“Are you nauseous?”
“No. Not anymore.”
She got up and went into the small half bath, closing the door before she flipped on the light and found his pills. Shaking out a dose and replacing the cap, she went back to his bedside and helped him take the pills with the cold water she’d brought in with her.
After feeding him a few crackers, she went and got a basin of cold water so she could periodically change the cool compress. Kicking off her shoes, she lay gently beside him.
“How did you know?” Micah said weakly.
“Julian. He was worried,” she shared in a whisper, knowing that noises were going to bother him.
“I didn’t want you to see me like this,” he rumbled.
“I want to be here if you need me,” she answered. “Just rest now. I’ll be right here beside you if you want anything.”
Careful not to touch him, she reached across his body and cut off the light, effectively ending any conversation since she couldn’t see him.
He reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist, bodily pulling her closer, and she rested a hand cautiously on his chest. She wasn’t sure if he wanted to be touched.
Apparently, he wanted to feel her, to be touched by her. He fell asleep soon after she’d turned off the light, his body less restless as he reached up his free hand and covered the one she had laid on his chest.
CHAPTER 14
Micah awoke in a dark room, disoriented because he couldn’t remember exactly where he was, but the warmth of Tessa’s hand in his calmed him down, forcing him to think.
Xander.
The migraine.
The fucking pain.
Then, Tessa had come. She’d cared for him, but most of the details were fuzzy.
Slowly, he remembered that Julian had gone to California because Xander had overdosed. He wasn’t sure why or how Tessa had known he needed her, but Julian had to be the source of that information. He was the only one who knew. As his brain started to clear, he vaguely remembered Tessa telling him that Julian had texted her because he’d been worried about Micah.
The excruciating pain was gone, leaving only a dull ache, a minor discomfort that Micah knew would wear off during the next few hours. He shifted and looked at the lighted bedside clock, realizing he’d been incoherent for almost twenty-four hours. The duration was shorter than his last episode, which had gone on for two days.
He knew it was morning, well beyond daylight, but the curtains were carefully pulled across the large windows in the room, leaving it nearly completely dark.
“Micah? Are you okay?” Tessa vaulted into a sitting position, immediately awake.
His chest ached just from hearing the concern in her voice, the genuine fear for his health. Reaching back, he turned on the light so he could communicate with her, sitting up slowly.
Taking her frightened face between his hands, he said, “I’m fine. Sleep, Tessa. I know you probably didn’t get much rest.” He could tell by the way she’d reacted the moment he moved that she’d slept lightly. She was still dressed in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, apparently acting as his guardian angel as he slept.
She yawned as she replied, “I slept. You conked out after you took your pills and ate some crackers. How are you feeling?”
“Better,” he said uncomfortably, not completely at ease with being helpless and in pain with anybody watching. “You didn’t need to come over.”
“Maybe not. But I wanted to,” she told him softly, lifting a hand to his face to stroke his whiskered jaw. “My mom used to suffer with migraines. I know how bad it can be.”
Micah thought about how she’d probably pulled the curtains closed, fetched cold compresses, and sought out his pills the night before. He always had found his migraines emasculating. The condition was a lot more common in women than men, and he’d always wondered why it had to happen to him. As a teenager, he’d felt like a wuss when he had to discontinue his activities because he had a stupid headache. Since he always had warning, very few of his friends even knew about his condition. The only ones who had ever understood were his brothers and his parents.
“This one didn’t last as long as the last one. Maybe they’ll eventually go away,” he grumbled.
“Is that what happened? They went away and then came back?”
“Yeah. Until the last year or so, I hadn’t had one in over a decade.”
“After your parents were killed and Xander was injured. That’s why your doctor wanted you to get away from all your stresses?”
Micah shrugged. “Pretty much. He thought maybe it was happening again because of the way my parents died, the situation with Xander, and the lifestyle change since I started my own business.”
Tessa nodded. “He’s probably right. My mom’s migraines only happened when she was under a lot of stress. After my dad died, she had them a lot.”
“I can’t just give up my life. I escaped for a while, but I have to live in reality. I love my company, and I love my brother,” he told her angrily.
Tessa didn’t let his hostile expression bother her. She knew Micah was angry at the situation and not at her. “I know you do, but that doesn’t mean you have to shoulder all of the burdens in your family. Did Julian give you a hassle about taking care of Xander this time?”
Micah thought for a minute before answering, “No. I think he was pissed because I didn’t tell him everything.”
“You should have told him. I know how it feels when one sibling sacrifices so much for another. Julian deserved to know so he could help. Maybe he’d have chosen to share the burden.”