I couldn’t believe it–I was actually having a nosebleed. Seriously, who does that?
I’d only seen it happen in movies or cartoons, always thinking it was some over–the–top gag. Never
thought it’d be me standing there, blood running down my face like a total weirdo.
“Kiki, you’re bleeding!” Hayden’s eyes went wide as he reached for my face.
But nope, I beat him to it. Pinched my nose, head back. “I’m fine, just… overheated.” I tried to
sound cool, but I could feel my cheeks burning. So much for that.
“Not enough water?” he asked, his voice full of concern.
“Yeah… sure.” Dehydration sounded v
tter than admitting the real reason.
He fished some tissues out of his pocket and handed them over: “You’ve been running around too
much. I should’ve noticed you weren’t drinking enough water.”
Ugh, there he goes again–ming himself.
To be fair, maybe he should have noticed. Not that dehydration caused this whole thing, but still… it
was definitely his fault.
Once the bleeding stopped, Hayden did the most ridiculous thing. He scooped me up, right there in
the middle of a crowded hospital. Like, full–on bridal carry. People were totally staring.
“Put me down!” I squirmed.
He just ignored me. And the more I struggled, the more people looked, so I gave up and hid my
face in his chest. Maybe if I couldn’t see them, they couldn’t see me, right?
Instead of taking me to Lena’s break room like I thought, he carried me straight back to Yuna’s
hospital
room
Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org.
Yuna, being a girl, of course had pads ready. And then–because my life clearly needed more
cringe- Hayden actually went out and bought me panties.
I know some girls might find it sweet, but I was dying of secondhand embarrassment.
Yuna must’ve been totally wiped because she slept through everything, like, deep sleep. We didn’t
evene close to waking her.
“Are you in pain?” Hayden asked, sounding way too familiar with period stuff for a guy.
I shook my head. “No, I’m good.”
I
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t even realized my period wasing–it showed up two days
early. which is how I ended up in this whole embarrassing mess.
“Hayden, I meddled today,” I said, cupping my hands around the warm water he’d given me,
thinking back. to everything with Tanya.
“No, you didn’t,” he said, not missing a beat.
I shot him a wry smile. “I know you like to spoil me, but you can’t just brush it off when I screw up.”
He shook his head, meeting my eyes seriously. “It’s not that. You didn’t do anything wrong.
Stopping her from hurting the baby was the right move. No matter what mistakes adults make, the
kid shouldn’t have to suffer. Protecting life–it’s important.”
His words hit me harder than I expected, a warm feeling spreading through my chest.
I nudged his leg with mine, shing a grin. “You really were a soldier.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, suddenly tense. “Don’t tempt me.”
I knew exactly what he meant, and I burst outughing.
Since I’d been with Hayden, I noticed something about myself–Iughed out loud a lot more. I felt
free to tease and be yful around him in ways I never did before.
He
e watched me with that rare smile pull his lips, Hayden was so serious most of the time, especially
with Yuna still being sick, so seeing him si….e? It felt like a win.
They say the best kind of love is when you’re being a total goof, and he’s just there, smiling like
you’re his whole world.
I used to be all about finding that perfect love, but it totally blew up in my face. Then, out of
nowhere, I found a love that gave me everything I didn’t even know I needed.
Life’s full of surprises, so don’t be too guarded. You never know–something way better might be
waiting just around the corner.
“I heard from Lena that Yuna’s surgery might get dyed. Is that true?” I asked.
Hayden nodded. “Yeah, Prof. Neumann’s already looking into other heart donors.”