Page 66 of The Love Penalty

“You got it. We’ll be there, just text me the details.”

“Thanks,” I say and hang up as the elevator dings and I walk out to the ER lobby. It’s surprisingly quiet for a Friday night. I guess the bar fights haven’t started yet; it’s too early.

I walk up to the nurse’s desk and ask for Olivia.

“Your relationship to the patient?”

I hesitate before blurting out, “I’m her fiancé.”

“Well, Mr. Fiancé,” she says and raises her eyebrow like she knows I’m full of shit. “From what I see she’s still being checked out. But if you want to take a seat over there in the waiting room, I will let you know when I have updates.”

I run a hand over my face and wince as I try to flex it. I think I may have broken a finger. “Please, is there anything at all you can tell me? Can I go in with her? She might have a concussion and need someone to fill in the details of what happened.”

She looks at me pensively and asks, “You were at the hockey game where she got hurt?”

“Yeah, I saw it happen, ” I say shakily, blinking away tears. I look down at her name tag. “Please, Janice, let me see that she’s okay.”

She looks at me and takes a deep breath before shaking her head. Fuck. I feel so goddamn useless right now. Janice starts typing on her computer and I go to turn around but she stops me by saying, “I think we need to get that hand of yours checked out ASAP. You may have some broken fingers.”

I turn around and bite the inside of my cheek so I don’t cry in front of Janice. “Thank you.”

Janice leads me to one of the small consultation rooms and tells me to hang tight, but when she leaves she doesn’t shut the door. Instead she leaves it wide open and gives me a wink.

I sit there on top of the medical chair and stare out the door like at any moment I will see Olivia. And I do. She’s laying down on a rolling bed as they take her out of the room straight across from mine. I jump down from the chair and reach her in just a few steps.

“Excuse me, who are you?” the doctor pushing Olivia’s bed says, affronted.

“No, it’s okay,” Olivia says at the same time I say, “I’m her fiancé.”

Olive’s eyes dart back to mine, wide and tired, but with a hint of amusement. I grab her hand that somehow looks smaller than ever and say, “Are you okay, love?”

She squeezes my fingers and I keep the wince to myself this time, but the doctor notices and sighs. “Alright, I’m headed to the MRI machine so you might as well come and we can check your hand as well.”

“What happened to your hand?” Olivia says, looking down.

“Nothing you need to worry about right now.”

A nurse comes and brings my chart and takes a scan of my fingers. I have a broken middle finger that needs a splint, which somehow feels appropriate.

The MRI confirms Olivia has two broken ribs and a concussion. Our doctor orders a CAT scan as well to get a better look at her head. When we head back to the exam room, they let me stay with her until they get the final results and can clear her for going home.

Hours later, we walk out hand in hand only to be met with a sea of people. My whole family is here, joined by my friends.When they see us, they immediately surround us and pepper us with questions.

“Olivia, honey, how are you?” my mom asks.

“Is your middle finger broken?” Ash says with a cocked head and a smile on his face.

“Do you have a concussion?” Alice asks.

“Guys, slow down!” I say and look over at Olive, making sure she’s not overwhelmed. But my girl is smiling wide with tears in her eyes.

“You all came to check on me?” she asks shyly.

A chorus of replies assure her that yes, they did come here for her. I squeeze her hand and she laughs. “Thank you all. I’m fine, but two of my ribs are broken and they’ll take about six weeks to fully heal. As for my head, I did get a few stitches, but the concussion is not severe.”

“Here, I brought you both some clothes. It’s cold outside,” Elias says. He hands us both hoodies and sweatpants and we put them on. I help Olivia with her hoodie when I see her wince from the effort to raise her hands.

“I’ll drive you both home and take the truck back to my place,” Alice says, and I am so fucking lucky to have this amazing family. I am even more happy that they came here for Olive to show her their love and support. It means everything to me. I hug them all and promise to give them more details in the next few days. For now, I just want to be home with my girl and make sure she’s taken care of.

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