Page 253 of The Night Shift
The stitches on my brow pull when I look at him. “That seems a bit over the top.”
Parker nods once. His gaze drops, then lifts again. “Look, I’m —”
“I’m sorry,” I say before he can get another word out. “I…I shouldn’t have lied to you. I thought I was doing the right thing. I told myself I was protecting you. But…it wasn’t my choice to make. I did everything in my power to save him. I-I…need you to believe that.”
Parker stares at me, jaw tight. “I do,” he says. “Holly told me everything.”
Everything? I wait, not knowing what this “everything” entails exactly.
“It was a break-in,” Parker continues. “You tried to stop it. You got hurt doing it. And yeah, I know you didn’t just sit there and let him die.” His eyes go glassy on the last word. “What’s done is done, okay?” he adds. “I’m just glad you’re not…I’m glad you’re okay.”
“You really mean that?”
He nods. “Doesn’t mean I’m not still pissed at you.”
“I wouldn’t expect less.”
“Good. Because I’m still mad. But you’re my best friend and that’s never gonna change. I’m not saying I forgive you completely. You were still a dick.” He shrugs. “But you’re my dick.”
I stare at him.
“Okay, that sounded a lot better in my head.”
“Did it?”
“Nope. I’m done here.”
I let out a quiet laugh. It pulls on my ribs, and I hiss, my good hand curling against the blanket. “Fuck.”
Before I can say anything else, I hear a loud commotion in the hall. A voice yelling. Clear and feral and very familiar: “GET OUT OF MY WAY, GODDAMMIT!”
The prettiest voice to ever grace planet earth.
Two more seconds and she’s at the doorway. My golden-haired angel of death.
There’s a sling over her shoulder. Her hair is messy. A curtain of gold. Her eyes are bloodshot like she hasn’t slept for days. Her lab coat is thrown over her scrubs, a stethoscope looped around her neck. Her skin is pale, but she looks happy…I think? And beautiful. Always beautiful. She also looks like she can’t believe what she’s seeing. Is it my hair? Is it not set properly? Fuck, do I have something on my face?
“Oh my god,” Holly’s voice cracks. “You…you’re awake.”
Before I can speak, April appears behind her sister and sidesteps into the room. “The nurse is on her way,” she says. “Though she’s probably waiting for the screaming doctor to leave first.” She tugs at her husband’s arm. “Come on. You can make out with your boyfriend later.”
Parker lets her drag him toward the door, where he shoots Holly an unamused look. “Try not to maim my best friend, please?”
“Eat glass, asshole,” Holly mutters, her amber eyes never leaving mine.
April yanks his arm harder. “Comeonnn. You said you were gonna buy me some vending machine ice cream. Now’s your chance.”
Once they’re gone, the pain dulls. The noise fades. There’s room for nothing but her.
I finally notice the swelling on her shoulder. The bruises, the gash on her cheek. And suddenly the words that wouldn’t come before, they’re here now. “Love, who hurt you?”
Holly’s face crumples like a piece of paper.
Two strides. That’s all it takes for her to get to me. She flings her good arm around me, neither one of us giving a shit if it hurts or not and nuzzles her sweet face into the crook of my bruised neck. “You fucking bastard.” Her voice is wet and shaking. “I’m going to kill you. I’m going to kill you so hard.”
Every word is punctuated by her hugging me tighter.
I lift a hand, weak and trembling, and thread my fingers through her soft hair. My hospital gown isn’t tied all the way, so it droops over one shoulder, showing the bandages just underneath my collarbone.
