The room was dark and quiet, the only sound being the snoring of the dog lying next to me. My clothes were soaked with sweat, and my head was thumping. If I hadn’t known better, I would’ve sworn I had a hangover. I couldn’t remember much since being brought back to the house, just brief flashes, like Ben sitting at my bedside and holding my hand, Jake coming in to take Gus outside, Zack talking to me, or Nancy and Kyra coming in to take “vitals.”I slowly pulled my arms back and tried to push myself up on my elbows, but a crippling pain screaming out of my shoulder quickly put a stop to that foolishness. I bit my lip and fell back against the pillow, then sighed and stared at the dimly lit ceiling. Gus rolled over in his sleep and cuddled his back against my arm.“What do you think you’re trying to do?” a deep, soft voice asked. I turned my head to the right and was surprised to see Zack sitting there, at the head of the bed, in one of the dining room chairs. I smiled faintly, barely able to see his shadowed face, and shrugged with my good arm.“A girl can try, can’t she?”
