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I squeeze her small hand in mine. “Allie and Mom will be by to see you tomorrow, then.”
The security guys are conferring with each other when we leave the hospital room. “Allie hasn’t eaten all day, so we’re going to make a stop at a place called Donovan’s. If you want to clear the restaurant, you can,” I direct, recalling their request from earlier.
Allie’s eyebrows raise in surprise. I might have agreed to that, but she most certainly did not. “Guys, sorry to be a buzzkill. I’m happy to be able to sleep in my own bed again now that Alexis is back and you guys are around, but I’ve been working in the ER all day long and haven’t had even a bite to eat. My stomach is not going to wait. I took the train in, so we can even drive over together, but you can do your security thing while we’re on the way, right?” Allie asks, not waiting for a reply but walking past them toward the elevators down the hall with me and the disgruntled security team trailing behind.
The drive to the restaurant is icy with Allie and me sitting in the back like two naughty schoolgirls. Liam keeps his eyes on the congested city traffic, skillfully navigating while Trent busies himself on his phone.
We walk into the restaurant, and Liam and Trent are both on high alert, scanning the area around us as the hostess greets us. “Any chance we can get a booth?” I ask.
Liam interjects before the hostess has a chance to reply. “The ladies would like a table on the interior of the restaurant.” He looks around and nods toward two empty tables. “We’ll take both of those. The ladies at one, and we’ll take the other.”
The hostess gives each of them a onceover, a real slow from head-to-toe kind of look, and then she gives me and Allie a courtesy smile. “Follow me,” she instructs, giving Liam her full attention as she turns and sashays across the room to our tables with us in tow.
Allie scowls at Liam’s highhandedness, but he doesn’t look scathed, just vaguely amused at her and thoroughly annoyed with me. Like I have any control whatsoever over my strong-willed friend.
I shrug my shoulders at him and give him wide eyes. “How am I supposed to know the rules about who sits where in the restaurant?”
“You don’t. You let us know what your plans are far enough in advance that we can make the arrangements,” Liam states.
Ugh. It’s not like I’m trying to be difficult. I just seriously don’t know if I will ever get used to this. “It was a last-minute decision.” I should have saved my breath.
He turns and looks down at me. “Exactly, which allows for zero time to make plans for your safety.”
The hostess seats us, and we’re plunged into more icy silence until a waitress arrives. She’s barely greeted us before Allie orders a Smithwick.
“I’m too tired to look at the menu. I’ll take what she’s having,” I remark to the waitress.
“It won’t be long. It’s a slow night,” the waitress assures before moving on to the security guard table where both of them order iced tea.
The waitress brings our drinks, and Allie dives right into hers. She doesn’t look at me right away, just enjoying the peace and quiet after a long day in the ER.
Allie’s almost finished her entire beer when the waitress checks back in with us for our dinner order. She moves to the next table to take Liam and Trent’s, and Allie sighs heavily before telling me what’s on her mind. “It’s days like today that you’re reminded why you signed up to be an RN in the emergency room. The grueling hours, the rotating doctors, and all the stuff you see that just shouldn’t happen in this world. Today we saved a young woman who had a husband and two children. She was T-boned by some asshole driver who ran a red light, threw it in reverse, and then just kept going. I don’t know if the police ever caught him, but we saved her life, Lexie. It was a team effort between the cops, the paramedics, and us. She’s going to make it. I’m sure there’ll be scars and a long recovery, but she can return to her family. We don’t have to bury her.”
I love hearing about all the drama of the ER. This one had a good outcome, and I’m glad because I’ve been with Allie when things have turned south in the ER, and every single patient that they’ve lost has left emotional scars on my dearest friend.
Allie orders another drink when our food arrives, and I check my texts for the umpteenth time. Every single minute compounds the fear that something bad has happened to Sheldon. If he’s just busy working, he’ll probably think I’ve gone batshit crazy when he catches up to all the messages I’ve left. Damn it. I don’t care. I just need to make sure he isn’t hurt before I give him a piece of my mind for not texting me all this time.
Me: Is everything okay?
I look down in five minutes, and then ten. No reply from Sheldon. I try to brush it off. I shouldn’t let it bother me. Besides, I was the one who said I can stand on my own two feet, that I don’t need anyone taking care of me, and here I am already pining away for him. Maybe a night out with my bestie is just what I need. I settle in and dump my cell into my purse. Out of sight, out of mind! The waitress walks by, and I let her know we’re in need of a couple more cold brews. I glance over at the table where Trent and Liam are sitting. They’re talking over glasses of ice water, having already devoured their sandwiches.
Another hour, beer, and heavy meal later, we are packed up nice and safe in the back seat of the Caddy with Liam at the wheel, while Trent helps navigate through the city congestion until we get to the thoroughfare that will take us toward our apartment.
We’ve almost arrived home after the trek across town before I give in to the never-ending need to check for messages from Sheldon again. Still nothing, and now I’m totally worried, my mind conjuring all kinds of things that could have happened to him while on duty.
I should let him work, not bother him, not need to hear from him like this on the regular. I shouldn’t want to be so connected to a guy or have him checking in on me and what I’m doing all the time. I should like the fact that he’s not on my cell phone constantly telling me what to do or how to do it.
The decision weighs heavily on me for all of five minutes before I’m swiping over his contact, and my fingers are typing out a message. If he doesn’t respond this time, I will see if one of the security team can get ahold of him for me and make sure he is okay.
Me: I’m worried about you. I need an answer. Text me back, please.
His response is almost immediate and causes my body to tense as I read and reread the message he’s sent.
Sheldon: I’m fine, Alexis, but things are most definitely not okay.
Chapter Fifteen
Sheldon
