AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It’s not that I can’t. I’m just so very tired, but I do as I’m told, forcing them to open and stay there so my best friend will quit her fussing. When we get through the doors, Allie lets the orderlies know which room we’re heading to and holds my hand the entire way. “Are you going to stay for a while?” she asks Nick.
“If I don’t, there’s going to be hell to pay later, so if there’s room, that’s a yes,” Nick answers, giving Allie one of his megawatt smiles.
She doesn’t smile back, seemingly unimpressed with his attempt at humor. “You can hang out in the small waiting area right down the hall until we get her into the ER gown,” Allie directs, gesturing to a small alcove set up with chairs and a television. “I’ll let you know when we’re done,” she tells Nick as the team wheels me into a room with a glass door and transfers me onto the emergency room bed. Allie thanks them, takes their report before they leave, and pulls the blinds on the door before helping me out of my clothes and into the gown that everyone visiting an emergency room hates. “I must look like such a fashion statement!” I grimace at the dowdy wrap.
Allie just laughs and stops on her way to the door. “You look fine, Lexie. I’m just so glad you weren’t hurt worse.” She gestures with a wave of her hand for Nick to come in, placing a clip-like contraption on my finger. “Pulse Ox, it will monitor the amount of saturation in your red blood cells,” Allie explains while getting the blood pressure cuff firmly wrapped around my arm and hooking me up to even more monitors.
I just go with the flow because whether I feel better or not, Allie is going to go through her entire routine. Of that I am certain.
“The registration staff will be in shortly to ask you some questions for billing.”
Nick’s forehead crinkles. “Shouldn’t they do that first?” he asks.
Allie’s eyes raise. “Uh, that would be a negative. We don’t turn patients away at this hospital, and to ensure it doesn’t happen mistakenly, most patients who present to the ER are triaged and roomed first,” she answers, powering up a computer that’s on a wheeled stand.
“Ahh, probably good practice, then.”
Allie shrugs indifferently and turns her full attention to me. “Now we play a fantastic game called fifty questions.” She is in pure nurse mode as she documents each of my responses about health history and current symptoms. While I certainly didn’t count, I’m sure her guesstimate of the number of questions is not too far off the mark. “Jeez, nothing like a fricking inquisition!”
She narrows her eyes at my snark. “Just one more question. What the hell happened, Lexie? You just went off the side of the road? Did someone hit you, or were you swerving to avoid hitting someone or something?”
“Nope, just went off the embankment,” I respond, wishing my best friend, nurse, and now apparently private I would give it a rest.
Allie scowls and narrows her eyes at me. “You weren’t on your phone, were you? Oh, wait, do not answer that right now.” She glares at Nick as though it’s his fault.
His lip turns up in amusement, which he quickly hides before gallantly coming to my rescue. “Whoa! Settle down there, mama bear. Alexis wasn’t on the phone. She was heading home for the evening and her tire blew out. The car swerved, and she must have overcorrected before going over the embankment. She’s really fortunate; it could have been a lot worse. That incline is one of the few in the city but dangerous. It’s extremely steep in places, but as you can see, she’s all in one piece,” Nick states.
Allie doesn’t say a word, barely giving him a nod of acknowledgment before turning her attention to me. “What do you recall after you went over?”
“In all honesty, not much. I had my cell and called for help, but the airbag hit me. I woke up, and Nick was there.” I shrug as she squints her eyes at me. “That’s it. I really don’t remember anything else.”
“Whoa, wait! When you woke up?” Allie’s voice goes up at least an octave.
“Alexis wasn’t unconscious long. She called Sheldon four minutes before I got to her. I was following her back to her apartment when she went off the road,” Nick remarks.
Allie turns and narrows her eyes at Nick. “She was unconscious when you found her? Did you move her? I presume you’re the one who called the ambulance?”
“Yes, she was still unconscious when I got to her, but she came to when I called her name and touched her shoulder. I didn’t move her; she moved herself into a sitting position, and I slid next to her to wait for the ambulance. Which, for the record, and to answer your third question, I called,” Nick replies, grinning from ear to ear at my friend.
She turns from him, swiveling her stool around to face me. “Is your head still hurting?”
“Just a small headache, but I’m not as tired as I was before,” I answer, although if these two would leave the room to give me just a bit of peace and quiet, I’d be out like a light.
“Okay, one of the physicians will be in with you shortly. It’s been crazy tonight with a couple of traumas, so you may have to wait a bit. I’ll stop back to check on you as soon as I can. In the meantime, I’m sure Nick can keep you company while I’m gone,” Allie states, heading toward the door.
“I’ll take care of her.”
Allie turns and narrows her eyes at him. “Just don’t tell her any more jokes. You know, the goal is to keep her awake,” she directs, spinning on her blue rubber clogs before walking out the door.
His entire face lights up with a big smile. “Your friend always this pleasant?” Nick asks, still grinning widely.
“Afraid she’s not very friendly when guys try to hit on her. Let’s just say it was a fairly routine thing in college, and she got burned pretty bad.”
His forehead crinkles. “I see, and I hit on her how?”
I shrug. “I’m pretty sure Allie saw you checking her out. All the hotshots do it. She gets sick of it.”
His eyes light up with amusement, and his lip quirks into a sideways smirk. “I might have taken a peek or two.”
