by Hart, Rebel
“Because I really want to believe that you aren’t the sorriest sack of shit I’ve ever known. That you say these things just to—”
“What did you say to me, boy?”
I raised my voice. “Any other half-decent father would be here with their child in the hospital. I almost died, Dad. Actually, I did die there for a little while. I’ve been resuscitated twice, and you act like I’ve stolen your last damn cookie from the fridge.”
Cecilia took my hand. “Clint, take some breaths. Your heartrate is climbing.”
“Yeah, because I’m talking with Dad. So now I’m done talking with Dad. You can take the laptop away.”
My father glowered. “You’re lucky I’m not there, son. Because a hospital bed doesn’t protect you from the whooping you deserve.”
“And I believe I’ve heard enough.”
The doctor’s voice rose from the corner of the room and I looked over. That man looked me square in my face before nodding his head softly. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but damn did I ever want to know.
“Who’s that?” my father asked.
Cecilia paused. “The doctor, honey. It’s the doctor.”
The man in the white coat walked over. “And this conversation is done.”
“I’ll let you know when I’m done speaking with my son.”
I scoffed. “No worries. I’m done talking with him.”
The doctor nodded. “You can remove the laptop now, Mrs. Clarke.”
My father got in one last glare before Cecilia picked up the laptop. I heard him making remarks to himself as she carried the laptop out of the room. Typical remarks from my father. ‘He’s asking for something like this to happen.’ ‘How much did that doctor hear?’ ‘Maybe he needs something like this to teach him a lesson. He drives that bike much too recklessly for my tastes.’
I mean, did my stepmother have the damn volume turned up all the way on that thing?
I sighed as the doctor sat down on the edge of my bed. He patted my knee, holding his hand there as I stared at the wall. I heard him and my stepmother bickering. Again. Over the computer, out in the hallway. Pissing off people, including me.
“If your heartrate gets any higher, I have to sedate you.”
I snickered. “Good.”
The doctor paused. “You know, there are services for adults, too.”
I slowly turned my head toward him. “What?”
He shrugged. “You don’t fall under the protection of child services anymore. But there are adult services. You know, if it’s always like this with your father.”
“I’m good, thanks.”
“I don’t think you are.”
I shrugged. “Then, that’s what you think. But I know how to handle my dad. And in a few months, when I graduate, I won’t have to at all.”
“You know damn good and well that boy had a hand in what happened, Cecilia!”
“He’s just a kid, Howard. Go easy on him. Your son almost died. Don’t you have a heart anymore?”
“Right, of course it isn’t his fault. It’s never his fault when you’re around. He had no hand in it at all, and it’s all me. All the time.”
“Yeah, well. Maybe you should heed my advice for once.”
“He’s my son. Not yours. Can it, or leave. You know the drill.”
The conversation out in the hallway took me aback. I wasn’t sure what to make of it but—but it sounded like Cecilia was standing up for me.
Like she had stood up for me in the past.
“I’ll be right back,” the doctor said.
With one last pat of his hand, he got up. He stormed out into the hallway, walked right up to that laptop, and closed it in the middle of my father’s sentence. I snickered. Oh man, if there was a mushroom cloud in the distance, I knew why. I sighed with relief as I eased myself back into the hospital bed, thankful to have some peace and quiet.
Then I felt Cecilia’s hand fall against mine.
“I’m sorry, Clint.”
I sighed. “Not your fault.”
“I really thought he’d—”
“Give it a few more years. You’ll stop expecting so much from him.”
She squeezed my hand softly as a nurse came in and hooked me back up to a few things. She got my I.V. drip going again. Got the oxygen tubes seated in my nose. And as the nurse tucked me in, I felt my eyes flutter closed. Dad was partially right, though. I did have a hand in why I was run off the road. But not in the way my father thought. I hadn’t instigated anything this time. I’d prevented it. I’d saved Rae from harm by throwing myself in harm’s way. That shit was noble.
Right?
Don’t second guess yourself because of that asshole.
Part of me wanted to tell my father. But I knew how he’d see it. If I told him it was to save some girl, he’d call me soft. He’d tell me Rae probably deserved whatever was coming to her, and that I needed to let her learn her lesson instead of babying her. And I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep myself from murdering him if I heard those words come out of his fucking face. Sure, I might have been able to tell Cecilia, but I knew if I told her she’d eventually tell my father. Because she was still in those years where she wanted to please him. Make him happy. Make him proud.
Whereas I’d abandoned those ideals around the time I was fifteen.
Dad won’t understand the idea of defending a woman like that.
Cecilia patted my hand. “Get some rest. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
I nodded. “Sounds good.”
“I’m really proud of what you accomplished today in PT.”
“At least someone is.”
“Your father’s proud in his own way.”
I snickered. “No, he’s not. But, I’m glad you still think so. Means he hasn’t gotten to you yet.”
And when she didn’t answer, I knew she knew I was right.
15
Raelynn
I smiled as I walked through the hospital doors, not bothering to ask for Clint’s room number. I knew where he was, and I was anxious to get to him. I tossed my shoulder pack around behind me, feeling it bounce against my legs. I moved as quickly as I could without running through the hallways, navigating the corridors before coming to his room.
I had a pep in my step and a giggle on my lips as I approached his door.
I looked around for his father. Or his stepmother. But there was no one except a nurse coming out of his room. I had all his homework. All his textbooks. And I was eager to dive into everything. I jogged down the hallway, slipping in my old tennis shoes along the freshly-waxed floors. The smell of disinfectant hung heavily in the air, but soon I stopped in my tracks.
When I saw some male nurses wheeling Clint out of his room.
“Where are you taking him?”
“Rae?”
I rushed to his side, taking his hand as he smiled at me.
“Hey, you’re here.”
I laced our fingers together. “Of course I’m here. What's wrong?”
He shook his head. “Nothing’s wrong. I just get a normal room now.”
“A normal roo—wait. Where’s your neck brace?”
The nurse giggled. “Old handsome here’s no longer got a concussion. Did well with his physical therapy today. So he gets a normal room and no more catheter.”
Clint rolled his eyes. “She could’ve done without that part, Nurse Nina.”
I furrowed my brow. “So you’re doing okay? Nothing’s wrong?”
“How could anything be wrong when you’re here?”
I smiled at him, holding his hand as the nurses navigated his bed down the hallway. With this ‘Nurse Nina’ at the helm, directing traffic. She kept shamelessly flirting with Clint and he flirted right back. And while part of me was jealous, part of me was also thankful he had that kind of banter going on with someone here at the hospital.
Someone who made him smile whenever he didn’t have anyone else.
“Wow. A regular room. I won
der what it’s like. Does it have a cotton candy machine? Floor to ceiling windows? A nice tub for me to soak in?”
I giggled at Clint as we came to a stop in front of another hospital room.
Nurse Nina smiled. “Well, Cee, this isn’t the DoubleTree. You get a private recuperation room with your own window, and a toilet that doesn’t stink.”
I quirked an eyebrow. “Cee?”
Clint winked. “That’s what she calls me when her husband isn’t around.”
I nodded playfully. “Oh, okay. And here I thought I was supposed to be jealous.”
“What? You mean you’re not jealous, beautiful? I’m hurt.”
And as the two of us laughed together, the male nurses got him situated into his new room.
I turned my back so the nurse could relieve him of his catheter. I took the time to set up our station for schoolwork, pulling out history, the one still fresh in my mind. I knew exactly what he’d missed and what he needed to get done before Friday. I flipped open to the page and things like that as the nurse walked beside me. She patted me on the back, causing me to look over at her. And with a friendly smile, she nodded.
“He’s ready when you are, lucky girl.”
“Thank you. For everything.”
The nurse snickered. “Don’t thank us yet. PT only gets harder from here. I’m sure he’ll be cursing my name before too long.”
Clint chuckled. “Never, Nurse Nina! How could I with that pretty face?”
I shook my head at the two of them as I turned around. And even after only a couple of days, Clint looked worlds better than he had. His neck wasn’t braced. He didn’t have oxygen tubes running up his nose. He only had one I.V. as opposed to two. And his face seemed a lot less swollen. I walked over to the edge of his bed and sat down, taking his hand within mine. And as I brought it to my lips to kiss, I felt him bend over. Freely.
To kiss me on top of the head.
I smiled. “You look amazing.”
His lips lingered in my hair. “I feel amazing, now that you're here.”
“Do you want to get started on history first? Or math?”
“First, I want to hear all about school. I’m sure there’s been a circus act you’ve had to field.”
I snickered. “I mean, whatever you’re thinking is probably right. Roy and Marina have approached me a couple times, too.”
“Oh, I’m sure they’ve had lots to say.”
I rose up, looking into his eyes. “I think Roy has kind of become the schoolyard bully now. He’s picking a great deal on Michael and Allison and me. Of course, with his girlfriend at his side. I mangled his face pretty badly, though.”
He paused. “How so?”
I rolled my eyes. “She made a comment about how injured you were. That maybe you couldn’t—”
I was hesitant to tell him. But he urged me on.
“You can tell me. Talk to me. It’s okay.”
I sighed. “Roy made a comment about you not having a nice face any longer. Then Marina backed it up with a comment about you not getting it up anymore. So, I lunged at her and raked my nails across her cheek.”
He grinned. “That’s my girl.”
I blushed. “Well, she deserved it. Damn bitch.”
“Are you okay, Rae?”
I shrugged. “I’m getting by. I’m really thankful the teachers and the principal are cooperating with me in terms of getting your schoolwork. Whatever it takes, you’re going to graduate with us. Okay?”
“How are Aly and Mike?”
I paused. “Oh. Allison and Michael.”
He nodded. “Yeah. How are they?”
Cute nicknames. I like them. “They’re good. Worried about you. They’re excited for the update when I see them tomorrow.”
“We could call them, if you’d like.”
“Oh, no, no. You’re not getting out of schoolwork, sir.”
“I mean, I’ve got other ways of getting out of schoolwork. But I think my heart monitor might give us away.”
His hand slid slowly down my body and I shivered at his touch. I scooted closer to him, our foreheads falling together. Him joking around was a good sign. Moving a bit on his own. No longer chained to his bed. Our noses nuzzled together as his hand slipped to my lower back, inching me even closer to him.
And just as his lips hovered over mine…
“I think we should start with history.”
He groaned. “Okay, okay. You win.”
I smiled. “Great.”
“What’s up first?”
“Reading. There are three chapters we have to catch you up on. I can give you notes on the first one. Then, I actually have to read the other two. So try to stay with me. After that, two worksheets. Then, we’re done for the night. We can move on to math.”
“Wonderful.”
“I’ll pretend that’s a good exclamation.”
I maneuvered myself in bed with him, staying above the covers. He wrapped his arm around me, leaning his head against my shoulder. And as I cracked open the textbook, I gave him the condensed version of chapter four. I talked him through the biggest points and told him I’d get him a copy of my notes. Then I turned to chapter five and began reading.
I read for a few pages before he sat up, groaning as he moved.
“Can you give me a second?”
I nodded. “Of course. Take your time. Do you need water?”
He sighed. “I just need a minute. The head hurts.”
I leaned back in bed with him, watching as he closed his eyes. I took his hand, feeling him squeeze it as he breathed through whatever he was experiencing. I kissed his cheek and whispered sweet nothings in his ear. The book soon fell to the floor, plopping open and crinkling the pages as he relaxed against me.
And five minutes later, the first snore erupted from his face.
Yikes.
I lay there with him for a little bit, staring at his face. His snores grew to exponential proportions, so I reached over and started finagling with some of the switches on his electronic bed. I finally got him going down, hitting that sweet spot where his snoring stopped.
And after I slowly inched away from him, I picked up the book off the floor.
“I’ll just make some notes for him to go over.”
A quick notation summary of Chapters Five and Six turned into me doing the worksheets for him. Quick answers that sounded like Clint before I moved onto his math homework. I intentionally got a few wrong, trying to make it look like I wasn’t actually doing his work for him. And an hour later, I moved on to my own homework.
I stayed in that hospital room for almost three hours before Nurse Nina finally poked her head in.
“I hate to do this to you, honey. But, visiting hours wrapped up a few minutes ago.”
I nodded. “Thanks. I’ll get my things together.”
“I can buy you maybe fifteen more minutes. But that’s when the doctor comes back from his break.”
I smiled, whispering, “I really appreciate it.”
She crept in and took a quick look at Clint’s vitals, then rushed back out. I quickly gathered my things, shoving our homework into my bag before I made my way back to his side. I took his hand, gazing into his sleeping face. The bruising from his broken nose was spreading. But the swelling had gone down a great deal. I smiled softly to myself, leaning forward to kiss his cheek. I let my lips linger, feeling him mindlessly press into my warmth before hunkering down further in bed.
And queuing up that damn snoring.
How did I ever sleep beside that?
“I’ll see you soon,” I murmured against his skin.
Then I picked up my things, threw the backpack strap across my back, and slowly made my way out of his room.
Wishing the entire time I could stay the night with him.
16
Clinton
“Guess what day it is? Guess what. Day. It. Is.”
I quirked an eyebrow. “Are you doing a parody of those commercials?”
My eyes widened. “Wait, what?”
“Surprise!”
Nurses and doctors jumped out of every orifice of my room. I had barely woken up. Just gotten out of the bathroom, literally hopped back into bed. And all of a sudden, my room was filled with people. I smiled as tears crested my eyes. Nurse Nina came over and hugged me, bending over my body. Her warm arms wrapped around me and I held her close, pressing my lips against her ear.
“Thank you so much. For everything.”
She patted my back. “You did this yourself, Cee. We just came along for the ride.”
The doctor walked up beside me. “Your official discharge paperwork. As well as a few other things you might need in your future. You know, just in case.”
Nina backed up and the doctor looked me square in my eyes. I knew what he was talking about, too. I took the folder from him and peeked inside, taking in the paperwork. How to take care of my stitches. My body. How to schedule physical therapy and when to come see them next to get evaluated.
I also saw some brochures in there for adult assistance programs. And it made me sigh.
“Thanks, Doc. I really do appreciate it.”
He patted my shoulder. “My number’s in there. You call me anytime, day or night, if you need anything. And I mean anything. Okay?”
And without thinking, I reached out and wrapped my arm around his neck. I pulled him into a hug, feeling him brace himself against the bed. He chuckled against the side of my head before patting my back, and I sighed with relief.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”
He shook his head. “Don’t get it twisted. You did this. You fought, all week, to recuperate to this length. You’re the fighter. We’re simply the assistance in that fight.”
Nurse Nina clapped her hands. “So, ready to get out of here? We have a few things to do, like gathering your prescriptions and scheduling your physical therapy. Then I get to wheel you out of here in a chair.”
I smiled, pulling away from the doctor. “Does that mean races?”
“Do birds fly?”
