Page 130 of Love Unavoidable
Chapter 36
Ethan
The bruises on my body are an easy fix, but the fracture in my right arm is not. Six to eight weeks in a cast.
Shit.
In the emergency room, the doctor fits me with a cast and a sling on my right arm and prescribes a mild painkiller and muscle relaxer. I’m free to go. I head out toward the waiting room and am happy to see Brad waiting there for me, still in his turnout gear.
“Aw, did I worry you, dear?” I ask.
“Don’t give me shit for caring, man. Besides, someone had to be here to drive your sorry ass home.”
“True. Thanks, I appreciate it.” I hadn’t thought about how I would get home. I move to give him a guy hug, which is awkward.
“What’s the damage?” Brad asks as we walk to the car.
“Couple of bruised ribs and the such, those’ll be an easy fix. But I broke my right arm and I’ll be in the cast for six weeks.” It hits me then just how long I will be out of work. “Fuck, dude, at this rate I won’t be back to work for almost two months. What am I going to do? I’ll go nuts.”
“Yeah, you poor thing, a paid vacation. I feel for you. Really.”
“Uh, it’s my right arm, dickhead. The one I use for everything. So, no surfing, no motorcycle, no DIY around the house. I can’t even rub one out if I want to. Trust me, this will not be a vacation.”
Brad laughs.
“I couldn’t even pick up a pen to sign my discharge papers. And have you ever tried to type on your phone with your non-dominant hand? It’s a laborious process.”
“I’m sorry, man,” he says. “You feeling okay otherwise?”
“Yeah, fine.” I go to run my hand down my face only to realize I can’t since I use my right hand for that. This will suck in such a major way. Brad is parked in the fire lane in front of the hospital entrance, he’d taken the station SUV to come get me. We get into the truck, it takes me over a minute to get my seatbelt clicked.
“Chief is calling Spence in to cover for you. Didn’t you work with him the other week?” Brad asks.
“Yeah, good guy. Smart. It’s different though. Working with someone else. With us, you zig and I zag. With him, sometimes he zigged, but sometimes he zagged. I never knew which way to go. It’s chaotic.”
“Hate that.”
“Yeah.”
He backhands me on the thigh. “Forgot to tell you, Kat sends her love. Said she’s glad you are okay.”
“You told her I fell?”
“Yeah, we are doing that whole ‘no secrets, no omissions’ thing in our relationship, so I called her when I was on my way to the hospital. I’m sure she would have found out anyway. She has a weird way of being able to do that. Anyway, I think she was going to use my code and bring some groceries to your house so you didn’t have to worry about anything when you got home.”
“That is a damn fine woman you got there, Matthews.”
“Don’t I know it.” He pauses like he has more to say but is reluctant. “Well, in the interest of no secrets, it’s also because Sadie asked her to pack up the rest of her things and send them to her.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Sorry, man.”
“Fucking, eh. You know she texted me right before the bell for that last call.”
“Oh yeah? What’d she say?”
“Basically, don’t call her and take care.”
