Cured [ManxMan]

Chapter Twenty-One

Several hours passed before Mattie reappeared, his face still pale and his eyes now tinged red. I dismissed my urge to ask how it went, because it was pretty clear it was a sensitive topic.

"Ready to go home?" he asked, the corners of his lips twitching up into a weak attempt at a smile, though his voice was a little scratchy. I just nodded in response, wishing I could do something to ease the pain he was clearly in, but the nerves at the idea of going 'home' made it too difficult to formulate words I doubted would help anyway.

Kiara followed him into the room, her smile dimmed as well but still ever present. "Great!" she said, "Well, you should be all set, Matthew already took some medical supplies and such you may need just in case, you'll have to remember to keep an eye on the sutures in your arm, you still need to avoid using your arm any more than you absolutely have to, and of course I'll come check on you every day, but if you need me you can send for me any time and I'll be there no questions asked."

We both blinked back at her, amazed at how much information she fit into one breath without pausing. She also sounded a bit concerned, and I thought it must be hard for her to let me out of her supervision, even if I was stable.

"We'll be fine," Mattie reassured her, having had the same thought it seemed. "I'll keep you updated, you worry too much."

She nodded as if in agreement, but hesitated. "Also... um..." I thought this might have been the first time I ever saw her at a loss for words, as she fidgeted with her clipboard a few moments before continuing. "Topher still has the virus in him, just in reduced amounts to what was there before. Theoretically, that would mean he's still contagious, so just... be careful."

I glanced at Mattie, but he looked just as confused as I did because yeah I was still contagious, neither of us had ever made any signs of assuming otherwise. Besides, I would have to bite Mattie for it to become an issue, and I had no intentions of being in a position where that would be an issue.

Kiara shifted her weight, not making eye contact with either of us as she sighed and elaborated, "All of Topher's bodily fluids contain some amount of the virus, and without doing a lot of tests I can't even guess if any of them are in reduced enough amounts to not pass on the virus."

This did little to clarify. Did she think Mattie was going to touch my pee? Because... gross? Though I felt my cheeks warm as I remembered a few days before, when an unfamiliar sensation had briefly made me think something was wrong, until I discovered it was just my bladder declaring it was full and then emptying itself all over the bed. Which raised the question of how my body functioned for four years as a zombie without ever relieving myself, but I decided that was an answer better left unknown.

Kiara sighed again, looking almost irritated at having to be so explicit, and said, "That includes your saliva and semen, Toph."

I choked, coughing at the aforementioned saliva I had just inhaled. A glance at Mattie showed his face was bright red, something I couldn't remember ever seeing on his tan skin, though he didn't look as shocked as I felt. Had he already considered it?

The thought of attempting anything remotely intimate with Mattie had never crossed my mind. Did Kiara expect we would want to, now that we were going home? Did Mattie expect me to?

I wasn't sure if I was capable of it, a thought that brought a deeper flush to my cheeks. My normal bodily functions had been returning slowly, but that was one I hadn't experienced yet. Though it seemed it was uncommon for me even before I was infected, so I couldn't be sure whether I could blame it on the virus or if it was all me.

Satisfied we'd been properly warned and the atmosphere was weird enough, Kiara declared, "Well, you're good to go whenever you're ready," and promptly left, leaving the door open behind her. The sight of it brought an excitement I wasn't really expecting. I wasn't sure what I would find in Mattie's apartment—my apartment?—and while that thought did terrify me, the idea of being somewhere other than this hospital room was enticing enough to encourage me to sit up and swing my legs over the edge of the bed.