I nod my head, rubbing my hand through my hair. I don’t know how long we sit there, saying nothing, all lost in our own grief, when I glance up and find Corey’s mom, Monica, rushing up to us with a police officer right behind her. Her eyes are swollen and red from crying, fresh tears still streak her face. Her attention turns to me and my shirt that is covered in her son’s blood—I hadn’t realized it was there before. Her knees buckle from under her, falling into me. I wrap her in my arms and hold her tightly against me, offering her the only thing I can, my support.
“Shh, Monica. Corey is a fighter. He will get through this.” She slowly pulls her head back to look up at me, and I think she’s about to say something when the door opens.
“Corey Roberts’ family?” I turn around and lock onto a set of silvery-blue eyes that I have never in my life been so glad to see. Thank God, I know she will do everything to help him.
Lance nods silently over to us. Hadley walks right over, completely ignores me, and looks to Monica with sincere eyes. “Ms. Roberts?” she asks and Monica nods. “I am Hadley, one of the nurses on Corey’s case. Let’s have a seat over there where it’s not so loud so we can talk.” Hadley motions to a more private space off the side of the waiting room. When we are all seated, Hadley starts, “Ma’am, Corey is in serious condition. He sustained some serious injuries to his liver, kidney, spleen, and there’s internal bleeding, as well as some head trauma. Dr. Pewit, the trauma surgeon on call, did not want to risk waiting so they brought him to surgery right away to try to find where the bleeding is coming from. After that Dr. Sharp, the neurosurgeon, will try to alleviate some of the pressure in his brain.” Hadley pauses, looking around to all of us to make sure we are all listening and understanding before she continues. “Corey also has a broken femur, shoulder, and a few ribs, but those injuries are secondary until we determine the extent of his bleeding and the brain injury.”
Monica starts sobbing into my shoulder. Hadley eyes me and offers a small smile, some reassurance before touching Monica’s leg. “We are doing our very best to help him, and I promise to update you when I hear anything else. I called a friend of mine who works for the patient advocate system here and she will be down with you in a couple of minutes. Her name is Courtney and I can promise you that she is the very best at what she does. Trust me, if anyone can help you, it’s her. She is the person you want on your side.” She looks at Lance before standing up. “If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.” Hadley smiles before walking toward the door.
I let go of Monica’s hand, stand up, and run over to Hadley. I tap her on the shoulder and she turns around. For a split second, she almost looks happy to see me, but then a frown falls on her face.
“Reed, I need to get back to work.”
Ignoring her, I grab her arm and take her into another corner of the waiting room. I continue to hold her arm so she doesn’t have a chance to get away from me. It feels surreal. It has been five years since I’ve last touched her and time hasn’t changed the current that flows between us. Hadley stares at where my hand is touching her, but I refuse to let go.
“Please, Reed, don’t. Let go of me. I’m busy. I will come out again the moment I hear anything else.”
Regardless of what I am feeling, seeing her, touching her—I’m here for Corey, fucking nothing else matters right now. “Hadley, I just want to make sure Corey is going to be okay. That’s it. He is all Monica has and it will kill her to lose him.”
She sighs softly. “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but it could go either way right now. Like I told you before, they really need to find the internal bleed, and they need to make sure the pressure in his brain is down, but even after that, they won’t know the extent of the damage to his brain till he wakes up, and I am not going to guess how long that is going to be. Dr. Pewit is the best trauma surgeon we have, and Dr. Sharp is an amazing neurosurgeon. Corey is really in the best hands. Courtney will make sure everything is being done right, too. I promise, I’ll tell you if anything else comes up, all right? But I do really have to go back to work now.” Hadley shakes off the hold I have on her.
“Thanks, Hads”
She shrugs and doesn’t look back before answering, “It is my job,” and walks away through the double doors.
Hadley
It’s been two weeks since I saw Reed at the club. Two weeks of avoiding Lance when he comes here. Two weeks of tiptoeing around Courtney. Two weeks of only speaking to my brothers when I see them at my parents’ and ignoring their endless phone calls otherwise. I understand they felt like they needed to take care of me, but I want them to understand I need to handle all the feelings seeing Reed again brings out in me, without any help this time. I know I’m not as strong as I want to be; I’m not delusional about that, but I’m so much stronger now than I was when he left me. A little faith in me would be great, faith that maybe I will do what’s best for me and only me. I know they only did it because they love me, and I know I will talk to all of them when the wound of what they did isn’t so fresh. But that will only come with time and space away from them. But Reed being here in the hospital I work at—a place I consider a second home—is not what I wanted. At. All. I thought I could avoid him at all costs, and then Corey came in. I heard the name of Reed’s gym and for some reason, even with my shift over, I didn’t hesitate to step in and help. I had to, no questions asked. The boy has a connection to Reed, and I just know this young teenager has to mean something to him for Reed to hire him, because Reed would never just hire someone he didn’t have some kind of connection with.
Seeing the pain on Reed’s face made my heart stop. I deal with this kind of stuff all the time, but in all my time at the hospital, I’ve never had to tell someone I actually know what could possible happen to someone they care about, and pray I never have to again. After we got Corey stabilized, getting them the best help to deal with it was the next step. Swallowing my pride and calling Courtney to work on Corey’s case was the right thing to do. Corey and his mom will need all the help they can get, and she really is the best.
“Earth to Hadley.”
I look up from the papers I have been staring at and see Dr. James Pewit walking toward me. He and Bennett went to school together, and we double date sometimes with him and his girlfriend. Bennett is usually on his best behavior around him, but he’s been slipping lately and last week, Bennett got a little too forceful with me in front of James. From that moment on, I knew James is only a friend to him out of obligation since he seems to always find ways to see if I’m all right, like he knows what Bennett is doing. If James only knew.
“Hey, how did Corey do?” James and I are in trauma because we love it. It’s our common bond. We thrive on knowing we make a difference. We both understand it’s so much more than the person we are working on. It’s the families. It’s holidays, birthdays, and just plain everyday things that would be different if their loved ones can’t be saved. Bennett thinks we are stupid because of it, but lately, he thinks I’m stupid about everything I do or say.
James lips tug up to a smile so I know it’s good news, he’s the opposite of every trauma surgeon I’ve ever meet. Most are cocky asses and dust off the bad ones and think they are gods when they save someone, but not James, he takes the good with the bad every time. “Really well. We found the source of the bleed. Kidney and liver are bruised but should heal on their own. I had to remove his spleen but other than that, the kid should be fine. He’s in Dr. Sharp’s hands now, but while I was operating, the swelling on his brain was already going down. I was coming to get his chart so I can talk to the family. Do you want to come with me; you prepped them, right?”
“Yep, hey, would you do me a favor? Make sure not to tell Bennett about this one for me?”
James shakes his head. “You know I won’t. But if you need anything—help or whatever—I will support you. You know that, right? No questions asked, got it?”
“Got it. Now let’s go, I put them in the co
rner right outside.” I hand him Corey’s chart and follow him outside the door
I spot Courtney’s blond hair sitting next to Ms. Roberts. “Well, you got them Courtney already, you must have really wanted them to have the best team.”
“Something like that. Remember, nothing about this.” I look around and don’t see Lance or Reed, hopefully they just left.
“Does the reason you don’t want him to know have anything to do with what you’re straining you neck to look at?”
I glare at him, but as soon as Corey’s mom’s head pops up, I plaster a smile on my face. “Ms. Roberts, this is Dr. Pewit, one of the surgeons that worked on Corey. He is going to update you about what is going on with him.”
James shakes Ms. Roberts’ hand, sits down next to her, and starts going over everything about Corey’s surgery.
I feel Reed come up behind me before I can see him, just like I always used to. I used to love that feeling, looked forward to it, but now, all it does is make me sick and think of things that I rather run away from. I wish for nothing more than that feeling to be gone and to never return, but I learned wishes only get you so far. Turning around, I see Reed walking in, and right behind him is Bennett—more than likely coming to see if I lied about working late. Reed sits down next to Ms. Roberts, wrapping his arm around her. Bennett’s propped up on the wall, arms crossed, drilling holes into Reed’s head. Not what I need at all. James gets up and I turn my attention back to Ms. Roberts. “Do you have any questions for me?”
She shakes her head and smiles for the first time since she got here. “No, thank you. These boys are right about you. You are very sweet.”
I blush, shrugging the compliment off. “No really, it is my job, any of us would have done it for you. I am just glad things are looking up. I’m off now and have some personal stuff to take care of so, unfortunately, I won’t be here when Dr. Sharp comes to talk to you, but I work tomorrow and I’ll check on Corey then. Please, again, let one of the nurses on duty know if you have any questions and they will be happy to answer them.” Monica nods and I walk over to Bennett, telling him I will meet him at home. His face flushed with agitation, I’ll pay for it later, but he’s smarter not to cause a scene in public.
I give a small smile to Courtney and Lance as I pass, but Reed pulls me into a corner. “That douche is your personal business now? That fucking yuppie-looking piece of shit? Really, Hadley? Thought I knew you better than to go for someone like that.”
Reed comes here and thinks he can tell me what to do. F that. “If you really must know, my personal stuff is to go see my mom at her house because she is dying. And, Reed…yes, Bennett and I are very much exclusive. You honestly think I would have waited on you to come back to me? Sadly, nope. The waiting ship sailed about three years ago when I saw you practically dry-hump some girl for the whole world to see, all while making me feel like a complete dumbass for having ever believed you actually cared about me. So what, and whom, I do in my private time is my business and mine alone. In case you forgot, you lost that right a long time ago. Five years ago to be exact. If you’ll excuse me, I have more important stuff to deal with than this petty bullshit you are trying to pull.”
Reed steps in front of me, blocking me into him. I can tell he regrets his outburst, but too little, too late. “Hadley, babe, what is wrong with your mom? No one said anything to me about it. I would have been here for you, I promise. I understand if you don’t want to talk to me, but I told you I would always be there for you when you need me, Hads.” Looking in Reed’s eyes, I swear I see the truth behind his words. If I didn’t know any better, I would think he was really sorry, but this isn’t going to happen. After what I went through with him, it only makes me furious.
“Listen, you wanting to be there for me now is really sweet and all, but just because we are in the same state again doesn’t mean we start off where you left it. This isn’t on your time anymore—it’s on mine, and my time now is too precious to give a minute of it to you.” I make my way around him, but he wraps his hand around my wrist. I frown down at where we are touching and then look him square in the eyes, my face and voice vacant of all emotion. “Oh, and Reed, please don’t pretend you understand shit about me. We aren’t friends now and never will be again. You don’t deserve anything from me except maybe a punch in the face, and if you don’t drop your hand in two seconds I’ll do just that.”
Reed’s face drops when his hand falls away from my wrist. I step out of his way and flee, like the coward I am. I have to get away, miles away from him because if I don’t, the pull Reed has on my heart strings will come back with a vengeance.
Chapter 11
Hadley
“It’s okay, Dad. Really, I understand. I’ll wait. I have a patient I want to check on anyway.”
“You know, baby girl, you can always just call one of your brothers and see if they could take you.”
“Dad, I understand. I’m just not ready yet, but I promise I will talk to them. I just don’t want them to think I am only calling them because I need a ride.”
“They wouldn’t think that, but I will come and get you when all the doctors leave. I love you.”
“Love you, too, Dad. Bye.” This is what I get for putting my car in the shop for its tune-up and refuse to talk to anyone else in my family. I could always ask Bennett, but he has been acting too strange since the whole shit with Reed in the waiting room. He is the last person I want to be around.
It’s been over five days since Corey was admitted, and I’ve checked on him every time I’m here—before and after my shift, and sometimes during my break. Not one time have I seen Reed, which affects me more than I care to admit. Monica says he only comes at night when he knows I won’t be there. That settles my stomach and hurts me at the same time. I want him to want to see me, even though I don’t want to see him. Such a girl thing to think and I don’t understand it, but I never understand my feelings when it comes to Reed anyway.
The door to Corey’s room is cracked open and I peek in. Monica’s smiling for the first time since Corey got here and she looks twenty years younger. I automatically look over to Corey and he’s sitting up, awake and alert. He opened his eyes a couple times yesterday but nothing like this, this is a big step toward his recovery.
“Hey, Monica. Hey, Corey, I’m Hadley, one of the nurses when you first arrived. I’m sure glad to see your eyes open—you worried some people around here.” I go over to Monica, putting my arm around her.
Corey looks up to me. “That’s what they tell me.” He smiles over to his mom. “Okay, you said you would go and get something to eat when someone gets here. Someone is here now so now you can go eat.”
Monica grabs hold of his hand and places a soft kiss on top of his bandaged head. “Hadley usually can’t stay too long when she visits. I will just wait till the boys get here later.”
Boys, that’s got to be Reed.
“Monica, it’s okay. I’m waiting for my ride to get here anyway. Go grab some food. I’ll be happy to keep him company.”
She looks between us and I can tell she doesn’t want to leave her baby. I don’t blame her, I would have a hard time, too.
“Ma, please just go. I’ll be okay.” I can’t help but smile while they banter. You can feel the love just by looking between them. From what she has told me, it’s been just the two of them since Corey was two. She works so hard that I can’t help but feel for them, and I hope what I did earlier helps them stress less.
“Yes, Monica…really, it’s fine. Leave your cell phone number and if something does happen, I’ll call right away. Promise. ”
She finally gives in and goes over to pick up her purse, giving Corey another kiss on the forehead, and then hands me her cell phone number.
“Okay, I will be gone twenty minutes tops.”
We both wave at her, and the moment Monica is out of the door, Corey turns his head, eyes focused just on me. “So you are the reason Riker moved here, aren’t you?”
>
I step back and hold on to the chair beside Corey’s bed, slowly sitting down. I hadn’t expected that to be the first thing he’d say. “Dang, kid, you get right do the point, don’t you? Why do you think that?” I try to play in cool, but my insides knot with nerves.
“Because Riker said he came down here to get something back. Besides, he has a picture of you and him in his office. You look younger in it, though, but it’s definitely you, I’m sure of it. When Riker looks at it, he always gets this sad, distant look on his face. I know not to ask him for something when he is in front of it. Talk about getting the riot act.”
What the hell? Get something back…a picture of us. I’m about to ask Corey when the devil himself comes walking in—no, scratch that, strutting in. Damn Reed.
“Your mom said you were awake. I just had to see for myself. The gang will be here in a few, too. We’re all so fucking happy now that you decided to wake up. The gym is looking nasty so you need to hurry the hell up and get better, got some major bitch work for you to do. You know Lance always bitches about washing the towels.” Thank God Reed doesn’t seem to see me yet as he does some guy handshake thing with Corey.
Carefully and silently, I make my way out of the chair before he has a chance to notice me, and mouth “bye” to Corey. I’m almost in the clear when I run right into Lance, Kenny, some older guy, and a short girl with a brown pixie. Literally…I slam right into a brick wall and an oomph slips my lips. So much for escaping silently.
“Wow, slow down, Hads. What are you doing here?” Lance asks, making my exit the complete opposite of what I wanted. I glance over at Reed, who’s doing nothing but staring down at his feet, deliberately avoiding me.
“Um…well, I was waiting for a ride and wanted to stop and see how Corey was doing, and then Corey kicked his mom out so she could get food. I said I would stay because she didn’t want him by himself.” My reply’s rushed, nearly coming out in one single, hurried breath. “But now that you guys are here, I’ll just wait for my ride somewhere else.” It’s a game of ping pong in the room with everyone’s eyes bouncing between Reed and me. But Reed’s eyes stay fixed on his damn feet. “Well, anyway, it’s nice seeing everyone.” I wave lamely to awkwardly frozen bodies in front of me. “Bye, Corey. I’m glad you’re feeling better. Umm…yeah, okay…bye.” I practically jet out of the room, straight down the hallway.
Fighting to Start Page 10
