4

This wasn’t the first time Rip had worn an oxygen mask during a hospital stay, but he’d never felt this damn pathetic. Or aggravated. His ‘emergency contact’ had been called, but his parents were on vacation and didn’t answer their cell. Not that he needed them here, but he had to find a way to get ahold of principal Gordon Lavallee and explain his absence.

Being a loner, who spent more free time connecting with online gamers than socializing in real life, really sucked when he couldn’t come up with a single person to call. The principal was hard of hearing, so there was no way he’d catch any of the raspy words Rip managed. And he didn’t believe in texting.

“Relax, honey.” The sweet old Latina nurse that had been taking his vitals patted his hand. “No one wants to be here, but you’re doing a lot better. You should be able to leave in the morning.”

“Thank you, Julia.” Rip smiled, grateful for her presence. She’d caught his asthma attack coming on before it got bad and kept him calm. And when it became clear after a couple of hours that no one was coming to see him, she’d made a point of bringing him a few magazines and introducing him to the two other patients in the room.

Both had been carted off for x-rays, but she’d stayed a little longer than expected. She didn’t seem to want to leave him alone.

With how busy nurses were, he felt guilty taking up so much of her time. He rested his head on the pillow. “I really appreciate everything, but you don’t need to worry about me. I’ll get some sleep and be out of your hair first thing.”

She let out a soft laugh and adjusted his blankets. “I’ll decide who I need to worry about. My shift is over, so I don’t mind staying a bit. But it would be good for you to get some rest.”

“Umm…does that mean I should go?”

Rip’s eyes widened and he sat up as he spotted the man in the doorway. He reached for his mask, pausing until Nurse Julia checked his oxygen levels and nodded. Then he wet his lips. “No, you don’t have to go. Please, I wanted to thank you myself.”

His voice was scratchy and thin, but the guy didn’t seem to have any trouble hearing him. Shoving his hands in his pockets, the man shrugged. “No need. I’m just happy you’re okay.”

Damn it, Rip couldn’t remember the guy’s name. Or if he’d ever been told it. But he would recognize him anywhere. That badass, I’ll-make-you-scream-my-name, tough, muscular, tattooed…all right, he wasn’t sure where he was going with that, but the man had redefined what an angel must look like. When he was younger, Rip would have crossed the street if he’d seen a guy like this, but becoming a teacher had changed his opinion of people.

Some of his best students were the ones who looked a little wild. While many clean cut, properly dressed trust-fund babies were disrespectful little jerks. The parents that were most involved with their kid’s education didn’t look like model citizens, but they cared more than anyone.

Julia squeezed his hand. “I’ll leave you two alone and get back home to my furbabies.” She smiled at the big, tattooed man. “It was good of you to come. I’m sure he’ll enjoy the company.”

After Julia left, a long silence followed. The man stood there, not looking sure what to do with himself. Then he approached the bed, pulling up a chair and lowering to it slowly, like he was afraid it would break.

He was a big guy. Rip was a little surprised it didn’t.

“So…ah.” The man scratched his scruffy jaw. “How are you feeling?”

“Good. I had an asthma attack—which you didn’t need to know, sorry.” Rip groaned inwardly, wishing this conversation was happening online. The only time he was confident talking to people was in a gaming forum or in class. There was a reason he avoided one-on-one. “I…hell, I don’t even know your name. This is really awkward.”

Straightening, the man shot him a heartbreakingly warm smile. “Doesn’t have to be awkward. The name’s Otto. I had my mouth over yours before you puked all over the place. Anything after that is easy.”

Cheeks heating, Rip nodded slowly. “I guess. Sorry if I puked on you.”

“You didn’t. And even if you had, you wouldn’t be the first.” Otto’s laugh was deep, a little rough and all kinds of mind-numbing. When he scooted closer to the bed, Rip had a hard time not staring at his mouth. “Is the asthma going to complicate things?”

“It shouldn’t. I just panicked and they gave me my meds. No big deal.”

“Why did you panic?” Otto looked around the room, a dark frown on his lips. He shrugged off his leather jacket and rested it on the back of the chair. “Was it because you’re alone? I came as fast as I could, but the traffic was bad. I figured one of your friends would have been here by now.”

Let’s not tell him I have no friends in this state, all right? Rip gave him a weak smile. “Naw, I was cool on my own. I just need to get in touch with the school’s principal to explain what happened, but I’m not sure anyone can hear me over the phone.”

Otto nodded slowly. “Probably not. Want me to call?”