Page 16 of Mostly My Girlfriend
“Yeah, she was probably right to call me,” Daniel muttered.
“Who called you about what? You gave me the bat signal, Daniel, tell me what’s happening.”
“Okay, but just know she’s okay. Jules was in a car accident…”
I didn’t hear anything after that. The buzzing in my ears drowned him out. I heardJules. I heardaccident.
Then I heardhospital.
“She didn’t want you to freak out, but they’re keeping her overnight for observation, so she won’t be at work tomorrow.”
“Tell me where she is.”
“She’s at Virginia Mason. But it’s just a concussion and some bruising around her face. She called and told me to let you know tomorrow because she didn’t want you to overreact, but I figured you would want to know.”
She’d called Daniel. Who was supposed to tell me tomorrow.
Good thing she wasn’t too hurt, because when I saw her, I was going to kill her.
I ended the call without saying goodbye and caught the maître d’s attention.
“Yes, sir?”
“Please explain to the lady at the table near the window there has been a family emergency and I needed to leave. Put whatever she wants on my tab then call an Uber to see her home safely.”
“Yes, sir.”
I texted my driver, who was parked nearby, and waited for him at the corner of the street.
He pulled up and I got in the passenger seat next to him instead of in back like I normally did. As if being up front would get me where I needed to go faster.
“Virginia Mason Hospital. As fast as you can, Sean. Don’t stop for red lights.”
“Yes, sir.”
* * *
Virginia Mason
Ethan
I opened the door to her room. There were two beds but the bed closest to the door was empty. Which meant maybe I wouldn’t have to spend the night sleeping in the chair next to her. I could pay the hospital for the room and board if they gave me a problem.
I stopped before I pulled back the thin curtain and took a few breaths. That edgy feeling of panic had been with me since Daniel called. The sense of things being out of control usually wasn’t good for my mental health and when it came to Jules…
There was a reason she needed to be contained into certain compartments in my head. Reasons I had to have full control over my emotions at all times, especially when it came to her.
There are going to be bruises. But she’s fine.
The anger surfaced, but I breathed through it until I felt steady enough to see her.
I rounded the corner of the curtain and froze. The right side of her face was scraped pretty badly and there was a red mark across her forehead that looked fairly nasty. Her eyes were closed, and I could see her chest rise and fall.
I took my breaths with hers. In and out until I had control over my thoughts and feelings. Only then did I reach out to touch her hand. But I could see mine was still shaking.
I remembered the night I’d once spent in the hospital. A drunken debacle that had basically ended my college career as far as my parents were concerned. As drunk as I’d been, though, I remember hearing her voice through all the noise. I remember how it anchored me when I was lost and confused.
“Jules,” I said quietly. Not enough to wake her if she was truly asleep, but enough to let her know I was there, if she was awake and simply hurting.
