Page 59 of No Mane, No Gain

“You’ve been in an accident,” the paramedic explained gently. “We’re going to get you out of here and to a hospital, okay? Can you tell me your name?”

“Olive,” she mumbled. “Olive Russo. I need to call Chaos...”

The world faded in and out as the paramedics worked to extricate her from the wreckage. Olive caught snippets of their conversation - “possible concussion,” “multiple contusions,” “lucky to be alive.” She wanted to protest, to insist she was fine, but her body refused to cooperate.

The next thing Olive knew, she was being wheeled into a brightly lit emergency room. The fluorescent lights sent spikes of pain through her skull, and she squeezed her eyes shut with a groan.

“Olive!” A familiar voice cut through the chaos, and suddenly Chaos was there, his hazel eyes wide with worry. “God,bella, what happened? Are you okay?”

Olive managed a weak smile. “Hey there, handsome. Looks like I’m going to have to raincheck on dinner.”

Chaos let out a strangled laugh, taking her hand in his. “You scared the hell out of me. When the hospital called...”

A doctor approached, interrupting their reunion. “Mr. Amato? I’m Dr. Green. We need to run some tests on Ms. Russo - CT scan, X-rays. Would you mind waiting outside?”

Chaos looked like he wanted to argue, but Olive gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. “Go on, I’ll be fine. Maybe see if you can get me some decent food? Hospital Jell-O is the worst.”

With a reluctant nod, Chaos pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “I’ll be right outside. Don’t you dare try to sneak off to any book signings while I’m gone.”

As Chaos left, Dr. Green began her examination. “Ms. Russo, can you tell me what you remember about the accident?”

Olive recounted what had happened, her brow furrowing as she recalled the brake failure. “It was like they just... gave out. But that’s impossible, right? I just had the car serviced last week.”

Dr. Green made a note on her chart. “I’ll make sure to mention that to the police. They’ll want to take a statement once we’ve cleared you medically. Now, let’s get you to radiology...”

The next few hours passed in a blur of tests, questions, and prodding. By the time Olive was settled into a private room, she felt utterly drained.

Olive blinked awake, the harsh fluorescent lights of the hospital room assaulting her senses. Her whole body ached, a stark reminder of the car accident that had landed her here. As her vision cleared, she saw Chaos slumped in a chair beside herbed, his usually impeccable appearance rumpled from a night of uncomfortable sleep.

“Hey, sexy lion man,” she croaked, her throat dry.

Chaos startled awake, his hazel eyes immediately focusing on her face. “Olive! How are you feeling?”

Before she could answer, the door burst open, and a flurry of activity filled the room. Olive’s parents, Nicholas Russo and Mariah Harper, rushed in, followed closely by her sister Sapphire and cousin Athena.

“Oh, my baby!” Mariah cried, tears streaming down her face as she gently embraced Olive.

Nicholas, his face etched with worry, placed a hand on Olive’s shoulder. “Princess, what happened? Are you all right?”

Sapphire, ever the practical one, was already interrogating a nurse about Olive’s condition, while Athena hovered nearby, her green eyes wide with concern.

Amidst the chaos, Baxter slipped into the room, making a beeline for Chaos. “I got here as fast as I could,” he said, clapping his friend on the shoulder. “How’s she doing?”

Olive felt overwhelmed by the sudden influx of people but touched by their concern. “I’m okay, really,” she assured them, wincing as she tried to sit up. “Just a bit banged up. The doctors say I’ll make a full recovery.”

As Olive recounted the accident to her family, she couldn’t help but notice the way Athena and Baxter kept stealing glances at each other. There was a tension between them, but not the antagonistic kind she was used to seeing. Something strange was going on and she wondered why Athena hadn’t mentioned anything to her.

“So,” Athena said, sidling up to Baxter, “I guess we meet again under less-than-ideal circumstances.”

Baxter’s usually stoic expression softened slightly. “Indeed. Though I must say, you handle crisis with remarkable grace, Ms. Russo.”

Athena smirked. “Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Lennox.”

Olive raised an eyebrow at Chaos, who responded with a knowing smile. Clearly, something had developed between those two since their last encounter.

As the day wore on, Dr. Green returned with an update. “Ms. Russo, while your tests look good, we’d like to keep you overnight for observation, just to be safe.”

Olive nodded, understanding the precaution. She turned to her parents, who had been anxiously waiting. “Mom, Dad, I really appreciate you coming, but you should go home and rest. It’s been a long day for everyone.”

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