He lay quietly on the bed with white sheets, in a room with a white floor, white cupboards, white countertop, white coats, and a white water cup. The hospital had a set color scheme. A mobile device leaned on its stand on the bed next to his hip.

  Noticing that he hadn’t caught her walking in, she knocked on the bed railing. “Hey,” she cooed.

  He about bolted out of the bed, looking nervous with his bedhead and messy complexion, along with the pressure bandage wrapped over his head and under his jaw to keep it from opening up. She looked great as always in her long skirt and light jacket. He looked hospitalized.

  “How was it?”

  He gave a thumbs up and fiddled with the device, opening a text editor. “How are you?” He typed.

  She leaned against the bed, next to the device. With a close look at the bandage, she said. “I’m fine. I like the look.”

  “They call it a jaw bra.”

  She chuckled. “What’s your cup size?” She laughed more as he sneered back at her. She wanted to continue but decided to keep the teasing light during his recovery. “So,” she zipped open her bookbag. “What kind of beverage do you want? I brought five different kinds.”

  Timothy pulled out a bottle of what looked to be iced tea from the side of the bed. “I’ll probably drink all of what you brought,” he typed.

  She lined them all up on the small counter with the sink. Then she pulled out a bunch of notebooks. “I took notes for you and volunteered to bring your assignments.”

  He typed, “Awesome, thank you,” instead. “I got a lot of it online, though.”

  “Just wanted an excuse to come in.”

  A young nurse walked in with a bottle of brown puree in it. “Dinner time, Timmy,” she said.

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  He sat straighter and grabbed the bottle. Sarah knew that Timothy wouldn’t be able to eat solids and would have to have blended protein for almost a week and then soft foods for several weeks. With a quick sip through a tight set of lips, he swallowed some and put his dinner down. “I hope that wasn’t gross,” he wrote.

  “All good.”

  “Anything else?” The nurse asked.

  “I’m fine, thank you,” he typed.

  The nurse leaned in. “Just push the button if you need anything, Timmy,” she said with a smile and walked out.

  Sarah sneered at him. “I felt bad for you until that cute nurse walked in.” She altered her voice. “Oh, Timmy! Need food, Timmy?”

  “Jealous?” he wrote.

  She laughed and stopped herself from saying no, as she was kind of jealous. Watching the nurse gave her insight into how intimate nursing someone back to health can be. “A little,” she said. Leaning on the bed, knees on the floor, she got close. “I’m glad you got the surgery.”

  With her breath brushing his face. “Me too. Hopefully no more Duck Face.”

  That response of his may need a sensitive reply. She gave a comforting smile. She lifted the device and put it on his lap. “What were you watching?”

  “Basketball,” he typed.

  She crawled onto the bed, her head to the side of his chest, her feet reaching near the end of the bed. “Let’s watch it together.”

  It took a moment. But he mustered the courage to move while a girl was cuddling him. She felt the nerves through his arm, which vibrated to his chest as he reached for the device and swiped at it to play the game again.

  Corpse, log, whatever one calls it, Timothy may as well not have been breathing.

  Sarah looked up to him. “Just a heads up. I want to be touched. I live for it.” She waited for him to move. But his stare on her remained unfazed as the gears in his head spun on what to do. She grabbed his arm, positioned it on her head, and moved his hand around. He moved it along, feeling her long, soft, blonde hair.

  As the game went on, she could tell when he got excited, and which team he was rooting for as the motion tightened or got faster after a play. It was cute. And she got into it as well. She preferred football, but basketball didn’t remind her of Liam.

  After lying in comfortable silence, the nurse came in to let Sarah know that visiting hours were over. She got up, told Timothy she’d be back tomorrow, he waved with a smile, and she went home.

  Timothy stared up at the ceiling. As comforting as Sarah has been, she knows how to keep him from sleeping at night.