Page 10 of Under His Control

“You remind me of my daughter, Ruthie. She likes to crack jokes too when she’s not feeling well.”

She asks me questions as she scribbles quickly on her clipboard, then leaves with a promise that a doctor will come see me. Eventually, I’m examined by the doctor, and it’s good news. Nothing broken or torn, and despite smacking my head against the window, I don’t have a concussion.

“You still need to rest,” the doctor says. “Don’t overwork yourself. You’re going to be sore for the next few days.”

Starting right now.

My body feels like I got ran over by my car instead of rolling around inside it. Hopefully the painkiller she gave me kicks in soon.

I leave the room clutching my bag to my side like I’m afraid someone will snatch it. Chances are high it’ll happen with the horrible way this day has gone so far.

What do I do now?

My car is out of commission, and anyone who I’d call to come get me are several hours away.

If I call Aunt Dee, I’ll have to explain why I’m here. I definitely don’t want her to know about the debt. I’ve been hiding it from her for months because she’s easily stressed, especially when a loved one is in trouble. It doesn’t help that she has high blood pressure too. I can’t call Kevin either because he blabs everything to his mom.

“Miss Greene?”

The familiar voice pulls me out of my anxious thoughts. I blink, suddenly aware I’m standing in the hospital’s lobby. When did I get here?

I turn to the person who spoke. Officer Brent offers me a sympathetic smile and gestures at the chairs.

“Mind if we have a seat and finish that statement?”

We sit while I go over in greater detail what happened with the moose. When he asks me why I was in Wenora, I give him a vague answer that I was visiting a friend.

I want to laugh, though. A friend? Yes, there was a time when Jacob and I were friends. Good friends.

Not anymore and never again.

Now he probably wishes he never met me.

Officer Brent glances at my forehead. I saw the bruise in a mirror in the exam room. Everyone at work is going to think I got punched in the head. How am I even going to hide it from Aunt Dee? She’ll get suspicious if I’m wearing hats all the time.

“You look like you need a warm bed ASAP,” he says.

I give him a weak smile. “I really do.”

“Need a ride somewhere?”

“The nearest motel, if you can.”

He grimaces. “That’ll be over an hour’s drive from here with the storm going. I have to stay close for other calls.”

My eyebrows rise. “There aren’t any places for visitors in Wenora?”

“Yeah, just one, but it’s undergoing repairs. A frozen pipe burst last week and the place got flooded.”

“Wow.”

It’s all I can say as the nightmare continues. From a car accident with a moose to being stranded in an unfamiliar town with nowhere to spend the night. What the fuck next? Bloodthirsty werewolves? A mysterious plague? I demand a refund on this horror movie because it sucks.

“What about that friend you came to see?” Officer Brent asks. “Will they let you crash on their couch?”

My jaw clenches as Jacob’s last words replay in my mind. I open my mouth to respond but Officer Brent speaks first.

“You can on mine if you want.”