Page 6 of Want You

“Oh?” A voice came from the doorway and Nathan looked over to see a pretty nurse in pink scrubs. “Sorry, I didn’t realize Scottie had, um…” She waved her hand toward Nathan. “Well, a hockey player in his room.”

“He’s my brother,” Scottie mumbled, rolling his eyes.

“Oh, well, lucky you,” she said, seeming to regain her composure. “I’ve just got to take your vitals and then I’ll be out of your hair.” She smiled quickly at Nathan before strapping the cuff to Scottie’s upper arm. She didn’t look at Nathan again, which he was happy about. The last thing he needed was to be a distraction to medical professionals taking care of his brother.

Scottie hissed as the cuff tightened, and the nurse apologized but told him to take a deep breath. Nathan watched as his brother’s gaze met the nurse’s and she breathed slowly with him.

“Good. Very good.” She wrote down some numbers on his chart. “I’ll be back with a new bag,” she added before scurrying out of the room.

“She’s pretty,” Nathan said.

“She thought you were too,” Scottie said bitterly.

“No, she recognized me. There’s a difference. Trust me, I know it.” He could see the difference in her expression and hear it in her voice. Her eyes didn’t linger on him, she didn’t blush, she focused on Scottie. Her reaction was purely based on being surprised that there was a professional hockey player in the room and not that she was about to fall all over herself to get to him.

“They only had turkey left,” their mom said as she walked back into the room. “I know it’s not your favourite, but it cost sixteen dollars, so you better eat it.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Nathan said, taking the sandwich from her.

“I see no one has come to replace the bag yet.”

“The nurse said she was bringing one soon, don’t worry about it, Mom.” Scottie sighed, looking over at his brother.

“I saw that look, young man,” she scolded. “I’m your mother, it is my job to worry about you, and for good reason. You were hit by a damn bus. A bus!” she exclaimed as if she couldn’t believe what she was saying. “And you were dressed so nicely too, I saw the clothes in the bag after they cut them off of you. Why would they even bag those? Do they expect someone to sew them back together?”

The nurse walked back in and their mom shut up immediately. “Sorry, I’m just going to quickly swap the bag.” She held up the bag as though they needed evidence.

“Thank you, dear,” their mom said, sitting on the end of the bed, the events of the night showing on her face.

“Did you sleep at all, Mom?” Nathan asked, glancing over at the chair on the opposite side of his. The thin hospital blanket the nurse had brought them last night was still folded over the back, unused.

“I couldn’t. I just watched his chest the whole time.” She patted Scottie’s leg as her eyes filled with tears. “I just kept thinking how close I was to seeing you never breathe again.” Giant tears rolled down her cheeks and Nathan rubbed her back. The tears came faster, the realization of how close she had come to losing her youngest child overwhelming her.

“Why did I know I’d walk into this?” Nathan looked over to see their sister, Emma, standing there, her long black coat draped over one arm and a rolling suitcase set beside her.

Emma was the oldest, widowed, and as no-nonsense as they came, but that didn’t stop her from setting her stuff in the corner of the room and pulling their mother into her arms.

“Not a great way to start the new year, little brother. Also, this seems like a really extreme way to get us all in one room,” she said over their mom’s head.

“Hey, Mom was complaining that we’re never together anymore. I had to do something.”

“You’re already the favourite, you didn’t have to do anything,” Nathan drawled, sitting down heavily in the chair.

“I love you all equally,” their mom stuttered, stepping away from her daughter and reaching for a tissue.

“Why are you dressed up?” Emma asked, giving Nathan a once-over. “You didn’t play last night.”

“We had a charity thing.” He shrugged.

“I bet your date wasn’t thrilled when you had to take off.” She laughed, reaching for Scottie’s chart. “Wow, you are lucky, kid,” she breathed out. “Hit by a bus and you may only need surgery on your shoulder. That’s some wild luck.”

Scottie laughed, and then alarms started going off. Nathan watched in horror as his brother went limp.

“Get them out of the room,” someone shouted, and Nathan and his family were ushered into the hallway, their view of Scottie blocked by countless bodies.

CHAPTER 3

OCTAVIA