Page 23 of Not Falling for the Forward
The nurse I am chatting to lifts a brow when she sees what I have smiled at, “Make it more obvious why don’t you.” My head shoots back to her and my grin drops. Shit. Does she know I sent them? She must notice my horror because she adds, “Relax, lover boy. I’m Jess, her best friend. I already know.”
A new grin replaces my old one at this nugget of information, “She told you about us?” I had obviously heard of Jess, she is Emily’s best friend, the cock-blocker from her driveway.I’m still bitter about that.
“From what I hear, there isn’t an ‘us’. Just ayoutrying to be an us.” Ouch. That hurt. My grin swiftly disappears again but she continues, lowering her voice significantly. “Listen, Jack. She’s an extremely private person. I’m her best friend and even I only get nuggets of information. The only reason she told me is because she couldn’t understand why someone like you would want her.” She looks me up and down, “Not that you’re anything to write home about. She’s a bombshell and you’d be lucky to get a chance.” I grin and nod in agreement, she absolutely is and I would. “Keep trying.”
“What?” I say too loudly, we both look around to make sure no one is paying attention to us. Happy that they aren’t, Jess tugs my arm to turn us around so we are facing the wall.
“Keep asking her out. She hasn’t given herself permission to date after Chris.” She makes a retching sound and I second that statement about him. “But she wants too. I can tell. She never tells me about anyone she has ever liked, or whatever she feels, and she has spoken about you basically every day. I don’t even think she realises she’s doing it. I shouldn’t even be telling you this, it feels like a betrayal, but the flowers were a nice touch. Keep doing what you’re doing, okay? I think you’re getting close.”
I grin. “Yeah, I can do that.”
“And if you ever tell her we’ve had this conversation, I’ll cut you.” She glares at me.
“Jesus Christ.”
Despite the threat, I want to spend more time with Jess, to ask more. I’m desperate for more information about how Emily feels. Butwe are quickly led away to our last stop of the day. The day room where a small group of kids and their parents are eagerly waiting for us.
“Jack, Jack!” a small dark-haired boy around eight years old is sat in a chair and waving at me. “Look!” He points down and I see a pot cast from hip to toe on his left leg. “I broke it, but dad says I’ll be alright cause you did yours and you can still play football.” He looks up at me hopefully then to the man sat next to him who must be the boy’s father. They look as if someone had copied and pasted the boy from the man but made him smaller.
I nod enthusiastically at the boy and offer the man my hand to shake, “Yeah, I’m okay now. But it took time, and training, and I had to listen to a load of people who knew better than me and follow all the exercises they told me to do. Do you think you’ll be able to do that?” He nods enthusiastically, a big grin on his face. “What’s your name?”
“Kamal.”
“Nice to meet you, Kamal.” I pull up a chair to create a circle with him and his father. “Now are you going to tell me how on earth you ended up with such a big cast on your leg?”
A couple of hours later I am exhausted from chatting to so many people, but happy to have been here. As we are on our way out, I spot Kamal in his room very animatedly talking to someone I can’t see. “He told me about physios and how I had to do the exercises they give you and don’t give up, and he told me it’s okay for me to be upset I can’t play with my friends for a bit because it’ll be so much better when I can.”
“Did he? Sounds like he had some good advice!” A musical voice answers as the woman I have been searching for all day—hell my whole life—appears out of a connecting room with an IV medication in her hand.
“Hey bud,” I say as I pop my head around the door. Emily freezes, spine going rod straight, as she keeps her back to me. “Just wanted to let you know I’m going, and I hope you feel better soon.” I see Emily flinch slightly.
“Nurse Em, it’s him!” Kamal bounces up and down on the bed to the best of his ability with a huge cast on his leg. I watch as Emily visibly takes a deep breath and finally turns around to face me with a huge smile on her face.
A huge. Fake. Smile.
My heart sinks.
“So it is!” she exclaims and goes back to busying herself with the boy’s medication.
“Come in and meet Nurse Em, Jack, she’s the best nurse here, she’s so funny and sometimes she gets me extra ice cream at dinner.” Kamal waves me in and God forbid I go against that excited little boy’s wishes.
I step slightly in to the room as Emily stage whispers to Kamal, “Didn’t I tell you it wassecretextra ice cream?” She exaggerates ‘secret’.
“Oh, yeah.” Kamal shrugs, “Well have you met my friend, Jack?”
“A couple of times now actually…” Emily smiles at the boy and then finally, turns to fully face me. There is a more genuine expression on her face, as if she is over her original shock of me being here. She asks, “Have you had a nice day?”
“Absolutely, I met my new best mate,” I say pointing to Kamal. I hear him whisper to himself something like,‘Dad will be so jealous’, but I’m too interested in looking at the gorgeous brunette in front of me; she’s very distracting.
“Did you get my flowers?” I ask, knowing that they are waiting on a table in the staff room for her to take them home.
“I did. Thank you very much,” she says walking towards me at the entrance of the door. Her gaze is fixed to the floor. Suddenly shy.As if my attention has her flustered. Has no one ever begged for her attention before? I find that very hard to believe. Look at her!
“You’re very welcome,” I say as I step in to her space. I place a finger under her chin lifting her head so her eyes meet mine. Deep forest green stares back at me.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming today?” she asks, sounding a little hurt.
“I wanted to surprise you.”
