still ill • michael gray

Chapter 5

In this moment I'm unbelievably glad that our rooms are connected. Although I'm sure Eve has dealt with girl running around in bedsheets before, I don't care to join the ranks of those girls anytime soon. I sneak back into my room and find my clothes that I arrived in laid out neatly on the bed. I smile to myself, damn Eve and Michael, always going to the ends of the Earth to make me comfortable.

I decide it's probably best that I take a bath. Due to the events of last night, I'm definitely not smelling the best.

I find myself lying in the bathtub with cucumber slices over my eyes while Eve scrubs my scalp. "In my humble opinion," she murmurs, "Mr. Gray seems very smitten with you," she then chuckles, "I don't think I've ever seen him that sore before either, he had to load up on the pain medications before he left."

I laugh softly, "I'm sure it's just because we did a lot of walking."

"Miss—"

"Just call me Bea for the love of God."

"Bea, sound travels surprisingly well in this home."

I feel my cheeks heating up, "Oh, gosh, well I hope we weren't too loud."

She pours warm water over my head, rinsing out the suds, "All I have to say is, if you aren't careful, Mr. Gray will have to hire me an assistant because I can't take care of the house and a baby all on my own."

I almost choke on my spit and sit up quickly, the cucumbers fall off my eyes into the water, "That is not going to happen."

She purses her lips while smiling slightly, "Judging by the way you two were going at it last night, I'd say it isn't long before it does."

"Then we'll be extra, extra careful, okay?" I lean back again.

"Well don't be too careful," she sighs, "I think a family of his own is exactly what Michael needs."

"It did sound like things were kind of tense with his family back home..."

"Now I don't know much about all that, but I've been around him long enough to see that he's lonely."

I bite my lip, "I saw that too."

"I don't see it as much when he's with you."

"That's why I feel bad about leaving."

"Don't feel bad," she breathes, "he's a grown man, and he has no reason to be lonely because I'm sure you'll see each other again soon."

"You know he didn't wake up at all last night," I remark.

"He was probably just exhausted."

"It doesn't matter why he slept through the night, my point is, he still doesn't deserve to wake up a bunch of times."

"It seems like you're awfully smitten with him too."

I find myself becoming annoyed with her for probing into my emotions towards Michael. "I just can't help but worry, I'd be just as concerned for anyone else in that much pain."

"I'm only making a humble observation, Bea."

I clench my jaw, "Do you interrogate Michael this much? I'm really starting to get bothered. Just because I'm more open and less intimidating than he is doesn't mean you have a right to pry into what goes on between him and I. You aren't my mother, and God knows I wouldn't even tell her about what's going on in my fucking head."

She goes surprisingly silent for several minutes before speaking again, "You two really are peas in a pod."

"Am I done yet?" I snap. "If I'm not I can bathe my fucking self."