by A. K. Evans
Once we were out of the apartment, he tossed my suitcase into the backseat of his truck before he opened the door for me. I climbed in while Dom went to the backseat again. When he closed the back door, I looked out and saw he had a t-shirt in his hand that he was dumping water all over.
He moved back to my door and brought the shirt up to my head. Feeling the sting, I winced. Dom didn’t say anything as he cleaned up my face. A minute later, he held a clean, dry shirt up to the side of my face and stated, “Hold this here.”
Then, he got in and drove away in silence.
Dom and I had been driving for about ten minutes in complete silence when I couldn’t take it any longer. I finally had to say something.
“Dom?” I called when we stopped at a red traffic light.
He glanced over at me but said nothing.
“Where are you taking me?”
“The hospital,” he muttered.
Now I had two dilemmas. Not only did I not like the way Dom was acting, but I also could not go to the hospital.
“Um, I don’t think the hospital is necessary,” I said, hoping he’d listen.
He raised his eyebrows, leaned over the center console, and pulled the shirt away from my head.
“You’re still bleeding. I’m pretty sure you need a couple of stitches,” he concluded before looking up at the still-red traffic light.
No.
I couldn’t.
There was no way.
“Is there somewhere else you could take me? Maybe a free clinic instead,” I suggested.
His eyes shot to mine. “For your face? You want me to take you to a free clinic to treat a wound on your face that could permanently scar you if not taken care of properly by a plastic surgeon? Do you want a reminder of that asshole every time you look in the mirror for the rest of your life?”
I couldn’t afford a hospital bill, let alone a plastic surgeon.
And Dom was so angry. I didn’t like how it made me feel. I wasn’t scared; I never was around Dom. But seeing him so angry made me sad, especially because I knew I was the reason for it.
The light changed, and Dom started driving again. Clearly, he was irritated with me, so I remained silent. I’d just have to find out what this was going to cost me before I allowed them to do anything.
A few minutes later, Dom pulled into the parking lot at the emergency room. We went inside, and I did my best to ignore the stares coming from other patients in the waiting room. I couldn’t necessarily blame them for staring. I had to look a bit frightening with the blood all over my shirt. After walking up to the registration desk and explaining what happened, the woman behind the desk asked for my identification and insurance card.
“I don’t have health insurance,” I murmured.
“Oh, that’s not a problem. If you need to apply for financial aid to help with the costs, I can give you the paperwork for that.”
“What’s the estimated cost?” Dom asked from behind me.
“It’ll depend on how many stitches she needs, how severe the wound is, what supplies are used, and the medications administered. If you can hang tight a minute, I can try to get you an estimate of costs.”
We waited while the woman walked off.
I looked up at Dom as he looked down at me. He didn’t look as angry anymore, just frustrated.
“I’m sorry,” I said after a few moments of silence. “I never expected this to happen. I feel like an idiot, but I guess I was blind to just how awful he was when we were together. I didn’t have anyone else; maybe that’s why I chose to ignore what I probably always saw there.”
“Ekko, why—” He started before he was cut off.
“Okay, so I have an estimate for the cost here, but there are so many factors that could alter this,” the woman interrupted us. “Here’s an approximation of what you can expect to pay assuming you need stitches. Of course, the cost is dependent on the number of stitches needed.”
She held out a piece of paper and, though I didn’t understand everything that was on it, I gathered enough to know I couldn’t afford this. “So, I’m looking at just over twenty-one hundred dollars as my best-case scenario?” I inquired.
She gave me a look that told me she realized it was a lot of money, but that there was nothing she could do about it.
I looked up at Dom. “I can’t afford this. I need to go somewhere else.”
“I’ll cover it, Ekko.”
“No.”
I was firm in my decision. He’d already done too much and if he thought he was adding this to the list, he had another thing coming.
“You are not doing this, Dom. I’ve caved on a lot, but I’m not going to be alright with you paying thousands of dollars for my medical care. I’m asking you to please take me somewhere else.”
He struggled with what I’d asked of him but ultimately agreed. Once we were back in his truck, he pulled out his phone and called someone.
“No, not yet. We were just at the hospital, but Ekko doesn’t have insurance. She won’t let me cover the costs, so I need another option. She’s going to need stitches.”
He waited for the person on the other end to respond.
A moment later, he said, “I appreciate it. Where should we meet him?”
Silence again.
“Right. Thanks, boss.”
Dom disconnected the call and looked over at me.
“We’re going to Levi’s house. Both of his parents are doctors and, lucky for us, his dad is a surgeon. Levi is going to have him meet us there.”
I let out a sigh of relief. I had to believe that Levi’s dad, even though he was a surgeon, might be less than a hospital visit.
With that, Dom backed out of the parking spot and drove off.
Levi’s home wasn’t far from the hospital. When Dom pulled into the driveway, I stopped breathing. The home was massive and absolutely stunning. I’d only ever read about places like this.
After parking, Dom came around the truck to meet me at my door. We were then greeted at the front door by a beautiful blonde-haired woman.
“Hey, Dom,” she beamed, giving him a hug. “Levi should be here shortly. David’s already here. Come on in.”
“Thanks, rockstar. This is Ekko,” he introduced me. “Ekko, this is Elle, Levi’s fiancée.”
With one hand still holding the t-shirt to my head, I lifted the other and offered a wave. “Hey. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too, love. I’m so sorry to hear what happened. Let me introduce you to Levi’s father so he can get you all patched up.”
I dropped my eyes to the ground. Not only did Dom, Levi, and several of their other co-workers know about my financial situation, but now Levi’s fiancée did too. It was obvious that they were well off. I shuddered to think what they must have thought of me.
Dom and I followed behind Elle.
When we stepped into the kitchen, an older gentleman walked over to us and held his hand out to Dom.
“Dr. C,” Dom said as he shook the man’s hand. “Good to see you.”
“You too, Dom. It’s been a while,” he replied before he turned his attention to me. “Who’s this young lady?”
“This is Ekko. Ekko, this is Levi and Cruz’s dad, Dr. David Cunningham.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Cunningham. I appreciate you coming here so quickly to help me.”
He offered me a friendly smile and insisted, “It’s no problem, dear. And please, call me David.”
After giving him a slight nod, David reached his hand out to the t-shirt covering the side of my head and suggested, “How about you go lie down over on the couch and we can get this taken care of?”
I walked over to the couch, laid down, and David got to work. He talked to me throughout the process, sometimes letting me know what he was doing and other times telling me about his son’s upcoming wedding. I preferred the wedding talk since it offered a nice distraction from the pain on the side of my face.
Just as David finishe
d up, Dom, Levi, and Elle all came into the family room. I sat up and Dom walked over to me.
“Are you okay?”
He was so different now. His voice was soft and gentle. He was no longer angry or frustrated.
I was so shocked by the change, I only nodded.
David chimed in and gave instructions on how to care for the stitches. When he finished, I repeated, “Thank you again for doing this for me.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Um, this is a bit awkward, but how much did you want for this?” I nervously asked.
David let out a bit of laughter before he looked at Dom. “You’ll be there in December, right?”
Dom nodded.
I had no idea what they were talking about.
“Is this your plus one?”
Dom replied, “I haven’t asked her yet, but that’s what I was hoping for.”
“Good,” David said before turning his attention to me. “Levi and Elle are getting married in December. If you come to the wedding with Dom, I’ll need you to save a dance for me.”
“I can do that,” I assured him. “But are you sure?”
“A beautiful woman like you? I’m more than sure.”
Elle jumped in and declared, “Great. Now that that’s settled, Ekko why don’t you come with me? We can get you a clean shirt before I show you the library. Dom told me you’re an avid reader like me.”
I instantly perked up, the pain in my head and the awkwardness of the situation completely gone. “You have a library?”
Her face lit up and she bubbled, “Filled with romance novels.”
I turned to look at Dom and asked, “Do you mind?”
He shook his head.
“I promise I won’t take too long.”
“It’s okay, sugar. Take your time,” he insisted.
I watched him a moment trying to figure out what the sudden change was all about with him, but he gave no indication. Realizing it wasn’t the time nor the place to bring up a discussion about it, I stood and followed Elle.
She took me up to her bedroom, where she held out a clean top for me to wear.
“I have a bunch of my clothes in the truck,” I explained. “I can just run out and grab something.”
“It’s okay,” she assured me. “Besides, I have partly selfish reasons for sneaking you away.”
“Oh? What’s up?” I wondered.
“Well, maybe they’re more purely curious reasons instead of selfish,” she admitted. “I didn’t know Dom was seeing anyone. While David was stitching you up, I tried getting the details from him about what was going on between the two of you, but he wasn’t very forthcoming.”
I shrugged my shoulders and confessed, “I’m not sure there’s a whole lot to tell.”
“Really? He seems to be completely captivated by you, and I was really hoping he had found a good woman. After what he did for me, I would love to know that he’s getting something good in his life.”
Suddenly, I was intrigued. “What he did for you?”
She closed her eyes briefly and when they opened again, she shared, “He saved my life.”
“What?” I worried. “What happened?”
Elle shook her head and waved her hand in the air as if she was dismissing the melancholy thoughts she was experiencing. “It was a while ago, but I was being stalked. When my stalker tried to kill me, Dom was there just in time to save me.”
“Oh my goodness,” I blurted. “Are you okay?”
“I’m perfect now,” Elle declared. “I’m happy and I’m getting married to the man of my dreams, something that wouldn’t have happened if Dom hadn’t been here that day. I just wanted to be nosy and see if Dom was on his way to finding the same.”
I sat there in shock. She seemed like she was such a good person, a good friend, and Dom was lucky to have that in his life. What I would have given to have someone like Elle in my life.
“I’m not really sure where things are headed with us,” I answered honestly. “I know that I like him…a lot. And we were supposed to go out on our first date tonight, but I think I ruined that.”
Elle’s eyes widened, and she exclaimed, “You’re going on your first date tonight?”
“Well, we were supposed to…before all this happened.”
“What exactly happened?”
I didn’t know Elle at all. I wasn’t sure why I’d even said as much as I already did. She was, much like Dom, way out of my league. As badly as I wanted to have a friend, I had to be honest with myself. I had no business being friends with someone like Elle.
It was almost as though she was reading my mind because she came over to me and wrapped her arm around my shoulders and assured me, “I just told you that I had a stalker that nearly killed me. It was someone I knew; it was someone I was close to. We all have our own problems, Ekko. I’m not judging you.”
I took in a deep breath and let it out. I told her all about my troubles. I explained why I had gone to Ryan’s earlier that day and how I ended up needing three stitches on my face.
“I’m so sorry you’ve been through all of this recently,” she lamented when I finished my story.
“That’s life, I guess.”
Thankfully, at that moment, Elle changed topics and asked, “So, where are you going on your date?”
“I don’t know. Dom just told me it was all about having fun.”
“Do you have an outfit picked out?”
“Not yet. I was just going to go through my stuff I got when I went to Ryan’s and figure something out. I didn’t think all of this crazy nonsense would have happened and that I would have had more time to figure it out.”
Elle put her hand on mine and stressed, “I’ve got a closet full of cute tops. You’re tiny, but I’m sure we can find something that’ll be perfect. What do you say? Care to go shopping in my closet?”
“Really? You would do that for me? You don’t even know me.”
She didn’t waver. She simply claimed, “I think I know enough to know I like you. Come on. Let’s find you an outfit.”
So, Elle and I went into her massive closet where she let me try on a bunch of her clothes. I ended up finding something that looked incredible and she insisted I wear it.
Afterward, we went and checked out her library. It was the most amazing thing I’d ever seen, but I didn’t have the time to truly appreciate all of it since it was getting late.
“You can come back anytime you want to check out my collection,” Elle offered. “And if you’ve got any good recommendations, I’m always looking for something new to read and inspire me.”
“Inspire you?”
She leaned in and practically sang, “I’m Elle Blackman, singer and songwriter.”
“Oh my goodness,” I declared. “I feel so stupid for not realizing. I’ve heard of you, but haven’t ever heard you perform.”
“I’m always performing at Big Lou’s. Maybe you can come and watch the next time I’m performing.”
“I’d love to. If you let me know early enough, I’ll try to make sure I’m not scheduled to work.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Elle and I exchanged numbers and she promised to let me know her schedule. With the wedding coming up, she wasn’t going to be doing too many more shows, but there were a few. I only hoped I’d be able to go to one.
“Come on,” she urged. “Let’s go back out there with the boys, so Dom can get you out of here to get ready for your date.”
We walked down the hall toward the family room, where we found Dom, Levi, and David were relaxing on the couches, talking. Of course, once we entered the room, all talking ceased. Dom’s eyes came right to me.
Elle’s voice filled the room. “You need to get Ekko out of here so she has enough time to get ready for your date tonight.”
The guys all stood, but Dom was the only one to move. He walked over to me and put his arm around my waist, curling me into his side.
“Thanks again for coming here
on such short notice, Dr. C,” Dom declared.
David shook his head and insisted, “It was my pleasure.” Then, he directed his attention to me and added, “I’m looking forward to that dance, Ekko.”
Since I hadn’t been officially invited to the wedding, I wasn’t sure how to respond. I simply nodded and smiled at him.
After, I looked to both Elle and Levi. “Thank you for being so kind,” I replied.
Minutes later, Dom and I had said goodbye to everyone and we were back in his truck on the way back to his place.
While this ride there was just as silent as the ones from earlier today, this one was different. It was different because even though it was quiet, Dom reached across the console and held my hand the entire time.
I crept quietly down the stairs.
When Dom and I got back to his place, he told me he was going to shower in the spare bathroom and then he’d be ready to go. I wanted to talk to him about what happened today, but decided against doing it at that moment.
So, Dom carried my suitcase and the bag I brought from Elle and Levi’s place with the top she loaned me to his bedroom. Then, he took off to the spare bathroom while I went into the master bathroom. I took my time in the shower, mostly because I had to be careful not to get the stitches wet. Even though David put gauze over them, I didn’t want it getting doused in the shower.
When I finished, I got dressed and went to my suitcase. I didn’t very often wear makeup, considering the extra cost and the fact that I never really went anywhere other than work or the library, so I still had some left from before things got really bad for me financially. Not knowing when I’d get the opportunity again, I decided I’d use some tonight. I applied some mascara and a touch of lip gloss and left it at that.
Then, I fixed my hair and used the next twenty minutes to prepare my mind for what the night would bring. The day started off fantastic, promising even. It turned ugly rather quickly and I was unsure of where Dom’s thoughts were. Realizing I could sit and ponder it for hours and still not have an answer, I decided it was best to just go down and talk to him about everything.
When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I moved just enough so I could see into the family room. Dom was sitting on the couch with his head down, his elbows resting on his thighs and his hands clasped tightly together.
