Page 93 of Our Long Days
I’m a little shaken but fine.
Those words did nothing to reassure Dex, no matter how many times I repeated them. After disappearing, he returned, stony faced and adamant the injury needed to be checked out.
I kept quiet, noting his silent distress. It intensified when he asked Megan to drive us here.
He’s a proud man to a fault. Encouraging him to drop his defenses is a delicate game, one that requires patience. There’ve been no more attacks, but the other symptoms act up occasionally, tinnitus being the biggest culprit. Telling him totake it easy is still a challenge, and it was clear that without his hearing aid, he was struggling.
I hadn’t realized how much until his haunted eyes glued themselves to my lips.
For the first time, fear shadowed his features, tanned skin ashen, body riddled with worry. Then, he disappeared.
Megan stopped me from running after him while she bandaged my arm.
Is he mad? Does he think I was careless? Is he angry at the crew? Megan tried to explain it was a freak accident on the drive here, but he wasn’t paying any attention. His plagued gaze was set on me through the rearview mirror, as if the world didn’t exist.
Dex disappeared to get a coffee ten minutes ago, and Megan left after dropping us off, reassuring her boss she had the rest of the shift covered.
“Florence Sadler?” a voice calls.
I glance around the busy waiting room, searching for his green cap. Nothing. I ignore the dejection and make my way over to the nurse. Smiling, she escorts me into a bay and removes the bandage Megan secured.
“Hmm, it doesn’t need stitches.” Her gloved fingers prod gently at the tender skin. “I’ll give it a quick clean and apply some Steri-Strips. Keep it dry for a few days, and it should heal fine.”
The curtain draws back, revealing a stricken Dex. Spotting me, he relaxes a fraction, eyes tracking me head to toe, over and over, until he’s satisfied.
“Oh,” the nurse exclaims. “Are you family?”
I wait, almost testing him.
I’m her boyfriend. Her partner.
Nothing. He stands there, hands shoved into his jeans, when someone else appears behind him.
“Mom?”
She tilts her head, expression a mix of worry and relief. “Oh, sweetheart. I came as soon as Dex called.”
“It’s nothing,” I brush off. My attention isn’t on her. It’s on Dex, who stares at the linoleum floor, shoulders hunched.
He called her.
“Mom, you can stay. Sir, you’ll have to wait outside if you’re not a relative,” the nurse says and finishes tending to my arm.
Dex nods and steps out of the cubicle, chin tucked to his chest without a single word.
So many emotions rush me, it’s hard to pinpoint a single one. All I know is he can’t leave me here. He wouldn’t.
“Excuse me for a second.” I shimmy out of the nurse’s hold and hop down from the bed.
“Florence?” my mom shouts, but I’m already sprinting past the curtain and taking a hard left. Dex’s big form lumbers toward the medical center exit.
I pick up speed, chasing after him, and wrap my hand around his bicep, halting his escape.
He turns, face blank.
“Are you okay?” I ask breathlessly.
His brows screw tight. “It’s not me you should worry about.”
