,” I said.

  Jack looked at the machine, and the smile he gave me was knowing. And smug. “Mmm, this ECG machine right here tells me you rather liked the idea.”

  A nurse appeared and walked straight over to the machine, reading something. “Ah, you’re awake, Mr Gale. Is Jack here making you excited, or is there some other reason your heart rate spiked?”

  I didn’t need to answer. The heat across my cheeks said enough. Jack laughed, and the nurse patted him on the shoulder. “Be gentle with our patient, please, Jack.” She made some notes in a file, then on a computer, and smiled to herself as she walked out.

  Jack lifted my hand so he could kiss my knuckles. “ECG machines don’t lie.”

  “Shut up.”

  He laughed louder this time, then stood up and kissed my lips. Of course, the ECG beeped again, but I could only smile.

  “Ah, he’s awake,” a familiar voice said. I looked to the door to find Piers holding a bouquet of flowers.

  Jack sat back down, but never let go of my hand. “Yes, he’s more alert this time.”

  “This time?” I asked. My brain was so foggy.

  “Piers came in this morning,” Jack explained, “when he heard the news.”

  Piers walked into the room and put the flowers beside my bed. “Yes, Gary came by asking if I’d seen you. He went to your camp today and found it deserted and everything left askew like you’d abandoned it in a hurry. He was concerned when he saw the embankment had washed away.”

  “So Piers called your phone,” Jack explained further, “which I had here in the backpack. I told him what happened, how sick you were. And he came by to check on you.”

  “And brought Jack lunch,” Piers declared loudly. He waved his arm with that dramatic flair he used so well. “This boy has not left your side. He refuses to leave, so I had to feed him or he’d starve.”

  Jack smiled at Piers, and it was clear whatever animosity had been between them was now gone.

  Piers gently patted my shin. “You look better, Lawson. Before you looked like death, but now you have some colour.”

  “I feel a little better. Hazy, a little slow, but I’d rather that than the headache I woke up with.” Jack rubbed my hand, which felt really nice and reminded me that my skin didn’t hurt anymore either.

  “The doc said you’ll probably have headaches for a while,” Jack said. “And you’ll be weak and tire easily.”

  I smiled. “Feels about right.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Piers added.

  Then I thought of something he’d said a minute ago. God, my mind really was slow… “Our campsite? The samples we took, the data…”

  Piers smiled. “Gary collected everything, camping gear, samples, and whatnot, and brought it in. I have all your work catalogued and waiting for you. I didn’t want to touch it without your permission.”

  I tried to wave him off but my hand―the one Jack wasn’t holding―felt like lead. “Please, do what you will with it. I’d rather we not waste any more time.”

  Piers gave a hard nod. “I’ll start on it first thing. But now, Lawson, you need to rest. I can see you’re in very capable hands. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

  He waved us off, and Jack smiled at where Piers had stood. “You and he are more amiable?” I asked.

  “He means well,” Jack said. “He was worried about you, but he said he’s very glad you have me.” He shrugged. “Kinda can’t argue with that.”

  I smiled and took in a deep, steady breath. I wasn’t sure which parts of me were starting to hurt again. Under the chemical buffer of drugs they’d given me, there was a current of pain just waiting.

  Jack seemed to understand. He picked up the pain-relief
push button. “Want me to press this?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t want to sleep again just yet.”

  “Tell me what you want?” He took my hand. “If it’s within my power…”

  “Food.”

  Jack snorted quietly before a grin spread across his face. He stood up and softly kissed my forehead. “Let me go see what I can find out.”

  Twenty minutes later, he was spoon feeding me a broth soup. Clear liquids apparently, and under normal circumstances, I’d have probably objected―and Jack turned his nose up at it―but it was the best tasting soup I’d ever had.

  I could only stomach half of it, getting incredibly full all of a sudden. I left the jelly and cup of tea for later, but I was suddenly exhausted and achy all over. Jack asked if I wanted him to push the pain-relief button. I gave a nod and closed my eyes. I felt his lips on my forehead before sleep claimed me.

  * * *

  I woke up feeling so much better and to a freshly showered, smiling Jack. “Good morning!” Again with a kiss to my forehead.

  “Morning,” I said, my voice croaked.

  “How are you feeling?” He asked, with a hopeful look on his face.

  “Better.” I sat up, feeling every protesting muscle. “And I’m starving.”

  “That’s a good sign.” Jack propped up my pillow and pressed the automatic lever on the bed so I was more comfortable sitting up. “I think I heard the breakfast trolley. Surely you can have some proper food today.”

  “I hope so.”

  “If they say no, I’ll sneak you in some.”

  “No you won’t,” a nurse said as he walked in. He had a stripe of pink hair and metal rings pierced into his face in random places.

  “Ah, Lyle,” Jack said happily. He stood up and shook hands with him. “Good to see you again.”

  “Just came in to see how the patient is,” Lyle said, looking to me. Then he spun on his heel and looked at Jack. “Well, patients.” He inspected Jack’s face and hand and arm. “You healed up quite nicely. And you, darling”—he turned back to me—“had this man just about beside himself.” He did something with the machines and checked my saline bag, then leaned in and winked at me. “You know, in case he didn’t tell you, he said he’d marry you if that’s what it took for us to let him stay with you.”