Page 97 of Staying for You

I grin, not being able to stop it. “Hmm. Where do you plan to live?”

“Up north a ways.”

I chuckle and wish I could kiss her, continue our conversation, but because I’m in a hospital and the distractions are real, the doctor interrupts us with Autumn following closely behind. I don’t miss the way she smiles when looking at Cami sitting next to me on the bed.

“How we feeling today, Owen?”

“Good. Ready to be out of here.”

Cami moves out of the way to stand against the wall by the window so the doctor can move in. I keep an eye on her, though. A lot of stuff was just dropped on her in a short amount of time and I wouldn’t be surprised if she has a very physical reaction to it. Hard not to when you discover your ex-husband was plotting to have you killed. “I don’t doubt that. Everything looks good. Autumn said your head is feeling better?”

“Little bit of a headache, not too much.”

He looks into my eyes with the little light then feels the lump that’s diminished in size since I’ve been here. Checks out my shoulder and reminds me that I need to keep it in the sling for about six weeks, same as the cast on my leg.

“It’ll be a pain in the ass, for me to do that,” I remind him and he chuckles.

“It will. But the alternative is worse so make sure you’re giving yourself time to rest, heal, and don’t exert yourself too much with that head of yours. There will be days that your head hurts for no reason at all and other days that you don’t even feel it. It’s common. The headaches, especially. If you start getting double or tunnel vision back, you need to be seen. The cat scan they did late yesterday came back clear.”

“That mean I’m free to leave?”

“Anxious, are we?”

“Absolutely.”

“You have someone to take care of you just in case?”

“My sister and brother-in-law are around, and,” I glance at Cami who’s been watching us closely the entire time, “Cami, too.” She smiles and nods at my assumption and I grin back.

He glances behind him quickly, barely paying attention to Cami. “Alright then. I’ll sign the release forms and Autumn will help you get outta here. No driving for another week at least. What people forget most with concussions is how long it takes to heal. Very little screen time, which includes TV if you can.”

“Got it.”

“Good luck and don’t hesitate to call if you have any questions or concerns. I gave Sawyer my official statement of when you arrived so we’re good to go.”

“Thank you, for everything.”

“You got it.”

He leaves and Autumn moves in, getting everything ready to go including telling me she’ll be back with the discharge papers and a wheel chair she insists I need use to leave, leaving Cami and me alone to pack up the room.

After we get all my stuff into the duffel bag, I remember something I meant to ask when she first arrived. “Why is Helen with you?”

“Remember when I said he’s hurting her, too?” I nod. “Well, she has nowhere to go. I mean, nowhere. Her family sucks and she can’t keep living that way. When I was talking to you on the phone, she was actually at the house.”

“No kidding?”

“I know. I was a little surprised at her appearance on my doorstep, too. After we got off the phone, she and I had a long talk. She’s only nineteen, Owen, and she has no one to help her. Plus, she hadnoidea he was a male escort so she’s terrified for a lot of reasons. She’s pregnant and obviously Scott’s not going to be around, which is also obviously a good thing. I don’t know what she’ll do when she learns the extent of his narcissism but it’s possible she’ll lose it and if that happens, she needs someone in her corner.”

“And that’s going to be you?” I ask. I know she’s a good person and caretaker but taking in your ex-husband’s pregnant ex-girlfriend (or I assume at this point they’re exes, or better be) is extreme even for Cami.

She shrugs, looking a little nervous that I’m about to turn Helen away. I have no idea how this will all play out but if having Cami with me means that we get Helen as well, so be it. We have so much to talk over, including making sure she understands that I am truly sorry for everything I said, and that I didn’t mean a word of it.

I pull her close and kiss her forehead. “We’ll talk. We have lots to discuss anyway. But for right now, if you trust her, and I mean truly trust her, I’ll support you and her however we can.”

Her hands are pinned between us against my chest and her head is tipped back, looking up at me. I’m doing my best to keep my weight off the cast but still hold Cami in my arms. “Really?”

I give her a light squeeze. “Really. You need to know, Cami, that whatever happened at the cabin… the before stuff, not the shit at the end where I fucked up, that was real for me. As real as it gets. I want you with me however that looks. I know I’m asking a lot, but I’m going to do it again. Do you forgive me?”

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