32. Chapter Thirty-Two Park

Chapter Thirty-Two: Park

I don't know what to do. I feel like I should go be with Anya and Spin, but Pear nearly begged me to stay with her. And she's hurt and in pain, and Auntie's wiped out.

I keep hoping that Pear will fall asleep for the night and maybe I can leave, but she holds my hand and jerks to alertness every time I move.

"Thank you for staying with me," she says. Her head is bandaged and her left arm is broken. The doctor says she was lucky it wasn't worse because her car flipped.

"It's okay," I tell her.

She smiles groggily at me. Maybe she'll go to sleep and I can at least get my hand back. I'd had to awkwardly text Spin with my left hand.

I feel terrible leaving Anya with Spin. Not because he can't take care of her—I know he can. And Anya loves Spin. But I should be there with them. It feels wrong not to be. Sitting here holding Pear's hand feels wrong, too.

Sighing, I try to get comfortable in the chair so I might get a little sleep. Pear senses my movement and her grip on my hand tightens .

I wake in the morning hearing my sister's voice.

"Nong, go back to bed," I murmur, still half asleep.

Wait a minute.

Opening my eyes, I see Anya standing by Pear's hospital bed.

"Are you sure, P'Pear?"

"I'll be right as rain before you know it, Nong. Your brother is taking care of me." She squeezes my hand, and I look down at the bed to find it still securely entwined with hers. Then I look up because if Anya's here, that means…

"She woke up crying this morning about you not being there and about P'Pear's accident. So I brought her here. I hope that's okay." Spin's face is unreadable and he's not meeting my eyes.

Tugging hard, I extricate my hand from Pear's granite grip and stand from the chair, every muscle in my body protesting after being in the same position for hours.

"Of course it's okay." I look over at the vacant couch.

"Khun Anong went to look for some coffee," Spin informs me.

"You have a big bruise on your arm," Anya says to Pear. "Is that one broken?" She points to the arm encased in a cast.

"Yes, unfortunately," Pear says. Her eyes keep leaving Anya and going to me and Spin.

"Does it hurt?"

"Not when they give me medicine," Pear says. "But I haven't had it yet this morning, and it kind of hurts now. Your brother has been so sweet and attentive, holding my hand all night."

"I'll get your nurse," I say, then look at Spin, hoping he'll accompany me, but he sits down in the chair I vacated.

I find the nurse and tell her that Pear is in pain, then run into Auntie on my way back to the hospital room, and I tell her that Spin and Anya are visiting Pear .

"Have a cup of coffee and sit with me," she says, handing me a Styrofoam cup. "Thank you for staying with us all night. I saw you in that uncomfortable chair when I woke up this morning."

"Of course I stayed, Auntie. Pear asked me to, and I wanted to make sure you were all right."

"I'm fine. I had a good night's sleep, unlike you. You need to go home. If you'll come by later and bring me these things from my house, I'll be fine staying here as long as Pear needs me, as long as you don't need me for Anya." She pulls a folded piece of paper out of her pocket and hands it to me.

"Of course, Auntie. And don't worry about Anya, I've got her covered." Not exactly true, but I'll find a way.

We finish our coffee and go back to Pear's room.

"The nurse gave her an injection," Spin tells us. "She said Pear will sleep for a while."

Pear looks like she's fighting a losing battle with the drug, her eyelids repeatedly closing no matter how many times she opens them back up.

"Park," she murmurs.

"Get some rest, Pear," Auntie says, patting Pear's good arm. "I'll sit with you now. Park needs to go home and rest."

"I'll bring your things later," I promise Auntie. Then Spin, Anya, and I leave the room.

"I'm glad P'Pear is okay," Anya says, holding my hand as we walk to the elevators.

"So am I, Nong. Were you good for P'Spin?"

"Of course. P'Kiet and P'Cushion watched a movie with us."

Spin is being extremely quiet, and I'm uneasy. Is he upset because I was holding Pear's hand? I wish I knew what was going through his head .

"We took the BTS here," Spin says when we reach the parking lot.

I nod, unlocking the doors to my car. We climb in, and I'm not happy when Spin gets into the backseat with Anya, but I don't say anything.

"Where are we going?" Spin asks when I pass the turn off for his building.

"My house," P'Park says.

"But…you're not going to drop me off?"

"We have some things to talk about," I say.

In the rearview mirror, I see Spin's face shut down even more than it was before. He turns and stares out the window for the rest of the ride.

Once we're in my house, Anya runs to her room to unpack her backpack and give her dolls a reunion with their friends. I can hear her chatting away from the living room. Sitting on the couch, I pat the place beside me.

Spin takes a seat in the chair several feet away.

"You're angry with me," I say.

"Why would I be angry at you?" he asks woodenly.

"Because I didn't come to your place last night—"

"You explained why you couldn't."

"—and you walked into the hospital room this morning and found me holding Pear's hand."

"You can hold anyone's hand that you want to. I have no claim on you."

"Spin. That is not true. You do have a claim on me."

He shrugs, refusing to look at me.

"Please come over here and sit by me," I say softly.

Spin's nostril's flare and he presses his lips together, but he stands and walks over to sit on the couch beside me .

"Thank you. Listen. I wanted to be with you and Anya last night. I didn't want to stay at the hospital. But Auntie was exhausted and fell asleep, and Pear begged me not to go. She wouldn't even let go of my hand. All night. I had to text you with my left hand."

Spin glances at me and then away, his dark eyes troubled.

"Tell me what you're thinking. Please," I say.

He swallows and clenches his hands together in his lap. "I'm thinking about P'Bang."

I frown. Bang? "Your ship partner at Hearts Entertainment?"

Spin nods.

My heart sinks to my feet.

"Did you and he have more than a work relationship?" I ask, jealousy rearing its ugly head.

"No. But we became close, and when he was paired with someone else, I had a really hard time. I promised myself that wouldn't happen again."

Oh.

Relieved, I point out, "But we're not separating. And we're together…in a relationship."

Anya comes running into the room. "P, may I play with my clay?"

I nod, and she goes running back to her room.

"Spin?"

Finally, he looks at me, and the heartbreak in his eyes ruins me. I pull him into my arms. "What kind of crazy thoughts have you been entertaining, Baby?" It's the first time I've used his nickname, but that's not really what I'm doing. Cupping the back of his head, I hold his face to my shoulder as he sniffles.

"If you want to be with P'Pear, I understand," he says.

I can't hold back a laugh. "Why would I suddenly want to be with her? "

"Sometimes a life or death situation brings clarity," Spin says, voice thick.

"The only clarity I had last night was that I've taken the comfort of my bed for granted all these years. Sleeping in that chair was like sleeping on a rock."

Spin pulls back. "P'Park," he scolds, but I can tell he's trying not to smile.

Wiping the tears from his cheeks, I say, "I'm not making light of what happened to Pear, but she's going to be fine. I think she was just making a last-ditch effort, using her accident as a way to keep me around."

"That's not very nice of her," Spin says, instantly affronted for me.

"No, it isn't. Anyway, when I bring Auntie's things to her later, I'm going to let Pear know I won't be holding her hand again."

"Don't be mean, P'Park," Spin says, but he throws himself into my arms and hugs me.

I hug him back tightly. I missed his hugs while I was at the hospital.

Spin insists that I take a nap, and when I wake up, he's made lunch for us. After we eat, the three of us go over to Auntie's house and find the items on her list.

"Do you and Anya want to stay here while I take these to the hospital?" I ask Spin.

"We have a magazine photo shoot tomorrow. I have some things I need to get done at home," Spin says.

"Okay, then I'll drop you off and Anya will come to the hospital with me. I can pick you up for the photo shoot tomorrow. Oh, wait. Who's going to watch Anya while that's going on?"

"I have the perfect person," Spin says, tapping out a text message on his phone. The phone buzzes almost immediately, and he looks up at me, grinning. "Kiet said he would be happy to come to my place to stay with Anya, and that he'll bring Cushion with him."

"Okay, well, great. Tell them I said thanks." I know Spin's friends will be good to Anya, and from what she's told me, she really likes them.