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She puttered around the room for a moment, washing her hands and clearing away the bandages, and I gazed out my window, lost in thought.
I couldn’t pretend that a part of me wasn’t longing, even now, to be back on the island.
Everything seemed so perfect while we were there. All the animosity between Jake and me had disappeared, as if we’d left ourselves behind and stepped into another world. I had believed things would be different between us when we returned to the mainland. I’d thought we might even be…
It was embarrassing to think about it now. The fact that I’d thought we would be together, in a relationship… of course, that had never been a possibility. I’d been stupid to hold out hope for it. In fact, I didn’t even want that. The stupid thing was that I had allowed myself, over and over again, to be pulled in by him when I knew the kind of man he was.
I knew I didn’t want anything to do with him.
I’d always known he would hurt me, and I had let myself get hurt anyway. This was entirely my fault.
The nurse was unwrapping a needle now. “The doctor will be in to look at that in a moment, but I’d like to take some blood, and then I’ll get you on a painkiller.”
“I don’t need one.” The pills I had taken on the helicopter were still working, and though they barely muted the pain in my arm, which was still intense, it was more important for me to be clear-headed. I didn’t want to get all foggy while I was trying to sort out what was happening between Jake and me.
And besides, he might try to stop by before he left, and if that happened, I definitely needed to be alert so that we could have a conversation.
“Yes, you do,” the nurse said. “After all the work the doctor did on your arm, you need to relax if you’re going to heal. And besides, there’s no point sitting around in pain. Don’t argue. Take what you’re being offered. You don’t need to try to be brave about this.”
She had a point. And besides, maybe it would be nice to turn my mind off for a bit. “All right,” I allowed. “But nothing too strong.” I didn’t want to be knocked out.
She approached my good arm with the needle. I watched as she found my vein. “What’s this for?”
“A blood draw.”
“Why are you drawing blood?”
“You’re probably malnourished after spending time on the island. We’ll figure out what vitamins and nutrients you need and set up a drip to make sure you’re back in top shape before we let you go tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” My heart sank. “I have to stay overnight?”
“Yes, you have to stay overnight. The doctor wants to monitor you and make sure everything is stable before letting you go.”
“But I’m fine. You’ve finished cleaning up my arm. Can’t I leave?”
“Do you have somewhere you want to be?”
“I’d like to go home.”
“Is that really more important than your health?” she asked.
“I guess not.” I’d lost my job, and I wasn’t getting a flight back to California tonight. This way, I wouldn’t have to pay for a hotel.
“That’s the spirit. Don’t worry. We’ll have you out first thing tomorrow morning. It isn’tthatserious. And besides, there are other people who need your bed. You’ll be able to get on a plane tomorrow. You can even go ahead and book it tonight—that’s how confident I am that you won’t be staying with us any longer than one night.”
“Okay.” That did make me feel a little better. “What about the guy I came in with?”
“He’ll be released tonight, assuming his blood test doesn’t reveal anything too concerning.”
That was annoying. I didn’t see why he could go, but I had to stay. The injury to my arm wasn’t that serious. Now that the doctor has addressed my burn, he should be able to send me on my way.
But on the other hand, at least Jake would be gone, and I wouldn’t have to worry about seeing him anymore. Maybe I’d stay here and enjoy Hawaii for a while. It would be hard on my budget, and I really needed to start looking for another job, but… I could use the vacation.”
The nurse finished taking my blood. “I’ll take this down to the lab, and the doctor will be in to see you shortly,” she said.
I lay back on my bed to wait for the results of the exam and tried to ignore the throbbing of my arm.
To my own astonishment, I managed to fall asleep for a little while. I guess I was so exhausted from the whole ordeal that even the pain of a serious burn couldn’t keep me awake.
