Page 14 of New Year's Faye

“I will. I’ll call you as soon as I know more. Yes, sir—I mean, Chidi. Bye.”

I watched Sam through narrowed eyes as he turned back to me, balking at my look.

“What?” he asked defensively.

“Are you on a first name basis with my father?”

Sam ignored the question. “How are you feeling?”

“Like Wiley Coyote is blowing up dynamite in my brain.”

“Wow, way to age yourself.”

I snorted. “Sorry, should I have said Perry the Platypus? And don’t think I don’t see you deflecting. Answer the question.”

Sam frowned. “Should we call a nurse? Want me to see if we can get you some pain relief?”

“No, I want to know about you and my dad.”

Sam cleared his throat, a slight blush creeping up his neck.

“Samuel,” I growled in warning.

“We’re in the same fantasy football league. We text regularly.”

I blinked then blinked again. “Did you say youtextwith my father? The man who hates texting and would rather crawl across the continent than type out some much as a single letter?”

“Maybe he hates texting with you, but the guy blows up my DMs.” Sam handed me his phone. “Look.”

I scrolled slowly, unable to comprehend the volume of trash talk—including emojis and gifs—my father and Sam exchanged.

“Dear lord,” I whispered, handing the phone back to Sam. “You’re dating my dad. My entire life is a lie.”

My bombshell realization interrupted by a cheerful nurse holding a small paper cup.

“Good news,” she said, shaking the cup gently. “The doctor has approved some painkillers while you wait for the results. These’ll help take the edge off. Though, be warned, they might make you a little loopy or sleepy.”

I didn’t give a shit so long as they helped with the pain.

I downed the pills, chasing them with a shot of water, while she checked my vitals.

“Any other changes apart from the vomiting and dizziness?”

“No.”

“Good.” She made a note on my file then tucked it into the board at the bottom of the bed. “Alright, shouldn’t be much longer. We’re just waiting for a final check of the CT then the doctor will be back to explain the results to you. Just hit that buzzer if you need anything.”

The pills took over quickly, easing the pain and leaving me with a euphoric, floating feeling.

“I wonder if this is what flying feels like,” I muttered, enjoying the sensation. “Do you think if we inhaled enough helium we could fly?”

Sam snorted. “I doubt it. I think you’d end up suffocating way before that.”

I raised both arms gently undulating them. “We should fly away. That’d quiet the press.”

“We’re not flying away.”

I dropped my arms. “Then we should stay married.”

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