Kane grinned a little when his brothers chuckled and the tension in the room eased.
“Aideen, thank you, but I don’t—”
“Hey,” I cut him off and smiled when he looked at me. “Me and you?”
Kane licked his lips and whispered, “Me and you.”
Oh, my.
Me and you.
Now that got my heart rate going.
I playfully winked. “We got this.”
Kane stared at me long and hard, and I saw him crack and give in to me before he realised it himself.
“What do you say?” I pressed.
Kane looked around the room, then to me and said, “I say okay, babydoll.”
It’s been eight days since Kane left the hospital, but only nine since he collapsed so that meant everyone was still taking things easy around him. Even me. I limited our arguments to one a day just so he didn’t wear himself out. He hasn’t been necessarily weak since he got home, but he tired easily, even with his insulin injections. His tiredness aside, we could all see the change in him thanks to his medication. It was slowly building him back up to his old self.
His health was improving everyday, but his attitude? Yeah, that worsened with each passing minute. He agreed the day he woke up in the hospital to let me give him the injections every day at home, but that was easier said than done. He was on two insulin injections a day, which the doctor said was his minimum. Kane consumed a lot of calories and was active even when he wasn’t feeling good so the two injections were needed for him. It might even jump to three a day when he was eventually well enough to work out again, but for now, it was two a day and getting the insulin into him had been hell. Absolute hell.
I worked in the local primary school full time. I taught second-class students and worked from eight thirty in the morning to three in the afternoon, except for Fridays when it was a half-day and I finished up at one in the afternoon. Kane’s timetable for his injections was one jab in the morning, and one jab in the afternoon, after he ate. I worked it around my work schedule, so the past week I had been arriving at Kane’s house at eight in the morning to give him his first injection, then I’d come over on my lunch break to give him his second.
It was difficult and I’d resorted to doing ridiculous things just to take his mind off the impending injections. The lowest level I stooped to was flashing my boobs at him just to fight off a panic attack I was convinced he was going to have. He worked himself up over the injections, and a couple of times he repeated for me not to ‘stab him’ and I had no idea why. I was extremely curious as to why he repeated those same words to me, but when I asked his brothers about it, they told me to ‘drop it’ so I did.
For the time being anyway.
It was Friday afternoon, and I had just arrived at the Slater residence after coming straight from work. Keela let me into the house. She came over to check on Kane, but he was in his room behind his locked door so she was leaving. She stopped to talk to me since I was there and I used the time to vent to her.
“I came here this mornin’ on me way to work and do you know what he did?” I asked Keela.
She shook her head.
“He wouldn’t let me into his room to give him his injection. I have no idea what is up his arse, but he needs to get rid of it so I can give him his damn insulin,” I stated and pushed loose strands of hair that escaped my hair clips back from my face. “I’m gettin’ grey hairs stressin’ out about him and worryin’ about his injections. It’s not even funny how childish he is being.”
Keela shook her head but said nothing.
“I thought since he agreed to let me give him his injections that he would be reasonable, but he isn’t. He has been nothing but difficult,” I said to Keela. “He is rude, mean, and a complete arsehole to me. I’m this close,” I held my index finger and thumb a hair away from one another, “to stabbin’ him in the fuckin’ eye with his insulin pen.”
Keela’s lip twitched. “If anyone can get him to take his medicine, it’s you, Ado.”
I groaned. “I don’t know why, all we do is argue. Literally. It’s all we do. It’s all we’ve ever done.”
Keela giggled, “Maybe he gets off on your bickerin’. Have you ever thought of that?”
No, because that was a stupid idea.
“Please, he can’t stand me just as much as I can’t stand him. We’re happily in hate, Keela.”
She laughed and shook her head. “You’re both crazy.”
“I know I’m crazy,” I stated. “Only a crazy woman would put up with his hormonal arse. I’m tellin’ you the woman who ends up with him will have to have the patience of a bloody saint.”
“I can fucking hear you, big mouth!” Kane roared down the stairs as he descended them.
I growled and in a low voice, I said to Keela, “I’ll kill him before his diabetes does.”
She silently laughed and looked at Kane when he stepped off the last step of the stairs.
“What’s so funny?” Kane asked her.
“Nothin’,” she replied and wiped tears from her eyes.
I narrowed my eyes at Kane. “What time do you call this?”
He glanced at the clock on the wall behind me and said, “Two thirty in the afternoon.”
“I call it lazy bastard o’clock,” I hissed.
Keela reached out and held onto me as her silent laughter upgraded to audible wheezing.
“Sorry, Mom. Was I supposed to be up before noon for something?” Kane asked, snickering.
I glared. “You know good and well I had to give you your injection at eight this mornin’. I stopped in on my way to work and you wouldn’t open the door. Don’t feed me your bullshit about not hearin’ me either. I heard you laugh when I was threatenin’ you.”
He smirked but didn’t deny the charges.
“You’re unbelievable,” I growled. “Do you want to fall ill? Because not takin’ your insulin will result in you being unwell—no one else—just you.”
Kane continued to smirk. “Maybe I enjoy self-inflicted pain.”
“Keep talkin’,” I warned him, “and I’ll inflict all kinds of fuckin’ pain on you.”
“Is that a promise, babydoll?” he asked and made kiss noises.
I screeched and slapped at Keela’s shoulder. “Do you see? Do you see what I’ve to put up with? A fuckin’ man-child!”
“I’m all man, baby. You see my cock enough to know that,” Kane snickered, again.
Keela paused mid-way through her fit of laughter to stare at me with a what-the-fuck wide-eyed stare.
I growled, “By that, he means he mostly goes commando when I have to give him his injection on his thigh and forces me to look at his penis.”
Keela walked over to Kane and high-fived the arsehole. “That’s brilliant.”
Brilliant?
“Whose bloody side are you on?” I demanded of Keela.
“The side of love.”
Of love?
“What?” I snapped.
She was still laughing as she turned and walked towards the hall door, not answering me or even saying goodbye. I turned and stared at her back.
“Where the hell are you off to?” I angrily asked.
Keela lifted her hand and waved without turning around. “Me first therapist appointment is in half an hour. I need to leave here; otherwise, I’ll pass out from laughin’. Laters.”
I huffed, “Right. Good luck, you’ll do great.”
“I second that,” Kane said from behind me. “See you later, darling.”
“Be good. Both of you,” Keela shouted, then laughed as she closed the front door behind her.
“No promises,” Kane answered.
I turned to face him and glared so hard I hurt my face.