Page 112 of Protect

“That ex-husband of yours is a real piece of work,” my mom says.

I sigh and rub my temples.

“I thought after we talked yesterday that maybe he was actually going to make it through today’s visit without bringing her back early,” I tell her, taking another bite of my dry sandwich.

My mom scoffs. “Leopards don’t change their spots, honey. My thoughts? He wants something from either you or Hollie. Best thing you did was come back home,” she says.

“I know,” I say as one of my colleagues pokes her head into the break room.

“Sorry, Vi, I know you just sat down.”

“Mom, I gotta go,” I tell her, then hang up.

“We need you, MVA off Yarmouth coming in any second,” she says.

I stuff the rest of my sandwich into my mouth and rise on my aching feet before heading back out into the busy ER. But the moment those doors open I stop dead in my tracks and feel like I might pass out. The face on that gurney, bloody and battered, is Troy’s.

My eyes meet his from across the room but I don’t have time to talk to him because I’m being told to assist the girl who came in with him. Her right arm is going to need surgery for the deep lacerations.

I get one glimpse of Troy’s eyes as he’s pushed to the opposite side of the ER, and I go through the double doors with his passenger wondering why the hell he’s still in Sky Ridge.

Thirty minutes later I still don’t have any answers as the girl we just brought in—Angela—is taken away to be prepped for surgery. And I’m taking matters into my own hands to find out what the hell just happened.

I find out that Troy is stable and is having his fractured arm casted, his minor burns treated and his head stitched up as we speak. He’ll have to stay the night but will probably be released tomorrow.

I wait for the go ahead and then, just as my shift is finishing, I find his room and push the door open. It’s dark and he’s hooked up to saline and a drip for pain. When I enter, he turns his head and faces me, and I swear I see his eyes turn glassy.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes, Violette,” he says as I come closer to the bed and sit down in the chair beside him.

“What happened?” I ask. He looks broken, and according to the reports from the medic team he and his friend were damn lucky.

“What happened is… in a span of ten seconds, I realized that I have been a really shitty husband and father for the last two years.”

I recoil with his admission and stay quiet; I just don’t have the words.

He moves to reposition himself and his face scrunches up in pain.

“You know how they say your life flashes before your eyes? That’s true, Violette. Mine did and I didn’t see anything but work.” He holds his side where he has three broken ribs.

“I left Hollie tonight because I’m a lazy fucking father. And your guy, the one you’re dating…” he says. My eyes move to his. “I lied to him.”

My mouth falls open as I try to figure out what he’s talking about. “I don’t understand.”

“He’s back, freshly back from Knox—I assume that’s where he was. It’s all anyone was talking about at…the club. He came to see you and Hollie tonight when I was dropping her off with your mom. I told him we were… you were, open to maybe trying again… with us,” he says.

I grip the sides of the chair “What?”I ask too loudly for this quiet space. “Why would you?—”

“Because even though we’re over and I let you and Hollie down, the feeling of being replaced hurt my ego,” he says honestly. “I realize now we would never work, Violette. I’m a selfish asshole and it’s my own fault you replaced me. I was never good enough for either of you.”

My mind reels. All I can think about is getting to Rowan wherever he is right now and telling him Troy lied to him.

“But your guy?—”

“Rowan,”I correct him.

“Rowan. Funny enough, he was driving behind me when I hit that elk, and he called 911. He even rode in the ambulance with me. He could’ve left me there; he had no reason to help me, but he did.”

Everything around me starts to go hazy and I feel lightheaded. That’s why Scottie said she’d talk to me on the next run. She was going to tell me Rowan was home.

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