AllFreeNovel
Share Us
After I pull up to the emergency department at the hospital, I get a wheelchair and come back for Margot, who is snoring quietly like she didn’t have the shit beat out of her.
“Hey. Lilly-girl. You need to wake up. You might have a concussion.” I gently shake her, and when she opens her right eye, I can tell she is in more pain than I first thought. Her left eye is swollen completely shut, and there are already bruises forming on her face and the exposed part of her neck that look like someone painted her with a black marker.
“I got it, Jake. You can go,” she whispers and slowly moves into the wheelchair, pulling away from my touch in a way that I don’t like at all.
“No. I’m not going anywhere. I gotta make sure you’re okay.” I push the wheelchair through the electric doors, and we are instantly bombarded with nursing staff coming to take control of the situation.
I gladly hand her off and stand off to the side while they work. I know that I’ll be here for a few hours, so I pull out my phone and check it, knowing I’ll undoubtedly have a few messages that I need to answer.
Yep, there are multiple messages from Brian asking what happened. Instead of texting back, I dial my friend and look at the clock while I wait for him to answer. It’s almost midnight, and yet I’m not the least bit tired.
“Jake. Finally. How’s our girl?”
“I don’t know anything yet. Jimmy Evers did a number on her though. Her face is pretty bad. They’ve taken her back for some tests now. I’m just gonna hang out here until I have some answers.”
“Maya says she’s on her way.” He sounds distracted. “You can go. You don’t need to stay.”
“Screw that shit, Brian. I’m staying.” My blood boils at the insinuation that I shouldn’t be there. It doesn’t matter that I have a girlfriend. What matters is that Margot needs me. I promised her a long time ago that I’ll always be there for her. “Keep Maya at home.”
“What about Ray? Why isn’t he there with her?”
“Who the hell is Ray?” The red haze that has been staying at the edge of my vision is growing steadily worse.
“Raymond James. The new firefighter… a redhead. Maya said that they were going on a date tonight.”
“She’s dating a hose chaser? Wait, that doesn’t make sense. Margot wouldn’t date a fireman.”
“I dunno. That’s just what Maya said. Margot spent the evening in my room while I was kicked out so that she could get ready for tonight after the chief’s meeting. You’ll have to ask her.”
“Oh, trust me, I will. I gotta go. The doc is coming over.” I hang up on Brian, forcing myself to take a calming breath before I punch someone. Tyler, the doctor on call and Travis’ twin brother, walks over.
“Hey, Tyler. How’s my girl?” I can’t help it. She is mine; she has always been mine. It isn’t going to change just because she’s seeing someone else, and I technically already have a girlfriend.
Speaking of which, I’m sure I saw some texts from her in my phone when I saw Brian’s, too.
“Hey, man. She’s pretty banged up, but she’ll be fine. She’s got a mild concussion, though. We’re going to keep her tonight and wake her up every hour or so, then she’ll be released in the morning, as long as she isn’t doing any worse. You know the drill.” Tyler looks at me with assessing eyes.
“Travis call you on our way in?” I can’t help asking.
“Yeah, he also said that you might be a bigger pain in my ass than usual. Can I assume that you’ll take care of her tonight and be staying in the hospital like a leech on my dick?”
6
MARGOT
I lookat my reflection in the hospital mirror and can’t help the pitiful sound that comes out of my mouth. One of my eyes is completely swollen shut. I have stitches in my forehead above the same eye, and my face is turning a mottled purplish shade already. It’s swollen, and my chest is covered in similar marks.
“Shit. It couldn’t get much worse than this.” I can’t help talking to myself.
Pulling out my cell phone, I quickly send Ray a text.
Margot
Hey, I’m sorry about tonight. We might need to reschedule for when I don’t look like a vampire and a zombie had a baby on my face.
I don’t have to wait long for a response.
Ray
