Page 66 of The Tip-Off
Gabby
I don’t like hospitals.Not that anyone really does, but my fear is rooted from waking up four years ago not remembering my friends or family and staring back at a face that I didn’t recognize. The memory loss was temporary, but the scary reality of how close I came to dying is a constant presence. It impacts everything I do without me even consciously aware that I’m doing it. Although, right now, I’m fully aware that I never want to get behind the wheel of a car again.
Blair comes around the corner of the curtain pulled in front of the bed I’m sitting on inside the emergency room with wide eyes. “Thank God.”
She squeezes me hard and I wince. “Easy there.”
“Sorry.” She pulls back and eyes my bandaged wrist. “Wes and Nathan are in the waiting room and your mom wants you to call her as soon as we get home.”
“You called my mom?!” I hop off the table and groan. “On a scale from one to ten, how nuts did she sound?”
“Eleven.”
“If she shows up at our apartment, I’m going to kill you.”
I use Blair’s phone to call my mom on the ride home. I close my eyes and listen to her sob. I promise to call if I need anything, to take it easy, and to be careful. The last one is a signature promise that she demands every time we talk. In return, she promises not to come, and I relax a bit as we hang up the phone.
“Okay, tiny step up here,” Blair’s voice is bordering condescending as she helps me into our apartment. Behind her, Nathan has a hand at my back like I might topple over at any moment. Oh, and don’t worry, Wes is in front guiding me like I’ve gone blind instead of broken my wrist.
“You guys are being ridiculous, I’m fine.” I move my hands up above my head and shake my body as if to prove my point, but a stab of pain causes me to wince and I give in and let Blair drag me to the couch.
“Try and keep it elevated as much as possible. It’ll help with the swelling,” Wes says, offering me a sympathetic smile.
“I’ve got this, really. This is nothing compared to…” My words trail off and the memory of what rough shape I was in after the last accident causes me to hold my tongue.
“Do you need anything before bed? I could help you get changed or do you want me to sleep with you?”
I have to laugh at her stubborn but loyal will. “I’m okay, Blair. Honest. I’m gonna hang out here for a few minutes and then go to bed.”
She doesn’t move for a moment, just stares at me gauging my ability to manage on my own. She steps to me quickly and wraps me in a tight hug. “I’m sorry I’m being a mother hen, but I was so scared. I love you, Gabs.”
“Me too,” I whisper, emotions clogging my throat. I refuse to cry. I am not opening those floodgates and taking a ride on the pity express.
When she finally releases me and heads to her room, Nathan takes a seat next to me. He was quiet the whole way back from the hospital. Guilt practically seeps from him like the alcohol I can smell. I rest my head on his shoulder. “Sorry about your car.”
“Stop apologizing. It was a piece of shit anyway. I should have been with you. I never would have let you drive home by yourself if I’d known.” His mouth pulls into a tight line. “If I’d known you hadn’t driven since the accident.”
“I was trying to prove that I’m a big girl who can take care of myself. Fitting, right?”
He wraps his arms around me and squeezes lightly. I pull away and yawn. “I should get some sleep. Vanessa is at Mario’s if you want to take her bed.”
“Nah, I’m good on the couch.” As if to prove it, he lies down and cocks his arm behind his head.
After I grab him a blanket and pillow, I shut myself in my room and awkwardly attempt to lift my dress over my head. “Curse you Spandex.”
I’m breathing heavy by the time I get one arm through the dress, so I say screw it to changing for bed and climb under the covers with my dress up around my chest. Despite how tired I am, sleep doesn’t come easily. The only plus side, the throbbing of my wrist has made the headache pale in comparison.
Every time I close my eyes, I hear the squealing of tires and the crunch of the back of Nathan’s car when I was rear-ended. My heart races and I push the tears back. I will not go there. It took me so long to move on last time and I don’t want to spend another four years recovering from this one. It was an accident. Accidents happen. I’m okay. I’m okay.
I’m okay.
* * *
Zeke
The front door is unlocked, so I slip inside Gabby’s apartment and spot Nathan sleeping on the couch. I move as quietly as possible to her room. For the first time since I got the call from Nathan that she’d been in a car accident, my lungs fill with air.
I slip off my shoes and climb in behind her and pull her into my arms. She turns to me and slowly opens her eyes. She smiles, closes her eyes, and then as if just realizing I’m here, they fly back open. She throws an arm around me, hitting me in the head with the cast in the process. We both wince, but I hug her tightly.
