Page 21 of Not Like Christmas At All
Doctor Connors huffs and drops the arm holding the tablet so it hangs limply by his side. His eyes narrow on me as though he believes he has any authority over me whatsoever. “It’s a once in a lifeti?—”
A high pitched scream penetrates the hall, cutting straight through the syllable Connors was speaking, and pierces straight through me.
NowI realize I’ve never known fear untilthismoment.
My head whips in the direction it came from, and I’m horrified as I watch Genesis’s body hit the epoxied flooring. A sickeningcrackI can hear even from this far down the hall permeates the air and has bile rising in my throat.
Not a thought passes through my mind before I’m sprinting to her, my shoes squeaking as I practically leap the last few steps, slamming to my knees down on the floor in front of her.
“Genesis!” Brushing the hair from her face, her eyes are shut, and my heart sinks. “Gen, can you hear me?”
Soft bursts of air come from her nostrils, and I know she’s still breathing, but even as I tap her shoulder, she doesn’t rouse.
“Someone get me a response team, NOW! And a cervical collar, immediately!”
The fear coursing through me turns my blood to ice. How could this have happened? And on Christmas—her favorite damn holiday.
Still kneeling, I stare down at Gen, urging her to wake up. My voice is a whispered mutter as I beg her to open her eyes. I’m a goddamn doctor, yet my fingers are trembling against her warm, velvet skin. “Wake up, Gen, c’mon.”
There’s a sharp aching in my chest as I watch her lying unnaturally still on the floor.
“We’ll take it from here, Doctor Stokes.” The response team comes up behind me, wheeling a gurney.
Rising to my feet, I nod once and step back to give them space. My throat tightens.
This.
Watching the woman I’ve been desperately trying to deny and hide my feelings for, injured and practically lifeless, unknowing of how hard her head hit the floor, or what her condition may be. Knowing her favorite day of the year was just ruined because I was careless and walked away without spotting her on that rickety old ladder.
Not knowing when she’ll wake up.
Thisis what real fear feels like.
Chapter Nine
The whirring buzz of machines is the first thing I hear when I wake up, followed by my pulse thumping in my eardrums.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize I’m currently a patient in my own place of work, but I’m unsure if the muffled voices I hear are the product of a dream or not. The throbbing in my head is enough to keep my eyes and mouth closed, and I quickly tumble back into a dreamless slumber.
The next time I wake, the room is cloaked in darkness, and I’m even more discombobulated than before.
Is it still Christmas?
Placing my palms flat on the bed, I slide myself up, moving as gingerly as possible. An IV protrudes from the crook of my arm, the weight of it sitting sharp in my vein.
Finally, my eyes adjust, and I’m able to find the bed’s remote and press the call button for a nurse, followed by the light.
It casts a dim glow above where I lay, and a gasp hitches in my throat when I see someone resting in the uncomfortable pleather chair beside me.
What is he doing here?
“Lincoln?” His name escapes me before I can stop myself, but it’s not enough to rouse him.
Surely, I’m concussed and he’s a figment of my imagination.
“Oh, good! You’re awake. How are you feeling, dear?” Nurse Edwin’s familiar smile comforts me as she walks into my room. There’s a hospital cup in her hand she extends to me, already anticipating my request for water.
“Foggy.” The cool drink slides down my throat, soothing the dryness.
