Page 17 of Mostly My Girlfriend
Her eyes popped open and as soon as she focused on my face, she groaned.
“I told Daniel to wait until tomorrow.”
“And I’ll find some sufficient way to punish you for doing that after this is behind us.Iam your emergency contact.”
“It wasn’t a big deal,” she argued.
“Says the woman lying in the hospital bed,” I muttered. I didn’t want to jostle her so I pulled the heavy, squat chair as close to the bed as I could. I didn’t touch her hand again. I didn’t trust myself not to squeeze it and I didn’t want to add to her physical discomfort.
“I’m fine,” she said.
“A concussion is not fine. What happened?”
She sighed and closed her eyes. “I was crossing the street and I tripped over something. So I was bent over. A car coming to stop at the intersection didn’t see me, so he bumped into me.”
“A. Car. Hit. You.”
“It was an accident. I tripped and he just tapped me but…”
I snapped my jaw shut and clasped my hands together. A car had hit her head, hit her face. A tap, but if he’d had any kind of speed…
“I have to go,” I said as I stood abruptly. “I’ll check with the doctors. Before I leave.”
She nodded. “Okay. He’ll tell you. Staying overnight…it’s just a precaution. I’ll need a day or two off but then I’ll be back to work.”
“I’ll determine that after I speak to your doctor. Do you want me to call your mother? Maybe she could come…or your brothers.”
“Oh no, please don’t. She’ll only worry and it’s nothing. I’ll be home tomorrow.”
I pushed my hands into the pockets of my suit pants to steady them. “I’ll have Daniel come stay the night.”
She shook her head and I could tell it hurt her. “This is why I called him in the first place. Ethan, it’s not a big deal. Go home. I’ll see you in a few days.”
I started to walk out the door. There was no way I was going to be able to sit there all night with her, thinking about what could have happened. That I could have lost her. It would drive me mad. Five more miles per hour. Two? Could have crushed her skull.
My back to her, I was almost to do the door. “You’re sure you’re going to be okay?”
“Yep. I’m fine. No big deal.”
I stopped. That was a Julia answer. Which meant she wasn’t fine.
Shit. I was going to have to do this. I was going to have be stronger than I believed I was. For her.
“I’m going to go find the doctor. Then I’ll be back.”
She didn’t say anything, which made me think she’d already nodded off. The doctor confirmed what she’d told me. And he also confirmed what I knew. If the driver had been going any faster, it could have been fatal.
After walking back to her room, I took up residence in the chair while she slept. When she woke, she would see I hadn’t left her and it would mean something to her.
I ended up falling asleep in the damn chair and the next morning my neck probably hurt worse than her head.
* * *
Therapy
Ethan
“Hmm,” Carol noted. “Sounds to me like he spent the night with a friend who was in the hospital. I don’t know that I would classify that as a freak-out.”
