Page 51 of Loathing Ryan
“Come here, Bells,” he murmured, his eyes closed, but his arm outstretched toward me. “Stop overthinking everything.”
I took a deep breath, feeling some of my stress leaving my body at his invitation. I took his hand. It felt warm in my own, steady. Wordlessly, he dragged me onto the couch, where I nestled into his side, my head resting on his chest. He kissed my hair before laying his cheek on top of my head.
A few moments later, he broke the silence. “What’s on your mind, pretty girl?” His voice was a soft rumble against my cheek.
I sighed and leaned back to look at him. “People are going to talk. They’ll think we snuck off on purpose or something along those lines. I’m sure everyone is already gossiping about us.”
“So what?” He shrugged. “Let them. Their opinions mean nothing.” He kissed my forehead. “The only opinion I care about is yours.”
A soft smile formed on my lips as I leaned back against him, accepting his warmth. “Yeah, I guess so.”
We lay together like that for about half an hour before the commotion began again. The paramedics rushed into the room and tore us apart from each other so they could do their exams. They decided that Ryan and I would take a hospital trip for further evaluations. The paramedics assessed quickly to ensure we weren’t in any acute danger.
They hustled us both outside and into the rigs. We each got our own, meaning that Ryan was far from me. I tried calling out to him as they were putting us in the ambulance, but there was too much going on. He didn’t hear me. The door of the ambulance slammed closed behind me, and we were off.
“Alright, darlin’, let’s get you down on this bed. I’m going to go ahead and hook you up to an IV to get some fluids in you,” the younger paramedic instructed me. I did as he asked and tried not to look as I felt the needle pierce the vein in my arm.
My team hooked me to a heart monitor and a blood pressure reader. They didn’t bother me much on the drive over to the hospital. I got asked what had happened to me, and they were amazed that Ryan and I had survived so long by ourselves. But other than that, nothing. I was ignored unless it was a question about how I felt or if anything hurt. When I told them I sprained my ankle, they put it through different ranges of motion just like Ryan had, testing out the ligaments and asking me where it hurt. Though I felt the twinges occasionally, they didn’t seem too concerned about the minor injury. They agreed to do some imaging just to be safe.
Once we made it to the hospital, it was the same ordeal over again. They rolled me into the emergency room on my gurney, and I was immediately put into a treatment room. Doctors and nurses hovered over me, asking questions and giving orders. My eyes darted this way and that, trying to find Ryan, but I didn’t see him.
My heart started to race. I could hear the rhythm of a machine off to the side. I grabbed ahold of one of my nurse’s arms. She looked at me, alarmed, as if she had forgotten I wasn’t unconscious.
“Do you know where my...friend is?” I asked her. I wasn’t really sure what else to call him. He was my friend, true. But usually, friends didn’t put their mouths in the places Ryan’s mouth had been on me.
The nurse’s eyes softened, and she gave me a small smile. “He’s down the hall. Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to discuss his care with anyone other than family.” I nodded, and she smiled again. “If you want to reach out to him yourself, feel free.”
The doctors worked and checked me over. They x-rayed my ankle, then ruled out a fracture before wrapping it in gauze. The wrap would have to stay on for a few days, and I was to ice it as soon as I got home. Until then, I was still hooked to many different IVs for fluid and vitamins. They finally determined I was stable and moved me to a patient room for overnight observation.
I had to admit, laying in a quiet room with a heated blanket and a TV was a luxury I wouldn’t take for granted again, even if it was in a hospital. They had given me a package of chocolate pudding and apple juice: a weird combination but very welcome after living off canned beans and fish for a week.
Eventually, my parents showed up. My mom was hysterical, and my dad had tears in his eyes when he saw me lying in the hospital bed. I was even surprised to see my sister, Sage, in tow. She rushed in and wrapped her arms around my neck, tears streaming down her freckled face.
“Careful, Sage,” my mother admonished as she pulled her away from me.
I gave a small chuckle. “It’s fine, Mom. I’m not hurt that bad. Just a sprained ankle.”
My mom leaned in and kissed my cheek while my dad stroked my hair. “Oh, Izzie, we were so worried about you.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“We’re just glad you’re okay,” my dad said, his voice rough with emotion. “We were so scared when they called to tell us you and that boy had gone missing.”
Sage pulled away from me and wiped her face. “Speaking of that boy. I heard it was Ryan Miller that you disappeared with.” The blue eyes that matched my own pierced me with an amused gleam. My sister was no stranger to the saga of Ryan and my rivalry. Aside from Juliet, my sister was my best friend. I usually told her everything.
Though, now that she was asking, I couldn’t help but feel like I wanted to keep what happened between Ryan and me private–at least for now. I sighed and shifted around on the pillow. “Yeah, it was Ryan. We kind of got into it the day before, and they assigned us as partners.”
My dad frowned. “Who is this Ryan fellow? You two have a history?” He looked between me and my sister, who wouldn’t meet his gaze.
“I guess you could say that,” I muttered. Dad didn’t like that answer; I could tell by the frown that deepened on his face, but he let it go.
“Well, it doesn’t matter now, Dan. She’s safe. That’s all that matters,” my mom redirected him. She looked over her shoulder. “I think that’s Izzie’s doctor out there. Let’s go talk to her.” Grabbing my dad’s hand, she practically dragged him out the door, leaving Sage and me alone.
I fiddled with my fingers while Sage stared me down. “So, are you gonna tell me or what?”
I turned to look at her in faux confusion. “Tell you what?”
She groaned and covered her face. “Please, Izabel, it’s written all over your face. You and Ryan?”
