Page 81 of Hesi-Dating
"How long do I have to stay here?" I itched to rip out the IV catheter and leave.
He shrugged. "Maybe tomorrow."
Amber came in carrying two bags of take-out. "Oh, hey. You're awake. That's awesome. They won't let you eat this. Sorry. When the doctor says you're good to eat you have to eat cafeteria crap. Makes no sense to me. You almost died. Now all you can eat is shit food."
"I'm not hungry. Did you see Seth or hear anything from him?"
"No. Something big happened that involved a shooter at a school. Heard it on the radio. He probably had to go deal with it."
"Something bigger than Joley getting shot and Nosh killed?" Bruno asked.
Amber rotated her phone to show me a local news clip. Seth spoke to cameras, but I couldn't hear since the sound wasn't on. Across the bottom it read: "School shooting averted by sheriff 's department."
"Another potential shooting?" Poor Seth having to deal with all this in one day. "I need to call him. Make sure he's okay."
"No," Bruno snapped. "He set you up to potentially get killed just to take down Nosh."
"We don't know exactly what happened," I defended. "Give me your phone so I can call him." I vaguely remembered dropping my phone when Nosh choked me. That meant it wouldn't be here.
"He might be overwhelmed today," Amber said neutrally. "Maybe we give him a bit of time. He's probably got a lot of people to deal with regarding a school shooting. He probably has a lot of paperwork to fill out over what happened with you. I'm not sure how it works when he shoots someone."
I didn't like Amber's tone. Couldn't figure out if it was accusatory, but she sounded like Bruno.
"It was him or me," I said. "I would've died if he hadn't made the shot. Let me at least thank him." I made no attempt to wipe away the few loose tears that escaped as I turned away from them in the bed. I wanted Seth.
The nurse came in and pushed something into my IV line.
I conked out within minutes of the treatment. When I woke up and asked the nurse about Seth, she said he hadn't come by. They discharged me around ten in the morning and still no word from him. At that moment my heart broke. He'd left me when I needed him most.
ChapterThirty-Three
JOLEY
Five months later…
"Don't you have school to catch up on?" Amber asked as she finished packing her lunch for work. "Or a job to go to?"
I stared sightlessly at the gameshow on television. It was a belated Easter episode since the holiday was last weekend. My stomach tightened. I couldn't look at her. "No."
"Are you on spring break? Seems late for that."
"I failed out last term, remember? They kicked me out permanently."
"I thought it was just that quarter."
"No, I'm out. So, yeah, I'm a dropout yet again. Isiah doesn't need me to babysit as often since Junior is in preschool more days now." With a grimace I nibbled on my lower lip, waiting for Amber to explode.
"Why didn't you tell me?" No outburst. Just a tinge of worry in her tone.
"I didn't want to give you more reasons to be disappointed in me. Plus, you had all the drama with your TV boyfriend who left you to go on a veterinary TV show in Africa. Then you went after him and have been so happy in your own life. I didn't want to overshadow that with my shit show."
Amber sat beside me on the sofa and pulled me into a hug. "I've never been disappointed in you. You're one of the most interesting people I know."
"Yeah, right." I released a sarcastic snort. "Can't keep a job. Can't stay in school. I'm almost thirty and I'm still living with my sister because I can't make ends meet."
"Let's not forget to add in that you got shot by a psychotic gang leader who had been stalking you most of your life. You're allowed a little PTSD. You fell in love last year, which was a first." She rested her head on my shoulder. "I like you and the boys here. We're better together as a family than we are apart. I kind of wish as our family grows that we could all stay together in one giant house."
"I'd like that but if you and Ian tie the knot…" I giggled at heroh-shitface. "It'll happen. He's that kind of guy. When it does, we need to be out of here so you can build your own life."
