The intense feeling that he should have stayed in bed that morning only took deeper roots the longer Nick laid in a heap outside the health center feeling as if he might actually be dying. The day had started off normally, he had arrived early to prep some stuff for Olivia that day. Actually, he had been pretty positive about what he planned to cover with her that day. But, of course it had taken a sharp turn when Nick had heard voices outside the building, voices he had felt like he needed to investigate -- that had been his first mistake.
The next few minutes after Nick stepped outside the building and crossed paths with the rogues was a blur. He remembered making eye contact with one of them, looking for an escape route (and realizing there was none) and then coming to terms with the fact that he was fucked. The first blow had knocked him to the ground, the following blow had resulted in the broken ribs and Nick couldn't remember much after one of the rogues stepped on his knee just right, sending white hot pain up his leg and making the world go black. But when he had come too (just barely), Nick knew there was more damage done to his body than just what he remembered enduring.
Something told him he was lucky to have come out the other side with his life, though.
The ringing in his ears drowned out most noise, but not the distinctly familiar and oddly comforting shouting that could only belong to Olivia. “Liv?” Her name came out more like a croak and Nick didn’t even attempt to move, he wasn’t sure he could. What he was sure of though was the guilt that was slowly rising up inside of him. When he had been bitten he had swore to himself never to put Liv through that kind of grief again, and yet here he was lying on the cement like a puppet that had had its strings cut, and he didn’t even want to think about what he must look like. “I’m alive.” Nick added with groaned, eyes still closed and voice hoarse. He surely felt alive, but not in a good way. Every part of his body hurt, his face felt like it was twice it’s normal size, his head was pounding, it hurt to breathe and although he hadn’t tried moving it yet, the tell tale throbbing from his knee told him he probably had rehab in his future.