Her silence told him she hadn’t done as he told her. Hell, he grew up on the West Coast and knew to be prepared. Prevention meant being prepared. He held his breathe before counting to ten. “I’m on my way, don’t fall asleep. Just sit tight. Do not get out of your car,” he reiterated, ready to take off like a bat out of hell to reach her.
Time moved slowly or so it seemed as he climbed into his four wheel drive. After checking the chains, he wished he’d had the foresight to purchase studded tires for her or a better set of snow tires, but he had good tire traction and warranty still in effect. Heat blasted him in the face and he reached down to adjust the setting. By the time he got on the highway ramp irritation began to fade. What else did he expect from his Deja…She never planned for anything, but ran full speed ahead. He’d be lying to say he wouldn’t have her any other way. Getting her to listen and take some advance measures would be ideal, however, it wasn’t in her personality so he couldn’t begrudge her.
Jammed traffic prevented him from getting to her in a timely manner. Frustration at the twenty minute wait seized him before he pulled up to her vehicle. After turning on his hazard lights, he looked for oncoming traffic. What she’d told him wasn’t half as bad as he’d expected.
Derek braved the cold, trekked over to the car and rapped on the window. Relief crossed Deja’s face as she rolled it down a bit. The bump looked big. Her pallor worried him.
“I’m so sorry to drag you out in this. I hit a patch of ice.” Deja stepped out of her car on wobbly legs.
Derek took in her attire. “Aren’t you cold?” He slipped his gloves off and ran his fingers over the knot on her forehead, feeling the heat emanate under his fingertips. “That’s a nasty bump. Let’s get you in my truck. We can take care of your car later.”
One look at her stiletto boots told him she would break her fool neck if she attempted to walk on the shoulder of the road. “You should really dress for the weather.” Derek bit the tip of his tongue and picked her up unceremoniously. The ice made walking difficult. He cradled her body against his awkward gait best he could. That she was about to speak didn’t escape his notice. He left her in the passenger seat with a smile on his face when she didn't say a word. He pulled out a blanket from behind his seat. “Cover up.”
Thick chunks of snow covered her hood and the passenger side, but both appeared undamaged. He deduced he’d have to call in a tow and headed back to his vehicle.
Once again, hot air blasted him as he climbed in next to Deja.
“Thank you Derek.” She refused to meet his eyes, looking out the window to her broken car. No doubt mad at him for his attitude. He was pissed she was pissed, what a pair they made.
Crazy woman. He cut his eyes to her and slipped on his safety belt. “Strap up.” While waiting, he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, and then using precaution, moved into traffic.
“I wasn’t expecting to get stuck.”
“I’m not up to arguing Deja. We don’t live in California. It’s below zero. Fashion is cute and all but is it worth hypothermia or dying for?”
“Don’t lecture. I’m a grown woman. I can wear what I damn well want. I have a coat on. I have boots on. I expected to get in and out in a covered garage. Accidents happen.”
“That is not a real coat.” He referred to the thin material hugging her body, the only closure a belt tied at the waist. You'd think someone with her connections could find a stylish parka to keep her warm. “It’s below zero outside,” he reiterated.
“I had a fashion meeting,” she snapped.
“Of all the stupid—” Derek bellowed at her.
Guilt washed over him when he noticed Deja wince and cover her eyes with her arm. Maybe he was being too harsh on her with the current circumstances. Hadn’t he said he didn’t want to argue or fight?
“I’m sorry.” Derek didn’t mention how the call saying she’d slid into solid wall of snow scared the shit out of him. Imagining finding her dead brought out the part of him he’d thought he’d conquered or at least suppressed. “You have to think more, beautiful. Watch the news and go from there to learn if you need to cancel your appointments during inclement weather. You could’ve frozen your pretty ass off at the least…the worse, flipped into a mangled mess. I could’ve been visiting you in the morgue. Not here picking you up safe and sound. Every man hates not being able to protect their woman, I’m not any different.” He patted her leg to reassure himself she was okay, then put both hands on the wheel.
Twenty minutes later, he parked at the entrance of the closest emergency room. “Let’s go get your head looked at. When we’re settled in there I’ll look for a tow company.” Kissing her cheek before exiting, he strode around to her side, glad the trucks had plowed the hospital parking lot. Once he had her in his arms again, he carried her inside the hospital and settled her into a chair. A triage nurse had him sign in while she took Deja’s vitals. Derek took a second to breathe and rein in his emotions now that she was being looked at. Deja didn’t need the lecture, he just couldn’t stop the words from leaving his mouth.
A quick talk to the stationary police officer gave him a local tow company. The call was short and sweet. Derek gave the mile marker along with the location of the keys to the dispatcher who promised to take care of her car post haste. When he got off the phone, Deja was being led into exam one. He trailed behind them.
“Sir. I need some information.” Registration stopped him and handed him a clipboard with a form for consent to treat.
“I’ll fill out what I know ma’am. Her total history I’m not sure about.”
“Just do your best. The nurse can ask the rest.”
Admitting handed him the necessary forms to fill out and sign. “I believe she pays her own insurance, however, just take down my information here. I’ll provide the payment for her care.” If her out of pocket expenses were high, making her premium increase because of a gross error in judgment made no sense. For now he’d take care of her needs to save her the aggravation and soon maybe she’d let him take care of her for good.
“Thank you.” Registration motioned for the next in line. Derek knocked on the ER room door before joining Deja.
“How is she?” Derek asked, standing off to the side but close enough to lay a hand of support if needed.
“I’m fine, just ready to go home.” Deja yawned.
“Is she really fine? I doubt she’s ready to go home just yet.” He didn’t want to take her word for it, not unless a trained professional agreed. After seeing the recent news on head injuries, he wouldn’t allow Deja to play Russian roulette with her life.
“No. Not just yet. I paged the doc on call and he’s instructed us to have neuro come down for a consult.” The nurse patted Deja’s hand in comfort.
“I don’t need treatment. I just bumped my head a bit. How much will this cost me? I can’t afford tests to tell me there’s nothing wrong.”
Derek crossed over and sat on a stool next to Deja. “I want you to have the tests. We played things your way by not calling an ambulance. We just saved you a few hundred by bringing you in, have the tests done.”
“My insurance is already high. I can’t afford for the premium to rise. I’d rather outpatient it at my doctor’s office tomorrow.”
“Then let me pay for your care.” He put her palm to his hand and kissed her soft skin. “Before you say no, consider it a concession for the ass I was acting like bringing you in.”
“That’s a hefty fine to pay for being such an a—”
The registered nurse, Jenny smiled at them. “She’s ready for a room in the back. Radiology will come down for her to take her for a CT scan and we’ll go from there.”
“Thank you.” Derek helped Deja up. “I’m not budging on this.”
“It’ll cost you, in more than just money. This is a big deal.”
Don’t I know. Don’t I know.
In room two they waited for radiology to show. Since she wasn’t in critical condition oth
er trauma patients came first. The wait was killing him though. Hard to believe hospitals still made him nervous after all this time. Luckily, caring for Deja kept his mind in the present, leaving his past dead and buried where it belonged.
Fifty minutes turned into an hour. In the background he heard sirens wailing. Some cop show played on the television above the bed. Derek stroked her hand when she’d nod off, to keep her awake. When she realized the serious nature of her injury, he could only hope she’d show more concern than she was letting on. “You want anything to drink?”
“No. I just want to sleep.”
“I know beautiful, but not yet. We got awhile yet till you can.” A tap on the door pulled his attention away. “Enter.”
“We’re here for Deja Crane.” The tech came in with a wheelchair and checked Deja’s hospital band with the paperwork. “Date of birth?”
“March 22nd, 1986.”
“Want me to come with you?” Derek asked.
“Sir, I know you want to be there for her, but honestly you’d be better hanging out here. The waiting room upstairs is small. We’re just taking a picture and bringing her right back,” the technician explained as he helped Deja into the chair.
Time ticked by in slow painful increments. Restless energy coursed through him without his usual workload to take his mind off the present. Sitting in the hospital caused his gut to clench in remembrance of his past, although this time as a visitor and not an occupant. He sat on the stool watching a local television program without really absorbing it. His mind spun toward worry. Damn. She has to be all right.
Restlessly agitated, he moved from the stool, to pacing, to peeking out the curtained sliding glass door, hoping to see the nurse passing by. The beeps and sounds filling the silence didn’t distract him enough to bring a semblance of peace. His mind drifted back years to his hospital stay. He fought the resurfacing memories he’d yet to put behind him, the events cultivating him into the man he’d become.
“Where is she?”
The frantic voice saved him from his unwanted reminiscing. A distressed woman ran smack dab into him, bouncing off his chest. His quick reflexes saved her from careening into the floor. “Where’s who?”
“My sister Deja?”
Derek relaxed. “She’s having a CT scan done. My name’s Derek.” He set her firmly on her feet. “I’d offer my hand but you have them both right now.” He grinned.
“Katrina. Mama sent me to check on her, she doesn’t handle hospitals well.” Deja’s sister smoothed her clothing down. “Can you tell me what happened? The hospital called, saying she was in a car accident. Black ice is freaky. I kept imaging the worst all the way here.”
Derek motioned to the only comfortable chair in the tiny room. “She smacked into a wall of packed snow and bumped her head. They’re just checking her out.” He attempted to smile hoping it shone through.
“Oh thank heavens, that means she hasn’t broken anything.”
Derek took in Katrina, weighing her looks to his Deja’s and found slight similarities. Katrina had a more open welcoming air about her. Perhaps waiting for news with someone wouldn’t be as bad as waiting alone. “No need to worry, trust me, your sister was her good ole self cursing up a streak as they took her.” A soft chuckle left his lips. Pain radiated in the back of his neck, reminding him he was overdue for a massage. Instead of finding someone to work the kink out, he ignored the twinge.
“If you don’t mind my asking, how do you know my sister?”
“We share similar interests.” He avoided directly linking him personally to Deja, wanting to protect her wishes at the expense of his own.
“Look, I know Deja’s a private woman, she’s my sister and I know her well. If she was hiding something, one of us girls would’ve picked up on it.”
Derek clicked the nurse button on the remote attached to the bed, avoiding the question. “How many of you girls are there?”
“Six girls, Deja’s the oldest, then there’s me, Katonah, the twins Sarah and Toni, lastly Mercedes, followed by Jackson and David our brothers.”
Perfect, this one seemed to like to talk a lot. “Sounds like you have a huge family.” He watched her watching him not falling for the looming unsaid grilling. If this were a humorous situation he’d have his ear bent to a litany of rapid fire questions. No doubt both sides would be evenly matched.
“Mr. Tresvant.” Deja’s nurse popped her head in the room.
“Any news Jenny?”
“Yes, I’m so sorry. I meant to come in earlier.” She stepped in to acknowledge the additional family member. “The neuro surgeon has conferred with the emergency room doctor, they’ve decided Ms. Crane should remain overnight for observation.”
“Why? Did you find something bad about my sister?”
“Her injury isn’t severe or unnatural for a head bump she’s sustained from the car accident. Even slight frontal bleeds can swell up undetected. They just want to make sure hers doesn’t swell too much.”
Derek sighed in relief. “It’ll be okay Katrina.” He turned to address the nurse. “Do you know how she is doing?”
“Your sister is in great hands Katrina, this is merely a precaution, a prevention of sorts to reassure her and the docs that nothing else will pop up overnight. They fully expect to discharge her following first rounds tomorrow morning. You can go up to the second floor in about ten minutes. She’ll be in room 210a.The bed closest to the door.”
Derek gathered the bag of Deja’s clothing, purse, coat and his own. “Why don’t we go on up, she should be in the room by the time we make our way there.”
As Katrina grabbed her belongings, he held the door open for her and followed her out. At the nurse station he caught the unit clerk. “How do I get to the second floor?”
“Follow the exit sign to the lobby. Then take the purple stripes on the tile floor to the purple elevator, dark purple not the light blue stripes that look lavender, unless you want to end up in the maternity ward. Once you reach the purple elevator hit floor two and exit, follow the green tiles to the northwest wing and look on the wall to see which direction the numbers are heading.” She glanced up after finishing typing. “Need a repeat?”
“Yes,” Katrina answered.
“I got it.” He repeated verbatim her directions and took Katrina’s elbow, leading her in the direction they needed to go.
“That was amazing, how’d you do that?”
Once settled in the elevator after following the hospital’s version of the yellow brick road, he answered, “I have a knack for remembering things.”
“That’s cool.”
“How old are you Katrina?” With her young looks, he pegged her at just around twenty-one.
“I’m twenty-one. Why?”
How could he say that through her, he’d find pieces of Deja she’d shielded from him? “No reason.” Derek moved aside as the elevator doors opened and let her step off before him. On the wall a placard showed the room sections. “We’re close.” Derek took the lead following the room numbers until they reached Deja’s. From the hall, he heard her arguing with someone, he assumed the doctor. He rapped on the door and leaned his head inside. “There you are, Deja.” Censoring himself was difficult. Calling her beautiful was second nature. Being discrete was one thing, but a total three-sixty was another. The urge to hug her and kiss the top of her head hit him hard as was the need to backhandedly berate her for being pig-headed. Instead he opted for settling across the room. “You’ll stay the night and another if the physicians believe you need to.” His tone brooked no argument.
Deja lifted her head from her bed. “Katrina? What are you doing here?”
“When the hospital called, Mama said to come and make sure you were okay. She didn’t want to bring the whole family.”
Derek sat quietly intrigued with how this scenario would play out. If asked would she deny a relationship with him? Would he be an associate, or friend? In the end, he decided to give the sisters some privac
y and followed the doctor out.
In the hall, he received the information he needed from the doc and headed down for a cup of coffee and a sandwich, checking his watch to gauge when he should make his reappearance.
They had never talked about her family. They had never talked much about her. He gave her the space she needed on the hope she’d let him into her life. Five sisters and two brothers was a big immediate family. A good portion of Deja’s stress came from her parents financial issues. She’d said her desire to become financially responsible for herself stemmed from her childhood.
He couldn’t recall seeing many pictures of her family on her walls. Nor could he remember seeing any photo albums lying about. Why? With that thought, he trekked through the hospital back to her room. His woman confused him, but he wouldn’t have her any other way. Arguing met his ears as he pushed the door open and walked in. “I’m back.” Approaching the bed, he laid his hand on hers and rubbed, needing the soothing touch more for himself. “How are you feeling?”
“Like shit. Katrina please go home. Your questions are hurting my head. I just want some peace.”
Katrina sighed. Derek thought in resignation.
“You sure you don’t want me to stay overnight with you?”
“Positive. I won’t rest if you do. You never run out of things to talk about.”
Derek flashed Deja a look saying that was unnecessary.
“I’m sorry Kitt-kat, I’m not feeling myself.”
“You haven’t been feelin’ yourself for a looong time,” Katrina muttered under her breath. “Nice to meet you Derek.” She walked over and kissed her sister on her cheek. “Love ya.” Then she flounced out the door, shoulders slumped.
Against All Odds is in my Anthology Only Skin Deep. The first two in the antho, are All Woman an Flaws and All. Against All Odds is a full length novel. I included All Woman and Flaws and All, to share the relationship of three best friends.
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