Page 85 of The Fire Walker
“I had a feeling she was running from something but notthis.”
“I think I get it now,” I said. “Why she left back inLA.”
“Do you think it had something to do with thisguy?”
“She has a restraining order out against him. I don’t know what he did to her, but it must’ve beenbad.”
Zoe curled up into my side again, and I pulled her arm around my stomach, not caring that the tattoo still hurt likehell.
“Mr.Cosgrove?”
I looked up again to see the doctor from before, and I stood, my heart leaping to my throat. He walked toward us purposefully, and I was dying to read the expression on his face so I would have some inkling of what he was going tosay.
“Your girlfriend is in recovery now. She’s still asleep, but you’re welcome to go see her. She will be disoriented after her accident, so it’s best if she wakes to a familiarface.”
“She’s going to beokay?”
“We were able to stop the bleeding in her abdomen, but it will be a while before we know if there will be any repercussions from her injuries. We need to keep her for observation for a fewdays.”
“What do you mean byrepercussions?”
“Internal bleeding can cause stress on the surrounding tissue and organs,” the doctor explained. “We need to run some tests and monitor her vitals. She had a nasty blow to the head, and she has some possible fractures on her ribs and arm. We’ve placed a temporary cast on her forearm, but once she’s recovered enough from her surgery, we will need to take her to X-ray to determine the full extent of thebreaks.”
“Okay.”
“She didn’t have any emergency contact in her records,” he said with a frown. “Do you know a way we can contact herfamily?”
“I-um... I don’t think she’s on good terms with them. They live in Canada, I think. I guess I’mit.”
“Okay. We like to have family on record in case we need things like blood transfusions. It’s better coming from a relative who’s a match than adonor.”
“Okay.”
The doctor pointed toward the doors he’d walked through. “Thisway.”
I looked back at Zoe, and she waved me away. “Go,” she said. “She needsyou.”
Giving her a thin smile, I followed the doctor through the double door and down the hall to the area I assumed was intensive care. Through open doors, there were beds with patients hooked up to multiple machines, that strange hospital disinfectant smell hanging in theair.
I was led into a room toward the end of the hall where my eyes instantly settled on Jessie, and I didn’t know what I was supposed to feel. I mean, how were you meant to feel every emotion in the world at the same time and not beoverwhelmed?
She looked small and fragile, her skin hollow and pale. An IV was stuck in her arm, dripping clear liquid through a tube, and a machine was hooked up to one of those clips that sat over her finger to monitor her heart rate. Her left forearm was sealed in a white plaster cast, large and bulky compared to her slender frame. The cut on her forehead was stitched up into her hairline, and I knew that underneath the hospital gown, her skin would be covered in cuts and bruises. The room was silent, putting me onedge.
“Press the call button if you need anything or have any questions,” the doctor said kindly. “She looks rough, but she’s through the worst ofit.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled, grateful for the guy’skindness.
Once he’d left, I pulled a chair over to Jessie’s bedside and trailed a finger along the back of her hand, wondering how long it would be before she woke. I’d never wanted to see her big, brown Bambi eyes so much in my entirelife.
Curling my fingers through hers, I drew her hand to my mouth, pressing my lips to her knuckles. I had no idea what Jessie had been through to get to the point of having her stalker try to kill her, but whatever it was, I would be there for her. I didn’t think my heart would let me do anythingelse.
