Page 9 of Tank
“You can call me Tank,” I said not able to make eye contact with her. “Or Noah, whatever.” Her shoulders visibly relaxed as she let out a long breath.
“Well, Tank seems very fitting,” she said with a small girly chuckle. It wasn’t quite a laugh and could almost have been a giggle, but there was no flirtation behind her tone. Not that I wanted there to be, because the last fucking thing I needed was a nurse with a damn crush taking care of me. “How are you feeling? Any pain?”
“No, I’m fine. Throat is a little sore, but other than that I don’t really feel anything.” I didn’t bother mentioning that the side of my face and arm itched like a bitch. I figured it was due to the scar tissue from the burns. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. There was really no excuse for the way I had treated her earlier, and if my mom had been there, in the hospital or not, she would have verbally slapped me upside the head.
“It’s quite alright. I’m sorry I upset you.” She flashed me a smile so quick I wondered if I even really saw it.
“How soon can I get out of here?” I asked.
“Well, you are scheduled for MRI and CAT scan in about an hour. After the doctor goes over your results, he will have a better idea of when you can be released,” she supplied with a generic answer. “My best guess would be another day or two. You seem physically healthy. You’re healed and you don’t appear to have any lingering head trauma or amnesia, so if all goes well, you won’t be here much longer.”
“Thank you,” I said closing my eyes and letting my head fall back onto the pillow. I was sure she more than likely wasn’t supposed to say things like that to me, but I appreciated it. Then again maybe, she was just happy to be rid of me. I had been an asshole, after all.
“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” Axe said after the nurse was out the door. He wasn’t just talking about the hospital. He knew that in my heart I was ready to walk away from it all, that I needed to be away from everything that reminded me of what I’d lost.
“Yeah,” I grunted. I knew he wasn’t going to try and stop me.
“You at least gonna let them know before you do?” he asked and I shrugged.
As much as I wanted to walk out of the hospital and leave everything behind, I knew there would be no way I could do that. Angry as I was, I still loved my family, brothers and all. My mother’s heart was broken, much like mine, and I knew it would kill her even more if I didn’t say goodbye.
