He cleared his throat, watching warily before shifting to try to slide off the bed. He groaned as pain shot up his leg, but he managed to pull himself over, falling off the bed. He cried out as he hit the floor, his breath knocked out of his lungs.
"I can still..." he murmured, looking up at the ceiling. "I can still race you. I won't win. I hope you're aware."
Aubrey grunted at him, and Avice opened the door, her eyes widening as she quickly set down the water and medicine. "Jack! What are you doing?!"
His eyes rolled back to look at her, foggy through the pain. "The monkey came back," he said flatly. "He told me that I had to race him."
She glared. "Well now it's going to hurt. Bite your tongue, because I need to help you back to the bed." She put her arms under his, pulling him to the edge of the bed.
His body, normally strong and sure, felt weak and brittle when she moved him. He gasped, squeezing his eyes shut. "Stop! Please, stop!"
He cried out as his leg bumped the edge of the bed, a sharp, visceral sound. "Why are you doing this?"
He was breathing hard, eyeing her warily as he tried to sit up, his brows furrowed as he tried to process what had happened. "Why would you..." he began weakly, "...why would you... do that?"
She sat on her knees by the bed, burying her face in her arms. "I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you. Please forgive me.."
He gasped for breath, lying his head back and looking up at the ceiling dazedly, not saying anything for the moment.
She shuddered before sitting up and wiping something from her eyes. "I got you water and medicine, if you want to take it."
