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“I wasn’t in bed with her.” It came out more like a growl that made my heart skip a beat.
I wanted to bury my head in his warm shoulder. I was clutching onto him like a kitten with useless claws. Please let this be a dream or something else.
“And do they teach that in paramedic classes these days? What are you doing here, Warren?” So his name was Warren. My mind tested it out, drawling the way the doctor said it, and I liked it.
“Geez, sis, you’re a real hard ass.” A look across the room and a second man stood leaning against the one wall that didn’t have a curtain. He looked like the doctor’s twin but younger and smiling.
“Jase, don’t be facetious.”
“She’s not well. I was trying to help.” Warren, I presumed, extricated himself from sitting on the bed and removed my fingers from his arm and shirt gently. I whimpered at the loss.
“What’s the diagnosis?”
“A really bad cold from exposure, but nothing some good antibiotics and a strong tea won’t cure, you two furry control freaks.” Dr. Lupinski sounded annoyed, but I didn’t know why. Jumbles of foggy lights and the sensation of cold, so cold, came to mind. Flashes of yelling, angry voices made me wince and want to retreat back into my shell.
“Eden, you’re upsetting her.” Warren held my hand and I was grateful Dillon was at least seven hours away from there because my heart seemed to have reengaged before my mind could wrap itself around the idea.
“And you’re in my clinic, with my patient.” The doctor was tapping her foot impatiently. Her legs and feet appeared long and elegant to my scrambled brain. I wanted to say she had a predatory way about her, but that didn’t seem right either.
Everything just felt off, but I couldn’t describe why.
“Don’t be greedy, I found her first.” Did he? Wait! What did that even mean? I struggled to lift myself off the bed to sort out the muddle of what was occurring. I needed to sort out my things, get to the university campus and check in. I needed my car, my personal belongings, but sleepiness and aching body parts were dragging me down again.
“Easy,” he said and his soothing touch on my hand mesmerized me. Letting my fingers wrap around his wrist, I could feel his heart beat strong, a thumping drumbeat that calmed me down.
“Kids, kids, kids…no fighting. I brought the tea and herbs you wanted, Warren. You definitely owe Pia for the willow tree bark and me a drink. It’s cold as fuck out there and wetter than a witch’s…yeah, well, anyway, here you go.” The other guy stepped forward and I watched him place a bag on a chair next to what looked like my soggy purse. Who was Pia? I was hoping they would all leave soon to stop the chatter in my head, except for the warm, calm stranger. He could stay, and I’d be all right with that.
“Thanks, Jase.” Watching him, Warren nodded and his hand slipped under my hair to hold my aching head up from the pillows under me. My face smiled slightly against the tightness across my nose and cheeks. I bet he would make a good pillow. A giggle rose making me cough, drawing everyone’s attention to me.
“She gets the medicine first and then the tea…her face…this is so unorthodox.” With a huff, the doctor removed a syringe from her pocket and poked it into the IV line I only now realized was taped to my right hand. Confused, I watched her inject the clear liquid into the line. A ripple of anxiety coursed through me along with a slow burn as I imagined the medication swirling into the line and then into my body. Warren’s hand caressed me like I was spun glass, fragile and easily destroyed.
“Easy, there. You had a car accident, drove right off the shoulder into the ditch.” He pulled the blanket up, covering me as I shuddered.
“I know that much, and then what happened?” He paused, looking me over, and a blush warmed me again. My voice warbled nervously, and I felt the drowsing effects of the medication starting to take over.
“And then the river had a flash flood, partially submerging your vehicle in the ditch.” He spoke as if that was all matter-of-fact, like I should have been able to surmise that on my own.
It sounded pretty bad to me and a million other thoughts rushed into in my head. “Oh, I see.” Though, I didn’t see anything at all, not really. The room was still pretty dim. I could hear the rain still falling, and I was alone with strangers in a town I’d never been to before.
“My name’s Warren Boone, by the way. My cousin Jase and I work for the Woodland Creek EMS squad.” I didn’t know if he was just filling in the awkward silence or telling me that because I should know it. “Someone called in your accident to the local dispatch and we responded. The road was flooded, so we couldn’t get you to the hospital as planned. We brought you here to the urgent care clinic instead since your injuries weren’t life-threatening.”
“Oh. That’s good.” The doctor had pretty much said most of that already, but his voice carried reassurance and hope with it instead. He knew absolutely nothing about my situation back home and that somehow lifted my spirits. Whispers of guilt in my consciousness bubbled up. He was holding me together at my frayed seams.
“She’s not very chatty.” The intrusive voice of the other man reminded me we weren’t alone.
“Jase over there is my cousin and the doctor, Eden, is his sister. Apparently, he thinks you should be ready to jump out of the bed already.” Warren shook his head smiling and it was like a breath of fresh air after the storm. His eyes glittered with humor while his cousin scowled.
“She could if she were—” Jase didn’t finish what he was about to say and I didn’t miss the warning look Warren gave him, puzzling me further. Getting knocked around in a car accident really screwed with my senses.
“We can ignore Jase. He’s kind of the town idiot.” Warren said it kindly, but I didn’t think he meant it that way.
“Yeah, welcome to Woodland Creek.” Jase seemed uneasy and I began to surmise that Woodland Creek was a strange place so far.
“Thanks for finding me and bringing me here.” I meant it because who knew what would have happened if I were left out there.
“No problem. I’ll, uh, leave you to your little project here and see you back at the house later.” Leaving us, it was just Warren and me.
Struggling to keep the conversation normal, I asked about
