Left Together (21 page)

“Yes,
you and me,” Evan says, sounding insulted.

“But I
don’t understand. Why aren’t you pissed? You have every right to hate me. You
should be yelling, not trying to make me feel better.”

“If
you want to know the truth, I
was
pissed, Kacie. When Jake told me what
happened, I fucking lost it.” Evan lets out a long, exhausted breath. “I even
told him he could have you.” He reaches up to cradle my face in his hand when
he sees the pain in my eyes. “I swear, I didn’t mean it. It was just the anger
talking. You’re mine. I’m never letting you go again.” He kisses my head and
continues. “Jade tried…”

“Jade
knows, too?” Fuck me. That’s going to be a problem.

“Yeah,
she does. I’m sorry. Jake blurted it out. He wasn’t worried who was there at
the time, I guess. Anyway, she tried to talk me down, but that wasn’t
happening. When I left their house, I went straight to the boat. I calmed down,
until I got back to my place. Everything there reminded me of you and I kind of
blew up all over again. I threw some of your stuff in the trash. I’m sorry.” I
cringe at the visual.

“Are
you only here because you found out about the accident?” Knowing the answer to
this may emotionally break me.

“No.
After I realized it was all my fault to begin with, I started thinking. I was
getting ready to go to your house when my aunt and uncle stopped by. I already
knew I was going to fight for you before they told me you were hurt.”

“It’s
not because you feel guilty?”

“Sweetheart,
I’m here because you’re here. Being wherever you are is the only thing that
makes me whole.” The shivering has started back up, so Evan tugs on the blanket
to cover me better.

“I’m
so sorry,” I say. “I wish I could change what happened.”

“Me,
too. The worst part is that when I was pulling out of their driveway yesterday
morning, I saw the ambulance driving by. I was right there and I went the other
way. I left you,” he whispers, tears forming in his eyes.

“You
didn’t leave me, Evan.”

“It
sure feels that way.”

“Are
we just going to go back and forth, taking the blame for this fucked-up mess?”

“No. Here’s
what’s going to happen. We’re going to concentrate on getting you better, then
we’re going to move on. This bullshit stays put. You got it?”

“But,
I…”

“Tell
me one thing. If there was no one on the boat that night, if you didn’t think I
was having sex with someone else, would it have happened?”

“No.”
He’s right. I would’ve still been pissed, but not in the frame of mind I was in
when showing up at Jake’s house.

“Kacie,
that’s why I’m begging you to let it go. If you can do that for me, I’ll do it
for you. We go back to how things were before.”

Using
my good hand…well, as good as it can be with a stupid IV needle stuck in it…I
intertwine my fingers with Evan’s. I have no other choice except to do what he
is asking. When it all comes down to it, I wouldn’t be able to live without
him. “Can one thing change?” I ask with a small smile.

“Depends…,”
Evan answers cautiously. “What did you have in mind?”

“The ‘L’
word.” Remembering our conversation from the last time we were together in my
bathroom, I bite my lip to prevent myself from laughing. It’s mostly because my
ribs will hurt like a bitch if I even chuckle.

“I’ll
tell you how much I love you from now until the end of time, but don’t you
dare
use the other ‘L’ word when I’m naked. Ever.”

The
laugh I tried to keep in sneaks out. “Ouch!” I say, letting go of his hand to
hold my side. “You’re so sensitive.”

“It’s
hard to feel sorry for you when you’re busting my balls.” He kisses my cheek,
while trying to figure out the best way to hold me so he doesn’t hurt me.

“The
funny part is, you have absolutely nothing to worry about,” I assure him.

“I’ve
seriously missed your beautiful smile.”

“Remember
that when you get fed up listening to me bitch and moan about this damn arm.”

“I’m
just glad you’re here to bitch and moan,” he says, sadly. That’s something I
won’t allow myself to consider, but Evan apparently has.

Neither
of us say anything for a bit. Actually, Evan has gone still and his breathing
is steady, so I wonder if he’s fallen asleep. Just in case he has, I try not to
move. What the hell am I saying? I couldn’t move even if I wanted to. The
silence is a nice break. It allows my brain time to relax and process shit.
Maybe there’s nothing to analyze, but I’m still afraid Evan will change his
mind once all of this is said and done. Time will tell, I suppose.

A
light knocking on the door startles us both. Evan lifts his head. “Hey,” he
says, putting his head back on the pillow.

“I
heard my favorite patient is finally awake,” my brother’s voice fills the room.
I don’t see him until he rounds the bed to the side of my broken arm. “How are
you feeling?”

“I’m
okay,” I tell him as he leans over to kiss my head.

“Liar.”

“I’ll
feel much better when I get home.”

“We’ll
try to discharge you tomorrow.”

“No
way,” I reject. “You’re sending me home today.”

“Don’t
start, Kacie. It’s been a rough twenty-four hours.”

“Imagine
how bad the next twenty-four will be if I’m not at home.”

I can
tell my brother is regretting coming in here. Evan sits up. “Sweetheart, please
just listen…,” he attempts.

My
boyfriend is brave. I’ll give him that. “Are you coming home with me?”

“Yes…,”
he says, matter-of-factly.

“See.”
I turn to my brother. “Evan will be there. Jade is right next door and will
gladly stay if I ask her to. I’ll be fine.”

“I’d
feel much better if you stayed here one more night.”

“Noah,
I need to take a shower and get clean clothes,” I say, determined. “I feel
disgusting.”

“I can
give you a sponge bath, if you like,” Evan offers, smiling.

The
look Noah sends Evan is comical. “Not cool, man. That’s my little sister.”

Evan
shrugs, pretending to be indifferent. “I’m just trying to help out.”

“Real
fucking helpful,” Noah grumbles.

I attempt
to sit up, but I can’t. When Noah goes to point out how much trouble I’m
having, Evan holds out his hand for me to grab. Once I’m up, he pushes pillows
behind my back. Dizziness catches me off guard, causing my eyes to squeeze
closed.

“Kacie…”

“Noah,
I understand you’re worried. You and Addie are more than welcome to come over
and stay at my house tonight so you can keep an eye on me. We can order pizza
or something. Evan even knows how to make fantastic French toast for breakfast.”
I don’t miss the glance Evan shares with Noah. “What was that for?”

Evan
pulls his phone out of his pocket to appear busy. “Don’t look at me. This is
between you and your brother,” he says, turning away.

“What
did I miss?”

“Nothing.”

 “Did…you…eat…pizza…in…this…room…while…I…was…sleeping?”
Neither one of them answer, and I’m pissed.  

“We
had to eat something,” Noah confesses.

“You
could’ve shown some sympathy and ate shitty hospital food.”

“Let
me see your arm.” My brother changes the subject. Slowly, he peels away the
bandage. I’m not sure if I want to know what it looks like, so my eyes
immediately look at Evan.

“Don’t
forget what I told you,” I remind my brother.

“How
could I?” he asks.

“What
did you tell him?” Evan wonders.

Noah
chuckles. “She told me if I left a big, nasty scar, she’d get an ugly tattoo to
cover it up. I believe she said something about somehow adding my name to the
design so everyone would know who was responsible for it.”

“You
threatened the guy who was going to cut your arm open?” Evan asks, his eyes
wide open.

“Why
are you surprised?”

“I’m
not sure,” he says, tilting his forehead to mine.

“It
looks pretty damn good, if I do say so myself,” Noah gloats. Evan shifts to
admire my brother’s handiwork.

“Thank
goodness. I like your arms just the way they are,” Evan jokes.

Since
he looked, I guess I should, too. It takes a moment for me to prepare myself,
but once I do, relief takes over. It doesn’t look bad at all. The incision is a
little longer than I thought it would be, but I can deal with it.

“How
long until I can move it?”

“Not
as long as you’re probably thinking. Brandi, could you please bring me the
computer?”

“Sure,
Dr. Foster,” she tells him, unplugging the laptop from the charger and bringing
it over, then pushing the bedside table around the bed for him to set the
computer on.

Noah
clicks on a few things, then motions for me to look at the screen. He’s
pointing at an x-ray of my arm. “Here’s what it looks like with the plate and
screws.” When I was in the ER, he showed me the before picture. With my limited
medical knowledge, I could tell it wasn’t pretty. At least everything is now lined
up the way it should be. “Your fracture isn’t in the shoulder. It’s more
distal.” I turn to him, confused. “Lower,” he corrects himself. “When and how
much you move it will really depend. You’ll leave here with a sling, but it
won’t be the kind you typically see. It’s more of a strap that goes around your
neck and the middle of your forearm. It does not support your elbow. The
purpose is to give you minimal support and, at the same time, let gravity pull
your arm down. If you use the traditional sling, it holds your arm up too high.
If we’d do that, the bone may not heal right, even with the plate in place.

“Right
from the start, you should keep your fingers and wrist moving. Doing so will
help prevent stiffness and swelling. Something like a stress ball works fine
for this. Pain in the area normally lasts about two weeks, but I’m going to
have you start physical therapy in the next few days. The first thing they deal
with is helping the pain subside. They’ll massage the muscles around the bone, as
well as apply ice and heat. When the therapist shows you exercises to do at
home, do them, but don’t
over
do them. Following his recommendations will
help the recovery process. As the bone and muscles around it heal, you’ll
gradually add strength and stretching exercises. If all goes well, you should
feel improvement with pain and movement after only a few sessions. For this
kind of trauma, an average recovery is about three months. The bone itself can
take up to twelve months to fully heal, though.” It thrills me to know I’ll
have to deal with this shit for the next year of my life. Noah notices my
frustration. “Your ribs will cause more trouble for you than your arm over the
next few days.”

“Great,”
I say. “Now, can you give me the good news that you’re going to send me home?”

“How
about we compromise? We’ll get you something to eat. As long as you can keep it
down and someone is going to stay with you for at least the next forty-eight
hours, I’ll release you.”

“Really,
Noah? Hospital food? Even someone who didn’t just have surgery would have a
hard time not throwing it up,” I pout.

“I’m
on it,” Evan announces, walking away, making a phone call.

“As if
starting my first year at Shining Stars isn’t going to be stressful enough, now
I have to do it with one arm.”

“I’m
sure Dr. Kelly could get you a substitute for a month or two,” my brother
suggests.

“Absolutely
not,” I refuse. “The kids deserve to start and finish the year with the same
teacher. It’s not fair for them to get used to one, then change it on them.”

“Do
you have any idea how proud of you I am?” His words make me smile. “Honestly,
kiddo. You’re the strongest, most independent person I know.”

“Thanks.”

“Jade
is on her way with fresh clothes and soup,” Evan informs us, then makes another
call.

“I’ve
been talking to him a lot. He really cares about you. Did you guys work out
whatever was wrong?”

I
glance over to see Evan watching me as he talks into the phone. He winks. “I
hope so,” I tell Noah.

“I’m
glad.”

“So am
I.”

“All
right.” Noah hands the computer back to the nurse. “I’m going to finish up some
paperwork and get your discharge papers ready. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“Better
than if I stay here. Can you get rid of all this stuff?” I hold up my hand with
the IV in it. “Please,” I add, thinking he’ll say no.

My
brother just sighs and says, “I hope you’re never my patient again. Brandi,
I’ll put in the order. Please disconnect her from everything before she does it
herself. She’ll end up puking and making a mess.”

“No
problem,” she replies, chuckling.