As I Fall Asleep- Joshua Bassett

Chapter 9

A month later...

"Hey, can you turn that off? I'm going to go to bed."

I check the time on my phone, seeing it's only 8:30. I roll my eyes and turn off the TV which is playing Vampire Diaries. That's right, Vampire Diaries, not Lucifer.

I couldn't bring myself to continue the rest of season 3 ever since Josh was released from the hospital and went home.

My new roommate, Bailey, turns on his sound machine and closes his eyes. 'Ok so I can't watch Netflix, but you can turn on your sound machine that plays the noises of a freaking rainforest at volume 10? Makes sense.' I say in my mind

I thought once Josh was released, I would move to a different room or get a girl roommate. Instead, Bailey took the empty bed across the room. I don't know why he's here, but I do know he's annoying.

When Josh left, he told me that he would visit.  He hasn't visited once. He left 2 weeks ago. I know he's been filming for HSMTMTS so that's why he hasn't visited. Or at least that's what I keep on telling myself. We exchanged numbers to keep in touch, which we have been.

I pick up my phone and open Josh's and my text thread. I text him a "Hey" and wait for a response. I give up 10 minutes later and decide to just go to sleep.

The next morning, I wake up and hoist myself into my wheelchair. The doctors say I've been healing really well, and I can feel it. Although I've only had a couple MRIs on my chest, Dr. Olsen and Jacobs say it looks like the growth is slowing down, but I still have to have checkups every other week. My leg is almost completely healed but I have to stay in my wheelchair until my side can support me on crutches.

My arm that the shark bit was completely back to normal, except for a multitude of scars. I had been self-conscious about the scars at first, but now I'm used to them. They've also begun to fade, albeit not all the way, but still.

I go out to the garden in the afternoon and lift myself out of the wheelchair and lop down under a tree, grateful for the shade it offers. As I'm reading the book I brought with me, I hear leaves crunching behind me, as if someone is walking. I turn around but see no one there, so I focus back on my reading.

I'm about to turn the page when suddenly, a "boo!" scares me and makes me scream. Josh is beside me, laughing hysterically.

"Josh!! You scared the crap out of me!" I shout at him.

He's still laughing so hard that he can't respond, he just waves me off and nods. When he calms down, he sits down next to me, our backs against the bard of the tree. He picks up the book in my hands and examines it.

"Seriously? You're this bored without me?"

"What can I say? It's just not the same sneaking around the hospital without you, to almost get us caught."

His eyes widen, "You're kidding, right? Do I have to remind you how many times we got caught because of you?"

I laugh, "I'm kidding, Josh. But seriously, it's not the same without you."

He looks at me sympathetically. "I know, I'm sorry I haven't been around a lot. Filming has been crazy, and my managers want new songs asap and..." he takes a breath, "it's just a lot."

"I get it." I tell him, "Don't worry about me. Hopefully I get out soon and as soon as I do, I'm enjoying my freedom. Which is exactly what you should be doing right now!" I nudge him in his side.

"I am!" he counters. "I wanted to come see you, so here I am."

We talk for a few minutes about what we've been up to until Josh asks, "Any news on when you get out of here?"

"They're hoping by the end of next month," I tell him. "It depends on how quickly my side heals and if my heart's okay."

He nods. "Well, a month and a half isn't too bad. You'll be out before you know it."

"I sure hope so. I'm so tired of being cooped up in the hospital. Going outside helps, but it's not the same, you know?"

"Yeah. Tell you what," he begins, "The day you get released, we'll do something fun, okay? Go out on the town or something."

"Promise?" I ask him.

"Promise."

We sit there in a comfortable silence for a while until Joshua nudges my shoulder. "Ready to go back in?"

I sigh, "I guess."

He helps me into my wheelchair and pushes me to the elevator, despite my insistence that I was more than capable of wheeling myself.

He opens the door for me, and we enter the room and go to my side of the room. Bailey isn't here, thankfully.

"You know what we should do?" he asks smirking.

"How far in are you? Have you finished season 3?" I question.

"No way! It feels wrong to watch Lucifer without you. Wait... did you watch it without me?" He looks hurt.

"Of course not!" I exclaim. I'm shocked that he would wait for me, that it was our thing. Did that mean something?

He lifts me up like I weigh nothing, and my shorts ride up, exposing my upper thigh. His hand grazes the exposed skin and I blush, hoping he doesn't notice. One he sets me down, he sits on my bed next to me and turns on the TV.

As we begin my focus isn't on the screen in front of me. Instead, all I can think about is how lonely I've been without him and how flushed I got when his hand was on my thigh.

Was I falling for Joshua Bassett?

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Oop

-kb