I was stuck. I had no idea what to do, and like before, Kurt held the solution to my problem, but he refused to help. A job at Skid Row was the exact thing I needed to get back on track. He promised to talk to Luke for me, but he never did. Just like when we were actually talking, he didn’t help.
Thank God I had wandered over to Luke and Violet that night at the track. He finally gave me the job I needed even though it had pissed Kurt off to no end. Then, I had made the stupid mistake of bringing Greg to the barbecue. I was pissed off at Kurt. I had tried talking to him more at work to try to get to a neutral ground where we could work together better, but he stormed off, not wanting to hear anything I had to say.
Then, he was actually gone.
And now, I was here, praying for him to wake up.
Things had changed, all because of that one night where I was too terrified to trust in Kurt and just see where things would lead.
Now, Kurt needed to wake up so I could try to fix everything. I just hoped he would let me.
********
Chapter 5
Kurt
“It’s been over a week; don’t you think that he should be awake right now? Is it good for him to be sleeping all this time?”
“All of his vital signs are good. There’s no reason for us to believe that there is something wrong. Like I have been telling you all week, Mrs. Jensen, this is how his body is reacting to the trauma to his body.”
The voices surrounded me, the voice of the woman angry and desperate. “Can’t you give him something to wake him up? Just for a little bit.”
“Mrs. Jensen, no. I know this is a hard time for your family, but you have to trust us. He is in the best hospital right now for the amount of injuries he has sustained.”
“I’m sorry, I just don’t know what to do.” She sounded exhausted now, defeated.
“Just keep doing what you are doing, Mrs. Jensen. He’ll wake up soon.” Footsteps moved away and then a door closed.
“God damn, Kurt. Why won’t you just wake up?”
“I am,” I croaked out. Son of a bitch that hurt to talk.
“Holy shit!” she screamed. “Kurt, you can hear me?”
I tried nodding, but I had no idea if the damn thing actually moved. “Yeah,” I gasped. I felt hands run over my body and touch my face.
“Can you open your eyes?” she asked. I had no idea who was talking to me. Her voice was familiar, but I couldn’t figure out who she was.
My eyes felt like they were taped shut and I struggled even to open them a crack. My mouth was dry as shit, and it felt like a brick wall had fallen on my body.
“Are you still awake?” she asked urgently.
I tried nodding again, and I figure that I must be moving it since she breathed a sigh of relief. “God damn, Kurt. You scared the living shit out of me.”
Her? Hell, I thought for sure when my car turned over that first time I was a goner. I could remember every second of the crash. “Ugh,” I grunted.
“I should go get the nurse or doctor, but I don’t want to leave you in case you fall back asleep.” She felt around the bed, tugging on some of the wires that were connected to me and then I heard the static sound of a voice talking over an intercom.
“What can I get for you, dear?”
“He’s awake,” she sobbed out. Who was this and why was she crying that I was awake? I was in California, where I knew absolutely no one. Before she released her finger from the call button, someone on the other side said it was about damn time. How long had I been out for?
“Kurt, can you open your eyes?” she asked again.
I tried like hell and managed to crack them open a sliver. The overhead light was blinding, and I shut them immediately. I groaned and tried to move my arm to my head.
“No, Kurt. Be careful.” A weight pressed on my arm, but it wasn’t touching my skin. “I’ll turn the lights down.” A chair scraped against the floor. “There, now try opening them.” I didn’t have to try to open them hard this time and was thankful the lights were off. I looked down at my arm, wondering why I hadn’t felt her touch me and saw my arm was wrapped up in a splint and bandages.
“They were going to put your arm in a cast tomorrow.”
“It’s broke?” I croaked out. Motherfucker, it was my right arm that was broke. How in the hell was I going to be able to shift?
“Um, yeah. So is your left ankle.”
“My clutch foot.”
I heard a light laugh. “I should have known that would be your first thought.” The woman stepped into my line of view, and my breath caught.
“Lee?” What in the hell was Leelee Perez doing here? If you were to have asked me who would be at my bedside, Leelee’s name would be at the bottom of the list. She had told me in so many words that she wanted nothing to do with me.
“Yeah. You, um, had my phone number in your wallet and the hospital called me. I’m as shocked as you are that I’m here.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m really—”
Her words were cut off as two nurses bustled into the room and turned back up the lights. I groaned and closed my eyes as they started rapidly firing off questions to Leelee and me.
“How long has he been awake?” one asked.
“Only about five minutes,” Leelee mumbled. “I’ll just wait outside.”
“How are you feeling, Kurt? Are you able to talk?” a nurse asked as the blood pressure cuff on my leg went off and squeezed the hell out of my calf.
“Yeah.” It felt like I had been chewing on gravel, but I was able to get a couple of words out.
“How about opening your eyes?”
“Lights,” I mumbled.
“Jane, get the lights.” I waited ‘til I heard footsteps toward the doors, and the room dimmed behind my eyelids. I cracked open my eyes, wider than I had been able to before and saw two middle-aged women looking down at me.
“Told ya he was a looker, Jane. Even under all those bruises and cuts, you can see how this one managed to snag the wife he has.”
“Stop hitting on the patient, Judy.” The one I assumed was Jane laughed. “His wife is a sweetheart, but I think she’s the jealous sort.” Jane winked at me and turned to look at all the machines I was hooked up to.
“True, Jane. You don’t sit by someone's bedside for eight days if you don’t love them something fierce.” Now, Judy winked at me. “You’re a lucky man to have someone like her.”
What in the fuck was going on? Leelee had told them she was married to me? She never wanted to tell anyone; now she was telling two nurses she didn’t know. I closed my eyes and tried to wrap my head around what was going on. Not only had I been out of it for eight days, but Leelee had also been by my side the whole time.
“We’ve let the doctor know that you’re awake. He should be here within the hour to check you over and let you know if and when you’ll be able to go home.”
The nurses flitted around the room, changed some of the bedding, making me more comfortable and then left the room with the promise they would be back soon.
Leelee peeked her head into the room. “Is it okay if I come in?”
“From what I understand, you’ve been here all week. What’s stopping you now from coming in?”
She slipped into the room and shut the door behind her. “I was here for eight days because you scared the living hell out of me, Kurt, and I didn’t know if you were going to live.”
“Well, I’m awake. You can go.” My words were harsh, but I didn’t know what else to say. She didn’t want me months ago, and now, I didn’t want her. All I wanted to do was help her before, and all she did was throw it back in my face.
“Luke and Mitch have been worried about you,” she said, ignoring what I had told her.
“Yeah?” I looked around the room, slowly moving my head and then closed my eyes. “Could have fooled me. You think if they cared that they would be here.”
“I’ve been telling them what’s going on and there wasn’t mu
ch for them to do. We have all been waiting for you to wake up. Luke and Mitch had the garage to run too.”
“Ah, Skid Row Kings. The one thing that Luke cares about.”
“That’s not true, Kurt. He cares about you, too.”
“See, that is where you’re wrong, Leelee. He doesn’t care, at least not about me. All I’ve been is a fucking burden to him.” I didn’t want to have this conversation right now. Hell, I never wanted to have this conversation. I had moved to California to get away from Luke and Mitch. “You can leave. I’m alive, and I’ll try not to die again. Report back to Luke and leave.”
“Kurt, just sto—”
“No!” I bellowed. “I don’t want this, Lee. I don’t want you, waltzing in here acting like you fucking care about me, and I sure as shit don’t need Luke and Mitch, either.” My throat burned and ached from all the talking. “Just. Fucking. Leave,” I bit out.
“Just let me—”
“LEAVE!”
Leelee jumped at my words, but she finally got the picture that I didn’t want her here. She grabbed her purse and phone that were next to the bed and scurried out of the room.
I closed my eyes and slammed my fist down on the bed.
I didn’t need anyone.
Especially Leelee Perez.
********
Chapter 6
Leelee
I knew that as soon as Kurt woke up, he wasn’t going to want me there, but I hadn’t expected his words to hurt so much.
I had run past the nurse's station, tears streaming down my face, and both Judy and Jane looked surprised as hell to see me. I heard Judy call my name right before I ducked into the bathroom, but I didn’t turn around to see what she wanted. No one was going to say anything to make me feel better.
I knew I should call Luke and let him know that Kurt was awake, but I couldn’t, not yet. Everything I should do, I didn’t want to do.
The bathroom door opened, and I slipped into the nearest stall, not wanting to have to talk or act polite to anyone.
“You hear that 405 is awake?” a nasal voice asked.
“Yeah. It’s about time. I swear his wife was about to go crazy,” another voice replied. The door of the stall next to me shut. I peeked under and saw a pair of pink crocs and scrubs on the other side. These nurses didn’t sound like anyone I had dealt with the past days.
“Hell, I think this whole floor knew about 405. It was hard not to feel bad for her. Especially now. I heard Judy and Jane whispering about the wife running from his room just now. I wonder what that is all about.”
“Oh really?” The other voice asked, their interest piqued. “You would think after him being passed out for more than a week they would be having a happy reunion right now.”
Gah. How in the hell did people know? Kurt had only told me to get lost five minutes ago.
“Who knows, maybe it’s all too much.” The toilet flushed next to me and then I heard the faucet run. Thank God, they were almost done.
“I guess we’ll have to wait and see. It’s always fun when the patients are entertaining,” the nasal voice said with a laugh.
The bathroom door opened and then banged closed. Their voices faded, and I thanked God they were gone. They hadn’t said anything bad, but it was just too much for me to deal with right now. I had gone from no one knowing Kurt and I were married to not only the hospital staff knowing but Luke and Violet too. And you could bet if Luke and Violet knew, Mitch, Scarlett, and Frankie would know.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to see that Violet was calling. “Well, speak of the devil,” I joked as I put the phone to my ear. “I was just thinking about you.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not,” she giggled.
“It’s good. At least, this time.” I leaned against the counter and peered into the mirror, taking in the dark bags under my eyes and my hair that was tossed up in a messy knot on the top of my head. I looked like a damn train wreck. “Kurt finally woke up.”
“Oh my God!” Violet screeched. “That’s the kind of news you normally lead with, Lee,” Violet shouted to Luke and told him about Kurt. I heard Luke mumble and then I heard Violet swoon. Yes, I swear to God I heard her swoon. I’m sure Luke had said something sweet, crude, romantic, or all the above.
“Um, Luke wants to know when they’ll be releasing him,” Violet finally said into the phone.
“I’m not sure yet. I had to um, well, leave the room.” I winced.
“What? Why? Did the doctor not let you stay?”
I pulled on a stray strand of hair that had fallen on my face and tried tucking it back into my ponytail. “No. Not the Doctor.”
“Then, who the hell told you…oh,” Violet groaned, realizing who else it would have been who had told me to leave.
“Yeah, oh. He woke up, ripped into me and told me to get lost. I have to say any hope I had that Kurt would wake up a new man are out the window.”
“Oh, Lee. I’m sorry, hon. I would say more, but I really don’t know what you’re dealing with since I only found out a day ago, that you were married,” Violet lightly scolded. “Mitch still thinks Luke and I are playing a joke on him. He doesn’t believe it at all that you two are married.”
“Yeah, well, it is rather unbelievable.”
“You going to tell me at least why you two got married?”
Ugh. Did I have to tell the truth? “I needed help.” There, I answered the question, just not a detailed answer.
“Leelee, I’m going to get this damn story out of you if it’s the last thing I do.”
Judy peeked her head into the bathroom and motioned for me to follow her. “Uh, I gotta go, Vi. One of Kurt’s nurses just came in. Tell Luke I’ll call him as soon as I know anything about him going home.”
“Okay. Sounds good. We love you, Leelee. Don’t forget that,” Violet reminded me.
Violet, Luke, Mitch, Scarlett, Frankie, and Levi had become like family to me, and it was crazy how much her saying that meant to me. “Love you guys, too,” I mumbled back and hung up the phone.
“He’s passed out again. He was complaining about pain and we had to give him some stronger meds to help.”
“Oh, do you think he’ll wake up again?” I asked, concerned he was going to be knocked out for another eight days.
“He should. As far as we can tell, he is firmly out of the woods now. Now, he just has to take it easy and let his body heal.” Judy ducked out of the bathroom, and I was alone again.
I wished she would have come in and told me Kurt had changed his mind, and he was asking for me, but I knew it would be insane to expect it. Kurt wasn’t going to ask for me. He didn’t want me here, and I had no idea how to change that.
There had to be a way to prove to him I wanted to be here and there wasn’t any other place I would rather be, but I was drawing a blank how.
I stared at myself in the mirror and realized it was time to be honest with myself.
I wanted Kurt Jensen, and I wasn’t going to take no for an answer. I had made a mistake fourteen months ago, and now, I was going to do everything I could to make it right.
Kurt Jensen wasn’t going to know what hit him.
********
Chapter 7
Kurt
“We’re going to release you tomorrow, but you need to understand that you are going to have a lot of limitations, Mr. Jensen. You have multiple broken bones and won’t be as mobile as you would like to be.”
I rolled my eyes, and it took every ounce of control I had not to tell the doctor no shit. “Yeah, I kind of figured that.” I held up my arm that was encased in a black cast that matched the black one on my ankle and foot.
“You are good to fly. I would just suggest to get up and try to walk when you can so you don’t stiffen up.”
“Fly?” I asked, confused as hell. I had no plans to fucking fly. All I planned on doing was blowing this joint, grabbing a taxi, and going to the hotel room I had been renting.
It had been three days of pure torture having to be around Leelee, also. She had insisted she was going to stay until I was released and there really wasn’t anything I could have done about it. I guess I could have told the nurses and doctor I didn’t want her there, but I didn’t want to cause a scene, either.
“Yup, your wife said that she had tickets for you two headed back to the Chicago area.” The doctor clipped his pen into the pocket of his coat and looked expectantly at me. “Are there any other questions you have for me? I would hook up with a physical therapist when you get settled. You’ll need all the help you can get to get back to normal.”
“No questions,” I mumbled. Fucking normal was something I didn’t think I would ever be again.
The doctor strode out of the room, and my eyes landed on Leelee who was looking at her nails in her lap. She rarely made eye contact with me and half the time, she seemed like this was the last place she wanted to be even though she insisted she wanted to be here.
“I’m not going back,” I growled.
“That’s what you think. You have no one to help you here, Kurt.”
“I don’t need help,” I barked. I was fucking sick and tired of hearing her say that.
“Yes, you do. You can’t drive, can’t walk, and don’t have a place to live here anymore. You’re coming back.” She stood and pulled her phone out of her pocket and pressed a couple of buttons. “I canceled your hotel. Our flight leaves in three hours. I’ll leave you alone for a little bit to get used to the idea that you’re going home.”
“I don’t have a fucking home. You can’t make me stay with Luke and Mitch.” I wasn’t going back to being under Luke’s thumb. I had left for many reasons, and one of them was I needed to do shit on my own without Luke and Mitch.
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