Finally. He sounds so sure.
Lisa blushed as she stood to kiss him. “You have no idea how glad I am that you’re coming back to me,” she told him, staring into his eyes. “I miss you so much.”
“Tell me what I’ve missed. Tell me what happened. What’s happened since? I’ll probably fall asleep at some point, but please just tell me.”
She nodded and began to fill him in on everything he’d missed. He dipped in and out of sleep, but she was enjoying knowing he was inching closer to his old self.
“I forgot to ask how Jer’s face is?” he mumbled to her. “Did I break his nose again?”
“Again?” Lisa repeated, horrified.
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Jeremy answered grinning as he came into the room and took a seat next to the bed. “My face is as gorgeous as ever, man. See? A couple bruises can’t hold this pretty-boy face back. Gained me some real sympathy with the lovely nurse, so of course I totally forgive you.”
They laughed together. “I really am sorry, Jer. Can I play the brain damage card? How much mileage can I get out of that card? I mean, it’s the truth, after all.”
“Don’t sweat it, and you’ve been playing that card for a while – though it has nothing to do with your accident!” he joked.
Chapter 35
They split the visits up between them: AJ’s family, Britt, Lisa and Jeremy. The doctor had said to keep the circle close for the early days. Everyone took it in shifts, and they went in pairs so as not to overwhelm him. The pairings changed daily, based on everyone’s schedules. By the time Lisa’s turn came the next day, AJ’s restraints had been removed, along with his catheter, and he’d even been allowed to get up and use the restroom.
“Well, well, well, look at you,” she beamed when she walked in and leaned over to give him a kiss hello.
“I had an accident,” he told her. “They had to change my bed again.”
“Don’t worry about that,” she answered. “They told us it would be a while before everything worked how it’s supposed to, remember?”
“I know,” he sighed. “I feel like a friggin’ baby though. It’s so frustrating. I’d love to go for a run and clear the cobwebs.”
“Not today, sunshine,” she warned playfully.
“I know. If I can’t even control when I pee right now, putting one foot in front of the other seems a stretch.”
Jeremy burst in. He was running late, but he was also holding a cooler bag. “Dude. Ice cream?”
“For real? I’m so sick of that crap they call food here. Hospital food really does suck. Hand it over!”
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t see this,” the doctor no one noticed coming in joked. “Though there’s really no reason you can’t have some ice cream. There are no restrictions on your diet. You’ve been eating well and you’ve clearly got an appetite. Welcome back, AJ. I’ve been out at meetings for a while, so I haven’t been around. We need to do some scans and draw some blood, but everything looks like it’s improving. I’m sure everyone is very relieved you have finally opened your eyes.”
Lisa recognized him from the night AJ was brought in. “Doctor? Now that he’s not catheterized, is he allowed out of bed more?”
“Not unsupervised, not yet. Physical therapy and occupational therapy will be a couple times a day for a few days, just until he’s strong enough to walk unaided. His body is still adjusting for now and we don’t want him taking any more falls.”
“So, he’s not allowed to go for a run?”
The doctor eyed her skeptically, “No ma’am. We’re definitely not there yet.”
“Thank you, just checking. He said he felt like a run – just making sure we get doctor’s orders on the record.”
The doctor laughed. “Any other questions?”
“I’m good. AJ?”
“Realized I’m still here, did ya?” AJ laughed “I don’t have any questions, thanks, Doc.”
***
It took about another week before AJ could handle more than two or three visitors at a time and the doctor finally signed off on allowing his friends and teammates to visit and spend time with him. During that time his coordination and memory both improved and the physio team was happy for him to go to the bathroom or to take a short walk to the nurses’ station and back a couple times a day.
Progress. Definite, actual, tangible, measurable progress, Lisa thought as she walked next to him on their second trip of the day to visit the nurses.
“Penny for your thoughts?” AJ asked as they turned back toward his room. She could see a bead of sweat running down the side of his face.
“Are you pushing yourself too hard? Do you need to sit?”
“I’m fine, mom. I’ll sit when I get back to my room. Really, I’m ok. Come on, tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I was just thinking at how you’re progressing. It’s been quite the rollercoaster couple weeks.”
“I still don’t remember a lot, but I’m definitely glad to be conscious and awake.”
They’d already reached his bed and Lisa was helping him get comfy. At that moment, the door opened and people started to trickle in.
“Visiting time must have started,” she smiled at AJ. “If it gets too much, let me know, ok?”
“Yes, mom,” he joked again, though seeing her raised eyebrows, he quickly back-tracked, “Ma’am. I meant ma’am.” He grinned at her and shrugged. “Brain damage!”
Lisa rolled her eyes. “That excuse is gonna get old quickly, AJ Williams, and certainly doesn’t excuse even jokingly calling me your mom,” she teased.
“But it’s such a good excuse!”
“Man, I’m so glad your smart-ass was one of the first things to return!” she joked.
“You have always liked my ass.”
She stepped aside while people came to see him, hug him, and to chat, welcoming him back. The emotion in the room was palpable and overwhelming. The relief and the sheer joy that he had woken up was a lot to take in for everyone. Lisa sat quietly beside the door, and let everyone have their time with AJ. She’d had plenty of time with him since he’d woken up, and for now she was happy to just sit and watch everyone else’s excitement while still keeping an eye that he didn’t get too overwhelmed. There were only four people there, plus her, but she was protective of him. Their eyes met from time to time and he’d smiled at her. A knowing smile, a smile that thanked her for understanding and being protective.
By eight o’clock, even she was tired.
“Hey, Irish? You wanna go get some food?” Jeremy asked. Cindy had arrived to relieve her, and she knew he was keen to get her outside the hospital for a while. She looked at AJ. His visitors were largely gone, and he had fallen asleep. Mike was there as were Ana and their mom, she was sure he’d be fine.
“Sure, I’m starving,” she replied quietly as she slipped out, quietly glad of a break from the hospital and some fresh air.
***
“Has anyone eaten breakfast?” Lisa asked the room the next morning, loudly enough to be heard, but hoping not to wake the patient.
Stupid question. She instantly regretted asking. Leaving with a shopping list, she made her way down to the cafeteria to buy everyone's breakfast. Standing facing the door marked “stairs” next to the elevators with her arms full of enough food to feed a whole hockey team, she opted for the “screw it” option of taking the elevator.
And I feel no shame at taking the lazy option right now.
By the time they’d all eaten, AJ had woken up and was nibbling on his own breakfast.
“What’s your plan today, Lis?” he asked her over the chatter.
“I need to do laundry and go buy you some more suitable pajamas.”
“What’s wrong with my pajamas?” he asked, looking down at himself.
“They’re old-man pjs,” Jeremy answered through a mouthful of food.
Wasn’t the food all gone? How is he still hungry and where the hell is he putting all this food?
“What he said. You need cartoon character jammies. Or…something. Maybe unicorn jammies? But definitely not old-man jammies.”
He smiled at her and patted the bed for her to sit next to him. “Unicorn jammies? Man! You’re too good to me.”
“Don’t ever forget it,” she said playfully, kissing him softly before taking her leave of the group. She packed up all her stuff and told them she was going back to AJ’s for a shower and to do some laundry in case AJ forgot later and asked where she was. She kissed him on the forehead. She promised she’d be back again soon. Before she’d made it five feet outside of his room, she heard footsteps behind her.
“You ok?”
“Sure!” She answered cheerfully. Brad stood staring at her, not convinced.
“I am…ok…fine…Not really, Brad. I’m tired, overwhelmed. And I feel like I’ve been bathing in chlorine all week. I need a hot bubble bath, a change of clothes and a nap. I’ll be ok. Please look after him while I’m gone.”
“Sure thing.”
She arrived back at his house and crammed all of the dirty clothing into one load of laundry. She tidied up round the house a little while her steaming hot bubble bath was running. After an hour-long soak, she dried her hair, put on a pair of AJ’s boxers and a t-shirt that was lying on his bed; it still smelled of him. Checking the clock, seeing it was midday, she set her alarm for 4pm and collapsed into bed.
Waking up a few minutes before her alarm was due to go off, she got up and dressed, brushed her hair, and called Jeremy at the hospital.
“Has he eaten?”
“No, he played with his delicious, Michelin-star hospital food for a while, but gave up on it. That’s sarcasm in case you didn’t get it. That crap looked like baby food.”
“I’m getting pizza. You’re in charge of distracting the nurses while I sneak it in.” she told him.
“Sure, I’ll get one of the guys to help.”
“Who else is there? Just so I know how much food to bring.”
“Everyone, for now, but who knows?”
“Ok, I’ll grab a couple pizzas, some chips and juice.”
“How about you get pizzas, some fries and sodas, Irish girl. And start speaking American!”
“Shut up and go come up with a plan to distract the nurses that doesn’t involve getting arrested for taking your clothes off in public. I’ll be there soon.”
Hanging up, she giggled and called the pizza place AJ liked. After ordering seven large pizzas and some fries – she was feeding hockey players, after all – she headed to the grocery shop next door to pick up some sodas. Before long, she was headed to the hospital. Mike met her in the parking lot and took the bag of heavy cans from her.
It was a flawless operation, mainly because no distraction was needed. The nurses’ station was empty when the elevator stopped. As Lisa entered the room, she was practically attacked by a swarm of hungry guys.
She handed over the food and headed straight to her boy. Kissing him lightly on the head, she said, “You look tired, gorgeous.”
“You look gorgeous, gorgeous,” he answered, smiling and reaching his arms out to grab her and pull her down to his level. He kissed her lips softly, and she felt color rising in her face.
“You just proper kissed me in front of your parents,” she hissed at him when they’d finished. “You must be feeling better!” She ruffled his hair a little and pulled up her chair. “But you do look tired,” she finished as the room descended into a shoveling-food-in-their-faces-kind-of quiet.
AJ was sitting up, looking bright and happy, but he really did look tired. It had been a busy day for him.
The day probably drained him, she thought. The number of people who came by must have been overwhelming – even though they didn’t all come at once, and the doctors probably bugged him for blood and scans and tests. I’m sure he’s feeling it.
“He has definitely been cleared to eat this, right? The doctor said no restrictions?” she asked the room as she handed him a slice.
“Yes ma’am!” Jeremy answered through a full mouth of pizza.
“You been out of bed yet today?” she asked him as he took a bite of pizza.
He nodded. “I’ve done three trips to visit the lovely nurses – I think they’ve started timing me.”
“You eating?” Jeremy asked her as he ate.
“I got something before I came over,” she answered him, throwing him her best don’t start anything right now, look.
“What’s going on?” AJ asked, taking another bite. She’d never seen someone so happy to eat pizza before.
“I better get going,” Britt chimed, unintentionally talking over him. “I gots me a boyfriend to go meet.”
She made her goodbyes and said she’d be back in two weeks. Hugging Lisa, she added, “Take care of our boy?” with a wink.
“I better get going too,” Ana added getting to her feet. “My flight leaves soon. I’ll be back as soon as I can Pim,” she told him, grabbing him into a bear hug and kissing his cheek.
“Good to get to know you, Lis,” she said, hugging her tightly. “I would say look after him while I’m gone. But after everything, I have no doubts you will. You do, however, need reminded to look after yourself.”
She made doubly sure Lisa had her number, said goodbye to her parents, and left.
By this stage, the food had been devoured. Brad and Jeremy did a quick clean-up job. Lisa cracked the windows to clear some of the pizza-smell and grabbed a soda.
Glancing around the room to see who was left, she smiled slightly. Jeremy, Brad, Mike and Marc. Most of AJ’s inner circle.
“So, you gonna tell me why you’re checking to see if my girlfriend is eating?” AJ asked Jeremy. She turned her face to look out the window, as the room went quiet and everyone suddenly took interest in the hospital paint job.
“Dude. She fainted, remember? With you out of action, someone had to make sure she was eating!”
“Ok…”
Still looking out the window, Lisa avoided looking at AJ. He could read her like a book and she didn’t want to get into it in front of his teammates.
“So,” he continued, changing tactics, “who is gonna bring me up to date with what has happened in the last six days?” Before anyone could respond, the door opened. Three, the asshole that caused this whole mess, whose name she still didn’t know, nor cared to know, stood staring back at everyone’s dumbfounded faces.
Chapter 36
“Oh, hell no!”
Everyone turned to look at Lisa.
“You have some nerve!” she shrieked. “You are not welcome here! And you need to leave before I launch myself across this room. Do you understand me?” Her voice shook as she spoke. It wasn’t exactly raised, but her tone was menacing enough to draw some raised eyebrows.
Jeremy knew who he was, as did the other players. They seemed to be too stunned to speak and were seemingly wondering what the heck she was going to do next. But Brad had no idea who the guy standing in the doorway was. AJ also seemed confused.
“Dude, what the hell did you do to her?” Brad asked, smiling.
“What did he do to me?” she asked, with visceral anger. “He sexually assaulted me in the bar,” she snapped. Seeing the horror spread across Brad’s face, she continued. “But that’s not the worst of it, Brad. Oh, no. This is the dumb fuck who put AJ into a mother fucking coma,” she fumed.
“Lis…” AJ’s voice was quiet and steady. “Don’t…Please?”
“Don’t what?” she spat, furiously. “Don’t give him a hard time? Why not? He deserves it.”
She could feel her cheeks getting hot. She wanted to launch herself across the room at this guy. Why has no one else jumped this douche bag?
She looked around the room. No one would meet her gaze and a couple of the guys shifted uncomfortably in their seats.
“I just came to-”
“You need to be quiet right now,” she instructed Three, her voice low and shaking with anger.
“Lisa, please. Let him speak,” AJ said.
She turned to look at AJ, stunned that he hadn’t just told him to get the hell out of his room.
“Excuse me? Let him speak? Don’t you think he’s done enough AJ?”
“Lis, please?” he pleaded with her.
“Wait. So, one minute everyone wants to kill him for feeling me up against the bar. He almost kills you on the fucking ice. And now, what? It’s all let’s be friends? You’re kidding me, right? Please tell me you’re kidding me. Dirty, cheating asshole.” She directed the last part at Three, but her voice was a mix of fury and sobs.
“Lisa!”
“Fine. If he’s staying, I’m not.” She picked up her bag and stormed out of the room pushing past him.
Clearly, AJ was letting the guy say his piece. She didn't understand why, but she knew she didn’t want to be in the same room as him. She thought Jeremy should have thrown him out the minute he walked in the door. She was so filled with rage and confusion. AJ was clearly exhausted after a long day, but that didn’t explain why his reaction to Three had been very different to hers. She wanted to beat the ever-living crap out of him. AJ wanted to talk to him. His parents had sat quietly. Waves of emotion hit her as she started down the stairs. She took them two at a time.
I can’t be here. I need to get some air. I need to think.
Lisa hesitated when she got to the door of the hospital. Her comatose boyfriend had just woken up, his friends and family had grown to like her, and she should have been there, by his side.
What would Chelsea say?
She paused for a moment to think.
Don’t do things because you think you should.
What else?
That it’s ok to put yourself first, especially when you need to.
There was a cab waiting at the door when she got outside.
I’m two for two on serendipitously positioned taxis, she thought glumly as she got in and slammed the door. Not to mention I’m running away from a messed-up situation yet again. Guilt tugged at her. She directed the cab driver to take her to AJ’s house to get a few of her things, and from there she took herself to a hotel. She didn’t want to be found so she switched off her phone.
Intimate Strangers (The Lisa Millar Series Book 1) Page 19