The first thing on Nathan's mind when he woke up was wanting to know what he had hurt because he had never felt so terrible in his life. The second was wondering what happened to the person he saved.
He couldn't remember anything about them so he was fairly certain it had been Sierra. He was beginning to notice a pattern in his memory gaps. It seemed like he interacted with her—and more specifically, used his power on her—often.
So when Lisa came to see him, she was the first thing he asked about. He had no idea what happened to her because he couldn't remember anything that happened aside from getting hit by a bus trying to save someone. There was no guarantee whoever he was trying to help was actually safe.
When Sierra came in and all of his memories regarding her came flooding back, he was beyond relieved. He couldn't see her face clearly without his glasses but her voice was a bit shaky as if she was trying not to cry.
Nathan tried reassuring her but all that did was make Lisa scold him. There was no winning here, was there?
Well, he had done the most reckless rescue of his entire life and gotten hurt in the process. When he first woke up the doctor told him he had a concussion and broken shoulder. Thankfully, it wasn't serious enough to need surgery but he would need to keep it immobilized for a minimum of six weeks.
He was doomed. He needed to finish his final chapter in the next week and it would be very difficult to do one-handed. Would it be possible to convince someone to type for him? That would be so embarrassing though!
"Do you have a pair of backup glasses?" Lisa asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.
Nathan sighed. "Yeah. My old ones are back at my apartment. The prescription isn't perfect but it's better than nothing until I can get them replaced. I'll call the eye doctor when I go home."
"You have a concussion! You're not going home; you're coming with me until you're better. No arguments from you. You're hurt and need someone to take care of you."
He was simultaneously exasperated and touched. Lisa had always looked out for him even though he wasn't technically part of her family. Her tone brooked no arguments so he found himself agreeing.
"Fine. Amber is going to be insufferable though."
She laughed. "What, with her belief that you're a superhero? I remember when she was little she used do draw you wearing a mask around your eyes and a cape."
Could Nathan die now? Sierra was listening and since she had moved closer he could see the blurry outline of her suppressing a smile. Great. Just what he needed on top of everything else.
"Lisaaaa," he protested.
"Sorry! But it was so cute. Don't worry, I won't let her bug you too much. You need a lot of rest. I've had a concussion before so I know the drill. You'll be as good as new in no time on my watch."
Sierra cleared her throat. "Um…can we exchange numbers, Nathan? I want to be able to help when you're recovering once you're back at your apartment. I feel largely responsible for what happened so—"
"That's fine. Thanks, Sierra."
Nathan would definitely need help with things like laundry though he may die of embarrassment having a woman see his dirty underwear. Having someone closer to him than Lisa to help him on short notice would be nice.
She handed his phone to Sierra after he unlocked it with his good arm and she inputted her information before trying to sneakily take a selfie. He still noticed though. What was she doing?
He saw once she gave it back to him. She had added a contact photo for herself. Why would she do that? The only people he had contact photos for were Amber, Lisa, and her husband Jake. And now Sierra, he supposed.
It was a bit difficult typing out a text with only his left hand so she would have his number too but he managed. Life was simply going to be hard until his shoulder healed, wasn't it?
Nathan didn't regret saving her though. He never regretted any of the people he saved. His only regret in this life was the one he didn't.
"I should probably get going now…are you going to be alright?" Sierra asked before biting her lip hesitantly.
He smiled to reassure her. She might be a danger magnet but his getting hurt wasn't really her fault. It was his compulsion to act on his power and calling out to distract her from undoing her shoe strap that did it.
"The doctor said he wants to keep me overnight for observation but I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. I'll text you once I'm back at home, okay? I might need some extra help for a while but I don't want to be too much of a bother."
"How could you be?! I'm the one that offered. I'll still have to work and all but whenever I'm free, I can do whatever you need me to," she promised. "Feel better!"
Sierra waved on her way out the door and the moment she was gone he blinked and wondered what he had been talking about. His head hurt really badly so he couldn't be entirely sure what was happening right now.
"Lisa, was someone else here?" Nathan asked.
She seemed confused. "No, why would there be? It's always been you and me."
He didn't want to think about it. His head hurt too much to try to figure anything out. What he needed right now was rest so his body could heal.
"Right…tell Amber I'm okay and not to worry, alright? I'll call you once they want to release me in the morning so you can pick me up. Sorry to burden you. I know you still have work and all."
Lisa shook her head. "You're not a burden at all! They already know I left early for a family emergency. I was planning on calling out tomorrow anyway since it's Friday and someone needs to be there in case you need anything. You should be okay with doing some things on your own by the time I go back to work on Monday."
"Thanks, Lisa," Nathan sighed in relief. Sometimes it was nice allowing yourself to be taken care of for once.