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She strolled to the end of the bed, hands on hips. “You didn’t cause her to run late. Nor did you cause the accident. Oh, and wait. You didn’t suggest she leave her ride and walk alone in a dark alley. You arenotto blame for everything that goes wrong in the world, Rory Tephra. Stop acting as if you are.”
If only he could. He rubbed his face with a scarred hand. “I told you it was a bad idea and it was.”
A soft, tremulous voice came from the bed, startling both of them. “What was a bad idea?” Amelia asked.
He jumped to his feet so quickly the laptop fell to the ground. His swollen knee gave out and he crashed into the side of the bed, barking in pain. Vivi reached out to try and help him, only he shrugged her off, using the railing to steady himself as he bent over Amelia and brushed the strands from her forehead. “Hey there.”
“Rory? Where am I?”
“The hospital. You were mugged.”
“Is that why my head hurts?” She raised a trembling hand to touch her neck, where a thick bandage protected the wound. “How is that your fault?”
He glanced at Vivi and she arched a brow. “Never mind that now. Besides your head, how do you feel?”
Her shaky hand found one of his. “Tired. Woozy. Also hungry.”
A nervous chuckle scraped his throat. “We were cheated out of our date.”
Her woozy eyes met his. “Date?”
His stomach flipped. “Our meal. You and I were meeting at the Italian restaurant for dinner. Remember?”
Her forehead creased and she shook her head, sucking in a breath and freezing before touching the bandage again. The movement must have hurt. “Tonight? I don’t remember.”
His whole body sank with the weight of that statement.
Vivi went to the other side and scanned Amelia’s face. “You were in an alley behind the restaurant when the attack occurred. Can you tell us what happened? Did you see your attacker?”
“I don’t… I can’t…” her voice got quieter, tremulous again as she seemed to scan her memory.
“It’s okay,” Rory said even though it so fucking wasn’t.
“What’s the last thing youdoremember?” Vivi asked gently.
Amelia started to shake her head again, stopped herself. Her gaze met Rory’s. “You. Our session with the exercise bands.”
He gave her hand a squeeze, even as his insides cramped. He couldn’t stop himself from looking at the psychologist, alarm bells ringing in his head.
“When was that?” Amelia asked him in a small voice.
He had to clear his throat before he could tell her. “Three days ago.”
Vivi nodded, as if that were normal, and moved for the door. “Let me get Dr. Houston.”
FOUR
Two days later
Dr. Houston signedthe paperwork and removed it from his clipboard. “Here you go.” He handed the papers to Amelia but Rory got to them first.
The doctor eyed him with a mix of irritation and patience. She did as well. Her guardian angel, as she had come to think of the gruff tech wizard, was mothering her to death, regardless of the fact she was feeling much better.
Except for a bit of memory loss, thanks to smacking her prefrontal cortex on the ground, and some wicked headaches that came out of nowhere but didn’t last long. She was more than ready to leave the hospital.
Her attention flipped to the crutches waiting for her. She dreaded having to use them, but if it got her out of here, she’d promise to skewer herself with them. “Thanks, doctor. I appreciate all you’ve done for me.”
“Your script is waiting at the pharmacy. Remember RICE - Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. The boot needs to stay on for six weeks, and then as long as everything heals correctly, you should be back to normal.”
