All of Me (26 page)

He dropped his fork and stared at her. “Like what?”

“Tomorrow, you shower and shave. You look like a vagrant. Afterward, I’ll cut your hair. And we’re burning that robe.”

He looked at himself, unable to argue. He’d let himself go to hell. He hadn’t even cared. Strange thing, he kinda cared now. If the last memory she had of him wasn’t bad enough, this one would trump it. He needed to start complying with her demand to help him, show her he could be a good guy again. Then at least when she left this time around, it would be under better circumstances and with a better image of him.

“I’m implementing a diet high in calcium, vitamin C, and protein. You’re also doing one hour a day in the gym with me three times a week. The days we’re not in the gym, we’ll take a walk. I’m off on Sundays, so you are, too.”

He’d barely made it down the stairs tonight. “And if I refuse?”

Her grin was wicked.

He sighed. The sooner he complied with this, the sooner she’d be gone. Though that thought broke a chunk of his heart away, he knew she had to go. They were all wrong for each other as kids and nothing on that front had changed. The longer she stayed, the blurrier the line became. In
his
mind anyway. She still hated him.

He sucked in a sharp breath when his leg suddenly throbbed, not in the usual spot, but lower in the calf. It intensified until he cried out.

She knelt by his feet. “What’s wrong?”

“Hurts,” he ground out.

“Where?”

He pointed.

“Does it usually hurt there?”

He shook his head.

“Does it feel hot or more like a cramp?”

“Cramp.”

She stood. “It’s a charley horse. Bring your toes up and flex your foot.”

He did as she said and the pain lessened. He blew out a breath.

Mia walked to the fridge and pulled out a Gatorade. “You’re dehydrated. Drink this tonight. If the pain returns, just flex your foot. With your injuries, you have to watch for blood clots. If it ever feels hot, sharp, and stabbing, you call the doctor right away.”

He nodded, bringing his foot down. The leg still cramped, but not as harshly as before. She knelt by his feet again, this time with a bottle of hand lotion from the sink. “What are you doing?”

“Rubbing the calf to loosen the muscle.” She squirted a quarter-sized amount of lotion into her palm.

“No.”

“But, Cole . . .”

She could
not
touch him. He’d lose it. “I said no!”

The roaring tone of his voice careened her backward. He felt like an absolute shit but couldn’t bring himself to apologize.

Several seconds ticked by before she straightened. She rubbed the lotion into her hands. The silence continued. “I’m going upstairs to straighten your room. The next time you have a flashback or an episode, I’ll be there. We’ll see if we can get you through it.”

She was still too damn nice for her own good.

As she walked past, he grabbed her arm. “Why are you doing this?”

She didn’t look at him.
“Closure.”

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