“You know I will. Get some sleep. I’m going to grab a coffee. I’ll be back in a few.”
A few minutes after Brady walked out, Mikaila came back in. Right on fucking time, as usual, to fuck things up. She teased, “Hi, baby.”
She’s fucking batshit crazy. “You can’t be serious right now, Mikaila. Did you fall on your head?”
“No, silly. Jesse, I miss you. I’m sorry for everything that happened between us. I’m so glad you’re okay. I was so worried.”
I wanted to throw up a little bit. “Who called you?”
“What? I’m so confused.”
I repeated, “Whocalled you and told you to come here?”
“Ethan. He was scared and said you would feel better if you woke up and saw me here. I thought you told him that you still had feelings for me or something.”
“My fucking god. Ethan is a dirtbag, Mikaila. You have lost the fucking plot. I want you to leave and never come back. I never want to see you again.” I couldn’t sugar coating anything with her.
“Jesse…”
I held my hand up to stop her from talking. “No. You fucked my best friend. Myexbest friend. What’s the matter? That tinyneedle dick not doing it for you anymore? Get the fuck out of here, Mikaila. You and I… never again.”
Her expression changed from shocked to angry, then from angry to hurt.Good, I thought.It didn’t even come close to the way she made me feel. She didn’t say anything, just picked up her purse and stormed out.
Everything was a mess and I needed to fix things with Laida. She probably felt betrayed, and I was stuck in a fucking hospital bed. There was no way I could wait for Brady to go see her.Itwasjusta little smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion. They treated me with an I.V. full of fluid and I already felt better. Keeping me in the hospital was just for them to watch over me and let me rest, but I’d only rest after I knew Laida was okay and she understood that I didn’t want Mikaila, I wantedher.
Brady came back into the room to see me getting myself dressed. “Whoa. What the fuck are you doing?”
Giving him a stern look, I said, “You’re gonna take me to Laida.”
“Woah! First, it’s almost four o’clock in the morning. Second, you haven’t being released. Did you yank your fucking I.V. out?”
“You know as well as I do, I’m fine. I’ll drink more water. They’ve given me a steroid to help with the inflammation in my airway. I’ll schedule a follow-up appointment. We can pick up some cough drops on the way. Let’s go.”Cough, Hack, Cough.
“Cough drops? For fuck’s sake, Jesse, Chief isn’t gonna like this.”
“I’ll deal with the Chief later. Get me out of here.”
***
Brady and I pulled down Laida’s gravel driveway.
I glanced at him and said, “I’ll be right back.” When I got to her door, I knocked, but she didn’t answer. I knocked harder and louder. I could hear Rusty barking. She wouldn’t be happy about that. When she finally peeked through the curtain in the door, she looked startled and confused. Then she opened it and stared at me.
“Hey,” I said, then coughed and doubled over.
“Jesse! What the hell are doing here? You’re supposed to be in the hospital.”
“Water…”
“Come here.” She grabbed me and helped me walk inside. “Are you bleeding?” We looked down at my arm. I didn’t apply pressure long enough to where I had taken the IV out.
I shrugged. “Oh, that. It’s fine. It’s where I yanked the IV out.”
“Oh my god! You’re crazy. Sit down here, in the kitchen. Let me get you cleaned up.” I watched Laida as she rushed around the kitchen to get me a glass of water and a first-aid kit. After she handed me the water, she said, “I can’t believe you left the hospital… do I smell cough drops?”
“Yeah, the herbal kind. I thought you’d like that.”Cough. Hack. Cough.
She shook her head, laughed, and said, “Oh, well that makes everything better. You’re an idiot. Drink up.”
