Page 59 of Release
Chapter 23
ALEXANDRA woke up in a blur. She was not sure where she was at first, but after her eyes could focus again, she looked around and slowly she remembered. Eva. The car accident. The sirens. Paramedics. The helicopter. She was airlifted to an urgent care hospital somewhere. Boy, did the back of her head hurt right now.
Bash.
She had to phone him. Looking around again, she noticed she was the only one in her room. The door to the hallway was on the left, and two people were speaking outside, but she could only make out the backs of their heads. She wondered where her purse was so she could phone her father, and definitely call Bash. First, she needed to find out how Eva was doing.
She searched around her bed for the patient help button, pressing down on it twice to get someone quickly. A nurse popped her head in the door after a few minutes.
“Everything all right, ma’am?” the nurse asked.
“I wanted to know about the woman who was admitted with me. Is she here at this hospital?”
The nurse stepped inside and came over to the foot of Alexandra’s bed. “I can check for you.” She pulled a tablet from a pouch at her side and scanned the bar code of the hospital tag on Alexandra’s wrist. “What’s your name, ma’am?” she asked, coming around the side of the bed to check Alexandra’s vitals on the monitors.
“Alexandra Storme.”
“Good. Is your vision blurred in any way?”
“No. I’m fine. How long was I out?”
The nurse looked at her watch. “Not long. It’s just after ten in the morning, and your admission records say you arrived after seven. Are you feeling dizzy or nauseous?”
“Not at all. I feel fine. Why? Is something wrong?”
“I have to ask, ma’am. You may have had some head trauma. The attending physician will explain in more detail, but we’re going to get you in for an MRI and keep you for observation for a day or two.”
“Well, all right.”
“Any head, neck or back pain?”
“Actually yes. The back of my head, right above my neck.”
“What’s your friend’s name?” she asked, taking notes in her tablet. “I’ll check on her while you wait for the doctor.”
“Evangeline Reese.”
“Okay. I’ll be back.”
“Thanks. Miss, did anyone contact my father?”
“Let me check,” she answered, scrolling through her tablet. “Yes. Mr. Maxwell Storme was noted as your next of kin in some documents the air ambulance paramedics must have found in your vehicle. He was contacted about forty minutes ago.”
“So they’ll send him in when he arrives? Wait, where am I?”
“Next Care Urgent Care Hospital, ma’am.”
“In what city? You said I was airlifted here?”
“Yes. You’re in Tucson, just northwest of the city near Casas Adobes.”
Relieved, she relaxed in the hospital bed again. She did not want her father to have to drive for hours to see her. “Great. Thank you for your help.”
“You’re welcome, ma’am. I’ll be back.”
Alexandra nodded as the woman returned her tablet to her pouch and left. Before the door swung closed, someone else held it to come in. It was her father. God, was she happy to see him.
“Hi Daddy. Before you start worrying, I’m fine.”
