48

LAURA

“Oh, my poor baby,” Balery cried when she saw me, dumping her purse and the flowers she was carrying on the ground before hurrying over to sit next to me on the bed.

Her eyes swept over my form once in in a quick survey, then she promptly burst into tears.

My heart broke. “Oh, Balery please don’t cry.”

I didn’t know what to do with myself. I’d always been terrible at comforting people, especially when they cried, so I tended to avoid the act altogether. Right now, I could do nothing but stare at her helplessly as she sobbed. It made me feel like a piece of shit--for not knowing how to react to certain display of emotions and for making her cry in the first place.

“But look at you,” she sniffed, tears running freely down her beautiful face. “You’re all patched up and I-I’ve never seen you like this--”

“I suffered just one injury and it was to my head, Bales.” I cut her off. “I look worse than I feel. Really.” Stretching with mild difficulty, I handed her a kleenex from the bed