Page 94 of Next Level
Tears welled in my eyes. He called my parents. He actually thought about my parents and knew I’d want them here.
Samantha holds my hand, caressing it.
I close my eyes and relax. Everything is going to be okay. I’m okay.
Just then, a nurse waltzes through the door and greets us. Everyone says hello as she walks to the side of my bed, and Samantha moves out of her way.
“I’m Nurse Kimberly. How are you feeling, Ms. Jones?”
“Pain,” I squeak out.
“On a scale from one to ten. Ten being the worst, how is your pain?”
“Eleven,” not saying anything else.
“Okay, let me get you some pain medication. It’s almost time for your other medications as well.”
“Do you remember what happened, Ms. Jones?”
I look over at Samantha and Ray, both smiling at me. Ray isn’t giving me signs to be quiet, so I go with the truth.
“I was stabbed.”
“Yes, you were stabbed in your lower stomach. We had to remove your appendix and a portion of your small intestine.” She pauses, taking notes on something. “Your recovery time after this type of surgery is usually around 6 to 8 weeks. The most important things to watch for are post-surgery complications, like infection, pain, and wound care.”
“When can I go home?”
“Depending on how well you start to heal, you should be out of here in a week or so. We need to make sure you don’t get an infection and the wound starts to heal properly.”
The nurse looks at Ray. “She’ll require assistance for the first week or two. She’ll need to move around, gently walking to prevent blood clots and constipation, with no heavy lifting.”
“She won’t be lifting a thing. She’ll be in good hands.”
“My parents—”
Ray jumps in, cutting me off. “Will be around to help too, but she’ll be staying at my house.”
“Ray.”
The nurse laughs. “Well, let me go get that pain medication while you two work that out.”
Ray and Samantha move back into position next to my bed.
“Blossom, if you think I’m letting you out of my sight, you’ve got another thing coming.”
“My parents will be here.”
“They can stay with us at my house. I have plenty of rooms. I don’t want you out of my sight. We don’t know what Garrett and George are capable of, and until we do, you and Sam are staying with me.”
Samantha beams. “Me too?”
“Yes, you both are going to be under my roof until all of this is figured out.”
I would feel safer with him, and it’s true, who knows what Garrett and George have planned?
“Do you think my parents are in danger?” I ask worried.
“Well, if they are, they’ll be at the compound with us, so they’ll be safe too. I’d rather everyone be on lockdown until everything is dealt with.”
