Page 9 of Fractured Hope
“Yeah, I fell a while ago, then fell on it again today. It’s nothing,” he added, trying to pull away from Doc.
“Okay,” Doc said hesitantly, sending me a knowing look. “I would like to have your wrist X-rayed, too. They’ll probably ask you what happened again, so I’m sorry, but you’ll have to go through this all again when you get to the hospital.” Doc moved on, knowing there was no point pushing too much more. “I can call the head of the ER. We did our residencies together back in the day, so at least they’ll know you’re coming.” With that final comment, he patted Bodhi’s shoulder and left the room just as Seb came crashing in. We both looked up in alarm as Seb filled the doorway with his larger-than-life physique. Bodhi shrank in on himself as Seb came into the room.
I rose to greet him with a hug.
“You really are okay,” he said with relief. “So, who do we have here?” He turned toward Bodhi. “You must be the injured party I’ve heard nothing about.” He winked in Bodhi’s direction and elbowed me to introduce him.
“This is Bodhi—” I waved my hand at Bodhi. “—and this is my brother Sebastian, or Seb, as we call him.”
“The best-looking brother,” Seb added with his patentedlook at medashing smile. Bodhi sat frozen as Seb approached and took Doc’s seat by the couch. Seb was the tallest and bulkiestof us. He and I did look similar; although, his nearly black hair was long and wavy. His beard was also longer and thicker than mine. Bodhi’s reaction seemed to be about more than just Seb’s presence. He’d been tensed up since my brother was in the doorway. Was he scared of Seb?
Punching my brother on the shoulder, I growled. “Leave him alone, jackass.” I gestured for Seb to follow me out so I could explain everything and get going as soon as possible. “Just give me a sec,” I said over my shoulder to a stoic and frozen Bodhi as I pushed Seb through to the office and closed the door behind us.
“He’s just your type. An injured stray,” Seb said, waggling his eyebrows.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I flicked my hair out of my eyes and ignored his comment. “Just come on. I need to go through the day’s customers with you real quick. Oh, and sleeping beauty agreed to come in, so keep an eye out for him.”
Seb chuckled, gathering his thick hair up into his customary bun, ready to get to work. I went through the schedule and told him about the accident and how Bodhi was injured. I also made a note to investigate getting that storm drain fixed and the garage door greased. Seb offered to make a few calls.
What a way to start the day.
5
BODHI
Waiting in the break room,fatigue and pain plagued my body. I was still on edge after seeing the hulking form of Sebastian in the doorway. He was huge and ripped. For a moment my whole body had tensed, and my breath raced as I thought Derek had found me, but that wasn’t possible...right?
Resting my head back, I closed my eyes. I would love nothing more than to fall asleep and wake up in that rusted-old truck with this only being a bizarre dream. But I knew better than to wish pain didn’t exist.
I must’ve dozed off, however, since I was lightly shaken awake with a hand on my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see Atticus’s kind face looking down at me.
“Let’s get you up and in the truck, and we can get going,” he said softly. He carefully helped me sit up and braced me as he pulled my good arm over his shoulders. He put his other arm around my waist as he lifted me onto my good leg. I hopped a little unsteadily, since he was so much taller than me. He was almost crouched in half trying to help me walk. I turned and sat on the seat by the sofa.
“Just give me a sec,” I said with a wince because his arm had been around my waist and his hand had pressed on my sore ribs. I checked around suddenly as a panicked thought popped into my head. “Where’s my backpack?” How had I forgotten about it! Pain really messed with my head.
“It’s okay. Doc brought it in, and I already placed it in my truck.”
“Okay,” I said, then chewed on my lower lip.
“Do you mind if I carry you?” Atticus asked hesitantly. “It might be quicker and not put any added weight on your injuries.”
Embarrassed at my predicament, I simply nodded and braced myself for him to pick me up. It didn’t hurt as much this time because I was ready. I carefully placed my good arm around his neck as he carried me bridal style out of the break room and through the garage to where a truck was idling in the driveaway, the passenger door hanging open. He carefully placed me on the seat and even buckled my belt as I sat there blinking stupidly at him.
No one had ever cared if I was buckled in, and a weird feeling blossomed in my chest. My cheeks warmed as I turned away, but I managed to mutter “thank you” as he closed the door and went around the driver’s side of the truck to get in. I couldn’t see Sebastian but knew he must’ve been there somewhere as we left for the hospital, wherever that was.
As we headed away from Hope’s Ridge, back the way I’d come into town, I gazed out the window and watched the land go by. Fields and farmland quickly changed into forests and mountains. I gazed into the dense woods and all I could see was darkness. The sun still hadn’t risen over the ridge line. Could the light even penetrate these foreboding woods and show the predators it likely contained? How had I come so far to only be heading back to another hospital? At least this time it really wasan accident. It felt like I was always going back there one way or another. Stopping that train of thought, I turned to watch Atticus as he drove.
“Thank you for driving me and for everything back there,” I said with a smile. It was nice of him, especially when it seemed to be so far away. I wouldn’t have had a hope in hell of getting there by myself.
“It’s no trouble, I swear.” He turned to flash me a smile.
Groaning, I considered what this trip was going to cost. There was no way I had enough cash to cover it. I might have enough for half the bill and that wasn’t including the X-rays. What was I going to do? Maybe a payment plan, but I still didn’t have a phone or permanent address yet.Shit.
“What’s the matter? Are you in pain?” Atticus rushed to ask. He appeared so stressed that I just blurted out my thoughts.
“I was just thinking about how much this will cost. I don’t have insurance. . . at the moment.” I wouldn’t and couldn’t use Derek’s, even though I was sure I was still listed on his plan. He was always the one to take me to the doctor or ER after a bad “accident” to ensure I “healed right” and made certain they all knew how clumsy I was. It was rare for him to bother to take me, but it was because he needed to make sure I kept my mouth shut. The one and only time I’d gone to an actual hospital without him or his permission had only made things worse. It had been the final straw that had kick-started my escape plan. Memories of one of the worst injuries broke through to the front of my mind, even though I didn’t want to think about it.
I could barely breathe. Something was horribly wrong. I’d snuck out while he was at work and gone to our local emergency room. It turned out I had a bruised lung and cracked rib. Thankfully I didn’t need surgery. The hospital hadkept me for about a week. Derek had been furious but always hid it well in public. Once I was discharged and sent home, Derek had let his displeasure be known and he’d rearranged my face. One of the few times he’d visibly marked me where people would’ve been able to see. He said it was my fault for embarrassing him by going to a hospital for my clumsiness. He’d taken time off work to keep an eye on me until the bruising healed. I didn’t dare go to the hospital again after that.
