Page 8 of Where We Found Our Home
Interesting comment. “Did you think I was fake?”
“Actually, yeah. I convinced myself that I made you up somehow.”
“Care to elaborate on that?”
“Nope,” she says with a pop. “So, why are you back here with me?Howare you back here with me? Aren’t there rules against that?”
“I’ve got some pull here.” She starts fidgeting with her hospital gown, and the need to hold her grows. I want her to be comfortable with me, but that’s ridiculous. We don’t know each other.
“Actually, I’m a firefighter, and I know some of the nurses and doctors here, so I asked if I could keep you company. I’ll step out when the doctor comes in if you don’t want me to hear anything. I just didn’t want you to be alone.”
She looks up at me but doesn’t quite meet my eyes. “Thank you. You can stay.” I can tell it took a lot for her to let me into her space, and I’m honored she did, which ironically makes me want to run out the door and far away.
“I’m Lincoln, by the way.”
“Hi, Lincoln.”
“You know, my niece is a pretty big fan of yours. I gotta say, after seeing you jump in front of a speeding car to save a kid, I’m a pretty big fan myself.”
She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes and her shoulders tense up. Did I say something wrong? “I wasn’t aware I had a fan club. Who’s your niece?”
“Nevaeh. She said you come to my sister’s coffee shop every day.” Her eyes widen and she curses under her breath again, but her shoulders relax a bit.
“Sasha is your sister? Well, that’s just perfect.” She laughs without humor. “They’re pretty incredible. Very welcoming. I guess it runs in the family.”
I smile. That’s one way to say we insert ourselves into people’s lives against their will. “Mama managed to instill some manners into us. There are four of us plus she’s always reining my dad in from something, so we gave her a run for her money but she still whipped us into shape.”
“Four kids, huh? My mom always said never to let your kids outnumber you.” She winces, and I can’t be sure if she’s in pain from adjusting in her seat or if something else is bothering her.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. All good.”
I want to probe further, but the doctor comes in and Ciara immediately breaks eye contact with me.
“Hi, Ms. Jeffries, how are you feeling?”
“I feel fine, really.” She’s obviously in pain. I know most people hate hospitals, but she seems really anxious to get out of here. I have no business speaking on her behalf, but if she keeps downplaying her injury, I will tell the doctor the truth about how she feels.
Why?
Beats the fuck out of me.
“Okay, well, your MRI and CT scans came back clear, so we don’t have to worry about any sort of bruising or bleeding on your brain, but you most likely have a concussion.” She proceeds to ask Ciara a series of questions, and she answers well for the most part but at times she becomes confused or her reaction time is slow.
“You definitely have a concussion. I’m going to give you some medicine for the pain but otherwise you’ll just need to rest.” She turns to me. “Will you be the one monitoring her at home tonight?”
Ciara’s eyes widen. She looks panicked, and it’s a good thing the doctor is facing away from her. I know the doctor is asking because Ciara needs to be on concussion watch. She’ll need someone to keep an eye on her symptoms over the next few hours and to check in on her while she sleeps. I don’t want to come across as a creep by wanting to be the guy who checks on her while she sleeps, but I don’t know if Ciara has anyone to look out for her at home. I doubt it since no one showed up at the hospital and she didn’t call anyone. If she doesn’t have someone to watch her, they’ll keep her overnight at the hospital, and something tells me she would not want that.
So what? Are you going to stay with her?
That’ll probably send her into a panic too, but which is worse? I have to hope I’m the lesser of two evils.
“Yes, that’s me.” Thank God this is not one of the doctors I know, so she doesn’t even question it.
“Okay, great. Then if you have no further questions, I’ll get your medicine and your discharge papers ready.”
Ciara’s face transforms to a look of indifference. “Okay, thank you. I don’t have any questions.”
