Three Years Later, He Came Back Begging novel Chapter 110

Bonnie realized who it was and felt a sudden wave of embarrassment. She’d totally lost track of things and, for a moment, actually thought it was Lawrence again.

She noticed how close Aiken was and lowered her head, giving him a gentle push. “Sorry. I was a little out of it,” she mumbled.

Aiken noticed her dodging his question. Disappointment flickered in his eyes, but he just fastened her seatbelt, then got out and walked around to the driver’s side.

Once the engine started, he glanced at her and said, “Let’s go to the hospital and get you on an IV. You’ll recover faster. It’s not good to leave such a high fever untreated.”

Bonnie shook her head right away. “I just want to go home and take some medicine. I’ll be fine.”

Aiken gave her a tired little smile. “Are you afraid of injections?”

Bonnie fell quiet. She really was. Needles made her dizzy, and she hated the pain. Anytime she got sick, she couldn’t help feeling pathetic.

Maybe it started when she was a kid. Whenever Bonnie got sick, her parents would stop arguing and treat her more gently, so she learned to milk it a little. She’d pout and throw tantrums, knowing they’d fuss over her.

Some habits stuck. When she was with Lawrence, every time she got sick, she’d put him through the wringer. He would agree to whatever she wanted just to get her to take her medicine or let the doctor give her an injection.

One time, she remembered it especially well. She’d caught a cold, had a slight fever, and nothing tasted good. She told Lawrence she’d agree to an IV only if he brought her meat pies from a shop way across town, the kind she remembered loving as a kid.

Lawrence actually drove across most of Cabinda to get them, stashing the pies inside his coat to keep them warm. But by the time he made it back to The Observatory, Bonnie had already drifted off to sleep.

She barely remembers waking up as someone jabbed a needle into the back of her hand. Being especially sensitive to pain, she woke with a start and flared up immediately. She was angry that Lawrence had called the doctor while she was asleep and let them inject her without asking.

She held in her frustration until the doctor left, then glared at Lawrence without saying a word. Lawrence just grinned, trying to cheer her up, waving the meat pie under her nose to tempt her. Bonnie, still in a mood, knocked it right out of his hand.

So Lawrence bought a new one just for her. Until it arrived, he washed her clothes by hand without even a hint of complaint.

For over a year, Lawrence never dropped the ball on things like that. He took care of everything with a quiet patience that Bonnie never realized she’d gotten used to, not until they broke up. For a long time afterward, she couldn’t adjust.

She tried not to get sick at all. If she did, she couldn’t keep herself from thinking about Lawrence, from remembering all those little things, and every time it made the loneliness feel even worse.

After everything, the person who once took care of her the most was also the person who left her behind with nothing but the sting of needles. It felt like they were still inside her, making everything hurt.

So there was no way Bonnie was going to the hospital. She’d much rather just take her medicine and get through it alone.

She closed her eyes, her voice barely more than a whisper. “I’m really fine. Just medicine, okay?”