Page 56 of Casualties

“Fuck!She's already in Boise with him by now!I need to go and make sure everything is okay with her.Dammit, there is no way I will get a flight to Boise last-minute.”I let out a frustrated groan.I'll have to drive.I have a bad fucking feeling about his sudden accident, and him needing her there immediately.She mentioned his father’s jet was already there and waiting for her when we got to the airport…Holy shit.He had to have planned this, and manipulated her into coming back.

“We had family fly in, so Gram's jet is at the airport,” Cassie interrupts my thoughts.“ She called while I was on my way here to have them prep it for you.There’ll be a car waiting when you land.Grab what you need, and let’s go.I’m driving.”She shakes her keys in my face.I pull her into a tight hug, squeezing so hard she lets out a breath.

“Chill, Hulk.You're taking my oxygen.Let’s go so you can bring our girl home.”She shoves at my chest to get me moving.I grab my hoodie, shoes, and pack up my laptop bag.I don’t see us coming home tonight, and I never leave without it.

“Alright, let’s go.”

THIRTY-ONE

AINSLEY

I rush into the hospital without even waving off the black Expedition that picked me up from the airport.I approach a desk where an older woman sits, typing away on her keyboard.She smiles up at me and asks if she can help.I give her Jackson’s name to look up.Her finger points to the large sign that says emergency room, and before she can say anything else, I rush off in that direction.

I find another desk with multiple nurses sitting in front of large desktop computers.

“Hi, I’m looking for Jackson Davis’s room.He was in a car accident.”I know I’m talking fast, but being here makes me nervous.It smells sterile, and the bright lights do not help settle my nerves.A nurse asks for my name.When I give it to her, she starts looking through documents on her computer.

“You’re not listed on his HIPAA form.I’m not allowed to give out patient information if your name isn’t listed.”You have got to be kidding me!She acts like I have dubious reasons to ask for his room.I know it’s not her fault, and she's only doing her job.That doesn’t stop me from rolling my eyes at her.

“I’m his girlfriend.He called me to come here.Can you just call his room and get the okay?”I can tell she doesn’t appreciate my attitude by the scoff she gives.Lucky for me, she picks up the phone to do what I asked.

“Toots?”I turn to look at the only person that calls me that.A rush of relief floods my body when I see him.

“Jackson!”He's being wheeled out in a wheelchair.From what I can see, there's no sign of broken bones.Thank God!I run toward him, not missing the eye roll from the hospital worker who has been less than helpful.

“Toots, hey, let’s get home.I’m over this hospital.”He looks frustrated.I assume that's from the long stay in the emergency room.

“Alright, let’s go home,” I say calmly to ease his mind.It doesn’t escape my notice that we both acknowledged his place as our home.I’m not sure how I feel about calling his frat house that.I stay there all the time, but it’s definitely not a place to call home.The nurses and driver help me get him into the car that brought me here.

The ride back to his house is quiet.While I want to ask him all the questions, I decide waiting is best.To my surprise, we don’t go to his frat house; we're taken to his dad’s house.I hope his dad isn’t here.

The house is empty, thankfully.He’s able to walk, so I help him into the house and get him comfortable on a chair in the kitchen.I have no idea where anything is, so I start moseying through the cabinets, trying to find a glass to pour him some water.

“I could get used to this treatment, Toots.You, taking care of me.”He looks proud that I'm doing the basic necessities to make sure he is comfortable after a traumatic experience.That makes me sad—it shows just how neglected he was as a child.

“Okay Mr.Davis, drink this water, then it's up to bed.”He downs the water quickly, getting up faster than you would expect of someone who was just discharged from the hospital.I don’t need to put much effort into helping, he seems able to carry himself on his own.Once I get him settled into his massive California king bed, I grab the pain pills we picked up on the way here from the hospital.It’s just prescription Tylenol.

“What happened, Jackson?Walk me through it.”I sit next to him on the bed, waiting to hear.

“I was driving down Telegraph Road from one of my dad’s businesses after having an annoyingly pointless meeting.I grabbed my phone to see if you finally texted me back, and dropped it attempting to unlock it.I tried to grab it, and only took my eyes off the road for a second, but I skidded into a stop sign.”

Did he just say stop sign on Telegraph Road?If that’s the case, he couldn’t be going over thirty miles an hour.

“What did the doctor say?”I ask.

“He said it was a close call, and anything could have happened.I was lucky it wasn’t worse.”Jackson is now patting my hand to soothe worry I’m not exactly feeling.I glance at his discharge papers, then grab them to read.He attempts to take them from me, but I’m quick and move away from him to continue reading.

“The progress note says you are absolutely fine.To just take Tylenol as needed for any headache, should it occur,” I narrate a brief synopsis of what the note says.

“Jackson, I get it, you got into an accident, but did I need to fly here on a private jet for a fender bender?Why did you need to go to the emergency room?”I know I'm being insensitive, but fuck.My family hasn’t all been under one roof in months, and to think I dropped everything to be here when he dented his car into a stop sign is annoying.

“Are you kidding me, Ainsley?”Shit.He never calls me by my first name.

“Fuckingforgive mefor wanting my girlfriend to be there for me when I am in the hospital after a car accident.I didn’t mean to disrupt your happy family while I’m going to a house alone for the holidays.”He looks a combination of angry and hurt, and I feel like an asshole.

“No, that's not how I wanted it to come out.I’m sorry; I didn’t mean it.I'll always be here for you,” I attempt to reassure him.

“Toots, I wanted you here with me.”He covers my hand with his.I know it’s hard for him to have a family that doesn’t seem to give a shit.I don’t know his dad very well, and have never met his mom, but both of them seem very detached from his life, and compensate their lack of love with money.

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