Page 77 of Once Bitten
Steve nodded and looked down for a moment before he smiled at her. “They would have loved you, doll,” he said, his eyes going soft on her.
“Really?”
“Of course. How could they not?” Steve said, kissing her gently. “Mom would have known how much you mean to me by the fact that I gave you the name my dad used for her.”
Jordyn felt like the breath in her lung had been punched out. “Doll?” she whispered.
“That’s the one.” Steve sat up and pulled Jordyn into his lap. “I have all of these great memories with my dad calling her doll, and every time he did, she just lit up like it was the Fourth of July.”
Jordyn smiled, broadly at Steve’s recollection of his parents together. It made her think of her own parents. She didn’t know what she would do without them around. They were her grounding force, the place she looked to when she was unsure, and without them...without them, her life wouldn’t be the same. It couldn’t be. She bit her lip and touched Steve’s cheek gently. The man in front of her had weathered that storm and was still here. He was so much stronger than he knew.
“They sound like they were in love.”
“They were.” Steve’s lips pressed against her shoulder. “Just like us... you light up just like her.”
“Steve.” Jordyn turned and wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders. “I love you.” She squeezed her eyes shut, heart thudding against her chest as the love she felt for him grew and threatened to crush her beneath its weight. She held him as tightly as she could. “I love you.”
“I love you too, doll.”
Jordyn closed her eyes as Steve leaned down to kiss her, and she let herself get lost in his touch. They were wrapped up in one another when the sound of a cell phone broke through to them. Steve groaned and pulled her close, choosing to ignore the phone, but Jordyn gently pushed back against his shoulders.
“It might be Dora or Jamie. I’ve been out of touch for a while, and I know he was worried after last night.”
“All right, all right.” Steve sighed, giving her a mock scowl before he rolled off of her and started looking for the phone. “It’s me,” he said, holding his phone up before he answered it. Steve leaned back against the bed where Jordyn sat. She had just wrapped her arms around Steve’s shoulders when he went rigid against her.
“What?!” Steve barked out, sitting up straight.
“When?” Steve asked, jumping off of the bed to grab his jeans. He was pulling on his clothes while he listened to whoever was on the phone, and the look on his face had Jordyn scared.
“Steve? Steve, what’s wrong?” Jordyn asked, following him off of the bed.
“Ok, thanks. I’ll be there as fast as I can.” Steve exhaled before hanging up and shoving the phone in his pocket.
“Get dressed, baby. We gotta go.” Steve was holding out Jordyn’s clothes to her with a panicked look in his eyes. Whatever was wrong was big.
“Steve what happened? What was that?” Jordyn tried again while she grabbed the clothes from Steve.
“It was Dora.”
“Dora?” Jordyn buttoned her jeans and looked at him in confusion.
“It’s Jamie, he was in a car accident.”
“Oh my god.” Jordyn whispered. She froze for a second before she redoubled her efforts to get dressed as fast as possible. She tripped, trying to get her legs through her jeans, but kept on going as Steve told her what had happened.
“Dora was with him last night after he left here, and they got side swiped. He’s at the hospital.” Steve explained, already walking down the hallway with Jordyn hurrying after him. She bit her lip when she saw that his hands were shaking despite his calm voice, so she grabbed her keys off of the table and took his arm. “Come on. Get your shoes on, and I’ll call a lift. We’ll be there in no time, okay?”
He nodded, mutely, bending to get his shoes on while Jordyn used the App to get a ride. Thankfully, there was a nearby driver, and within minutes, they were walking down to the parking lot where their driver was waiting for them.
“It’s going to be ok,” Jordyn assured him when they were sitting in the car, but Steve didn’t say anything. He just sat with his head in his hands the entire way to the hospital. The ride was quick and silent, and before long, they were hopping out of the car and hustling towards the hospital entrance.
“It’s going to be all right. I know it is,” she offered as they stepped into the hospital.
Steve just shook his head and gave her a solemn look. “Don’t say that. Anything could happen.”
Jordyn opened her mouth to respond,, but Dora came into view and Steve all but broke out into a run to her. “What happened?” he asked when he was standing in front of her, his hands in his hair.
Jordyn took in the bandage on Dora’s forehead and the sling on her arm and automatically went to her friend’s side. “Are you ok?” she asked.
