I don’t get time to think about what just happened between us before Leia comes walking in, smirking at me. “Look who’s making her cry now.”
I scowl, and wave her over. “Hush and come here.”
She leans down and we kiss each other’s cheeks. “I’m sorry I yelled at you earlier. The pain makes me cranky,” I apologize.
“I’m sorry for upsetting you. You know I can’t help being protective of you. Especially now.”
“I know. It’s okay. But did you fix things with her?”
“Yes, Nik. Ellie and I are fine,” she huffs at me, rolling her eyes, then glares at me suspiciously. “You really like her, don’t you? It’s more than going through the robbery together, isn’t it?”
“I don’t really know what it is. I do know from the moment I saw her she made me feel things I never have. And yes, I know we only had a few minutes’ worth of time together before all hell broke loose, but something was definitely there. I’m sure going through what we did yesterday probably has something to do with it though.”
She looks at me, her brows drawn together and her mouth tight. “Okay, but remember, you hardly know her. Take things slow, okay?”
I huff a tiny bit and wave my hand over myself. “I don’t have much choice, do I?”
She smirks. “No, thankfully you don’t. How bad is your leg anyway?” she asks, turning and reaching to pull the sheet off my leg.
“Leia, don’t!” I warn her a bit too late.
She drops the sheet, her face a mask of horror. “Holy fuck! Why in the hell did they leave you like that? I’m going to kill that bastard doctor when I see him!”
“Leia, calm down. The doctor I needed was gone, but he’s back now, and he’s gonna fix it today. He said I’d be walking again in a few months. So please, chill out. I can’t deal with one of your fits right now.”
“All right, all right. I’m sorry. I’ll calm down, but after you’re better there will be a lawsuit if they haven’t done everything perfectly.”
“Okay, sis. Whatever you say. Give me a kiss, and I’ll see you later.”
She kisses my cheek again. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. Behave while I’m gone.”
“Yes, brother dear. I promise to be a perfect angel,” she says smirking, then heads towards the door.
“Yeah, right.”
Cash and Scott come in right after her. “Hey guys.”
“Hey. We gotta make it quick. The nurse said the guys from surgery are on their way up here to get you,” Cash tells me.
Shit, that sure didn’t take long.
Scott walks over and shakes my hand. “You’re looking better than you did yesterday. I’m glad to see you awake. You scared us shitless.”
“Sorry about that. Sorry about work, too. I hate it, but I think you’re gonna need to find someone else to finish up the year for me.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll find someone. You concentrate on getting better. I’m sure you’ll be ready for the fall semester when it comes around.”
“I sure as hell hope so.” I smile, but I really don’t find it funny at all. Spending my summer being an invalid is not my idea of a vacation.
“I’ll get outta the way so you can talk to Cash. I’ll see ya when you get done.”
“See ya later, thanks for coming,” I tell him as he walks out. Cash braces his hands on the bedrail and looks down at me. I hate the worry written all over his face. “What is it? You’re making me nervous.”
He gives me a small grin and shakes his head. “Nothin’ man, I just hate seeing you like this. How’s your pain? You can’t let it get that bad again.”
“It’s okay right now, but trust me, I’ll stay on top of it. Did you see that shit?” I ask, pointing to my leg. “Cause I had no idea it was that bad until the surgeon woke me up poking at it a while ago.”
He winces hard. “Yeah, I’m afraid so. They didn’t have it covered up while you were still out from the anesthesia. Those bastards did a number on you.”
“Tell me about it. It scares the shit out of me, but I think I may have come close to dying yesterday. I still don’t really know how bad it actually was because I haven’t met my other surgeon. Did you talk to him?”
“I haven’t, but Ellie and Scott did. I’m sure they can tell you what he said.”
Maybe I won’t forget to ask them after I wake up from my second round of anesthesia.
“Are Ellie and Leia really all right with each other now?” I know he’ll tell me the truth.
“I had to get on Leia’s ass a few times, but I think they’re good now. They both want the same thing, which is for you to get better. They should be fine.”
“What do you think about her?” I know he knows who I’m referring to, so I don’t bother being specific.
“I wasn’t sure about her at first. We had a few tense conversations actually, but I like her.”
“Tense conversations? Why?”
“Nik, she pretended to be your fiancée to get up here,” he tells me.
I smirk at him. “She did?”
He shakes his head and rolls his eyes, grinning the whole time. “She was afraid they wouldn’t let her see you if she didn’t. I didn’t trust her. All I could think was that she was in on the robbery, and you were the target. We both know how easily you fall for a pretty face.” He pokes my arm to stress his point.
“You seriously thought she was part of that? I appreciate you for looking out for me, but you’ve been watching too much TV,” I laugh at him as gently as possible.
“That’s what Hank said, too. It sounds idiotic now, but I wasn’t there to see how it went down. All I knew when I got here was that this strange chick was pretending to be your fiancée, and she was extremely attached to you already. I had a right to be suspicious.”
“Yeah, I guess I can understand that, but what about now that you know her better? By the way, it pisses me the hell off you know her better than me.” I scowl at him.
“I bet it does,” he laughs again, then he looks away and sighs before shaking it off. “Like I said before, I like her. She’s a tough cookie, and for some reason, I’m assuming because you protected her, she’s decided to be your guardian. She’s like a mama bear when it comes to you.”
“Oh, I’ve seen how tough she is. Did she tell you she slapped one of the robbers when he had guns on us?”
“Are you fuckin serious?”
“Yeah, I’m serious. The bastard was saying really crude shit about her, and by the time I had decided to kick his ass for it, she’d already slapped him. Of course, everything went to hell after that…”
Now that it’s over, I can’t believe we got out of there alive. Weird thing is, I’m more freaked out now than I was when it happened. I could have died. Fuck, I almost did. What if I hadn’t been able to protect her and she had gotten killed?
“Hey, you all right?” he asks, squeezing my shoulder.
I take some deep breaths, laying my head back and closing my eyes. “Yeah, I’m okay. Foggy because of the morphine, I think.”
Maybe he’ll believe that.
There’s knock on my door. “Your ride’s here, Nik,” Lacey calls out. Her voice is way too chipper for the occasion.
Cash smiles down at me warily, and grips my hand in his. “I’ll see ya soon, bro. Behave for ‘em.”
“I’ll try my best,” I tell him, forcing myself to smile back as he leaves.
Lacey waves in two guys in green scrubs. They come and start unhooking me from everything in the room.
“I’m Jack and this is Mike. We’re going to be your chauffeurs today. You lay back and enjoy the ride,” Jack says, smiling. He sounds as happy as Lacey did.
Do they honestly think acting so happy is going to take my mind off the fact that I’m headed to surgery? I’m not a damn five-year-old.
I start to panic like one though when I realize my leg is gonna have to be unhooked from the ceiling, and laid on the bed.
“Uh, Lacey? Ple
ase tell me you have more pain meds for me before they try to move my leg.”
“I sure do, hon, they’re next on the list,” she says, coming over to me. “It’s not morphine, but it’ll make you high as a kite as soon as I start it. You’ll get super sleepy right after that. You may still feel a little pain, but nothing like you would if I didn’t give it to you. You ready?” she asks, smiling again.
“I can’t wait,” I say, more sarcastic than I mean to.
She smirks, sticking the needle in my IV and squeezing the plunger thing.
Hello high! Woah, that was fast.
My eyes slam shut, and I feel like I’m floating off the bed. I like this stuff. I feel them moving my leg around which causes a mild wave of pain, but a second later I already don’t give a shit. I do groan the first time they move the bed under me. Again, I don’t care.
“You wanna tell these folks bye, Mr. Jensen?” someone yells over my head.
I pull my eyelids up and see Leia and Scott wave at me then float away. Cash bumps my fist, I think, and the last thing I see is a blurry Ellie smiling down at me.
WHAT WE LEARN
~
ELLIE
I CAN’T HELP BUT SMILE as they roll Nik back to surgery. He was so drunk from the meds they gave him. The poor thing was waving his good arm around like he was swatting at things we couldn’t see. Thank goodness, he never tried to move the rest of his injured self.
We’re all motionless and silent, staring at the doors they took him through as if we’ve turned into a group of zombies. Cash finally breaks our trance when he lets out a loud sigh. “We better go to the waiting room. Lacey probably won’t like us hanging around out here,” he says to all of us. We all turn as one and head towards the doors.
“How long did they say it would take again?” Scott asks.
“Two hours for the surgery, and another one until they get back down here with him,” Leia answers.
“Did any of you hear how long he said his recovery would be?” Cash asks as we walk into the waiting room.
“Three months, maybe more. If he heals enough from the other surgery, and his broken shoulder blade he may be able to use crutches soon. Most likely he’ll either be flat on his back, or in a wheelchair for weeks while all of that heals,” I tell him, sitting down.
“Damn. That’s a long time for anyone, let alone Nik. He’s gonna be so pissed. Give him another week, and we won’t be able to stand him, he’ll be so cranky.” He groans, then rubs his hands down his face. “Who told you all of that by the way?” he asks, turning and looking me.
“Lacey did late yesterday. She said Peacock Peterson would come talk to us today and the ortho surgeon will, too, once he’s finished,” I tell him.
“Peacock Peterson? Who the fuck is that?” Leia asks, her gorgeous face all twisted.
Scott lets out a laugh. “He’s Nik’s other surgeon, and you are gonna love him,” he says with a big grin spread across his face.
Cash and I look at Leia, then each other and proceed to burst into laughter until our eyes water. Scott is laughing right along with us.
“What the fuck is wrong with you people? How in the hell could anything possibly be that fucking funny right now?” she yells at us, her hands planted firmly on her hips.
I get myself under control first, and look up at her while I wipe my eyes. “We’re sorry, Leia. It’s nothing about Nik, I swear. It’s Dr. Peterson. He’s a complete pig from hell. I’ve never met anyone so arrogant in my life. He thinks he’s God’s gift to women, too. He hit on me the first time I met him, and he thinks I’m Nik’s fiancée! We’re laughing because we can already imagine what it’s gonna be like when he meets you,” I get out between giggles.
She crosses her arms, while the veins in her temples start to pop. “Is that the fucker that left his leg so fucked up?”
Oh Lord, I think I may be about to get an up-close view of Tornado Leia.
“That’s the one,” Scott tells her. “He says he did all he could until the ortho doc could work on it.”
You can almost see the steam coming out of her ears she’s so mad. She clinches her fists, and takes a few deep breaths while closing her eyes.
“You saving up for him, Lei-Lei?” Cash chuckles at her.
“You bet your fucking lumberjack ass I am.”
We all grin at her as she sits back down, and smooths out her designer jeans and top. She is so beautiful it’s like having a supermodel in the room with us. She’s basically the female version of Nik, which makes sense being they’re siblings. I can only imagine what beautiful babies they were, toddling around with their blonde hair and blue eyes.
I get up and pace the room as memories begin invading my mind, trying to think of anything else I can to distract myself. I start with the hospital. I’m really sick of it already, but I may as well get used to it since we’re gonna be here for a long time. Unlike poor Nik, at least I can move around and even leave if I want to. And boy, do I want to.
I desperately need to go get some of my clothes and things. I need to call Vicky, Brandon, and Anna. I’m shocked they haven’t tried to call me sooner. It’s only Saturday, though and I talked to all of them Thursday, they shouldn’t be worried yet.
Have I really only been here a day? It seems like forever and a day. I wonder if I have time to run to the house, and get some things and be back before he’s out of surgery. I think I’ll try.
I walk over to Cash, and tap his boot with my foot. “Don’t freak out on me again, but I think I’m gonna run to the house, and get some clothes and things while he’s in surgery. I promise I’ll come right back. I’d rather go now instead of after he’s done. I want to be here when he wakes up. He’ll never have to know I left,” I tell him.
“How far are you from here and in which direction? I could go with you, and grab some of my stuff on the way.”
I can tell he doesn’t want me going alone. Whether that’s for my sake, or keeping an eye on me, I’m not sure.
“I’m out on the west side of Wilmington Island.”
His face falls a bit. “That’s the opposite way from me, we may need to go separately.”
“It’s not from Nik’s place,” Scott pipes up. “I need to go check on Roxie for him, and pick up a few of his things to bring back. We should be able to be back in an hour, hour and a half, if we only make the two stops.”
“Who’s Roxie?” I ask.
“She’s Nik’s dog. She has a doggie door to get outside, but her food and water probably need to be checked,” Leia says.
“Okay. That works for me if it does for you, Scott.”
He stands up and smooths the wrinkles out of his shirt. “I’m ready when you are.”
Cash looks at Leia. “You staying here?”
“I think so. Someone should stay around just in case, and I can go downstairs and get his insurance started, too,” she says.
He turns to me and Scott. “All right then, I’ll wait and go after he’s out of surgery. That way she can work on his insurance, and I can stay up here and keep y’all posted if there’s any news.”
“Okay. We’ll be back as quick as we can,” I tell them with a wave as Scott and I head out.
~
Fifteen minutes later we’re pulling up to Nik’s townhouse. I love it the second I see it. It’s a lovely three story made of red brick with black shutters. There’s ivy growing up the railing of the front steps that goes over and all the way up the corner of the house. I can’t wait to see the inside. Then it hits me.
How in the hell are they gonna get him in this house in a few weeks?
“Scott, is there a street level entrance anywhere on the house? He’s gonna have a tough time getting inside if there isn’t,” I say, looking over my shoulder at him.
He has a worried expression on his face after hearing that. “There’s one in the back, but that won’t really help. There’s more stairs to get him up from down there. The living areas are on the second floor and the bedrooms
are on the third. The first floor is his studio. We could probably get a hospital bed and leave him on the second level? It would save whoever stays with him from going up and down all those stairs a dozen times a day.”
“I guess it depends on what he’s most comfortable with. It’ll be months before he can climb any stairs,” I say quietly. My worry and anxiety start to ratchet up again, my stomach churning thinking of how complicated Nik’s life is about to become–all because of me.
“God, what did I do to him?” I whisper.
Scott reaches over, and pats my back awkwardly. “You didn’t do anything to him. None of what happened is your fault. I know he told you that already, Cash told me he did.”
“I know he did, but if I had stayed home, he wouldn’t be in this mess. If I hadn’t slapped that asshole robber Nik wouldn’t have tried to stop him from hitting me. So it is my fault! All this suffering he’s going through is because of me!” I wail, bursting into tears.
“Wait a minute. You slapped one of the robbers? You didn’t tell me that the other day.”
“Yes! See? It is my fault! I’m cursed. People die because of me!”
“Ellie, please calm down,” he begs, rubbing my back this time. “Nik didn’t die. You know that. You know he’s going to be back to normal soon. He’s strong and he’ll get through it. And even if you did slap one of them, that still doesn’t make it your fault. You didn’t ask those guys to rob that Starbucks, or tell them to bring guns. I’m sure if you slapped him, there was a reason for it. I bet Nik thinks so, too.”
I try to slow my tears, and get control of myself. It takes several minutes before I’m breathing normally again, and not leaking all over Scott’s car anymore.
“Can you tell me what happened to make you slap the guy?” he asks.
I glance at him and then down at my lap. “He threatened to take me with them, and he was talking really nasty to me. I mean really nasty. He rubbed the gun down my face, and neck and then…” I wave at my boobs.
“Bastard,” he says with disgust.
“Yeah. It pissed me off so bad, and I could see that Nik was ready to kill the guy. I thought I could keep his attention on me if I slapped him. I figured if I let Nik at him things wouldn’t turn out so good. Turns out they didn’t anyway,” I sigh. “The guy went to slap me back, and that’s when Nik jumped in to stop him. One of the guns went off, and he didn’t even realize he’d been shot in the head. I did,” I whisper.
Save Me Page 8
