by Caila Olsen
Chapter 10
RILEY
“I am going with Ethan to pick up some pizza. Do you want to come?” Sam asks me.
“Sure, it will be nice to get out of here for a bit,” I respond. I was told that I could leave the building as long as I was accompanied by someone. Next week I will be released to go home.
“I brought your Juicy sweats from home since I figured you would need to get out of that hospital gown sometime,” Sam says as she tosses me a bag of clothes.
“Maybe I wanted to start a new trend going out like this? I would call it clinique chic,” I say. “What do you think?” I ask as I try my best to strike a pose while balancing on my crutches.
“How about no,” Sam says with a giggle. “Just go put on some normal clothes,” she demands as she points to the sweats she brought me.
“I think I could pull this look off. Just saying,” I say as I pick up the clothes off the bed.
“I will be out here if you need any help,” Sam says as she shuts the door behind her.
This will be a little more difficult than I thought it would be. At least they are loose fitting pants. I sit down on the chair and slip the first pant leg over my leg with the cast. When it comes to flexibility, I am the worst. I can barely reach my toes. This is proving to be a challenge since I can’t bend my leg, but I manage. I then slip off my gown and put on my white t-shirt with the word Vogue written across the chest. I get myself back up on my feet and make my way to the mirror to make sure my hair is still intact and to put on my M.A.C. lip gloss. Usually I would never be seen going out like this, but it is either this or the hospital gown. It’s just to grab a pizza, it’s not like it’s a fashion show or anything.
I hear a knock on the door. “Is everything okay in there?” Sam asks. “Ethan is wondering where we are.”
“Tell Ethan we are on our way out,” I say as I open the door to the hallway.
Sam takes a look at me. “Much better. Not 100% Riley, but we are getting somewhere.”
I roll my eyes at her. “I can’t wait until this leg heals up,” I say.
I feel the heat from the sun hit my face immediately as we step out of the building. The fresh air feels so nice. It feels like ages since I have been outside. I reach into my Kate Spade purse and pull out my Ray Ban sunglasses.
“Over here!” I hear Ethan shouting and waving at us from his blue Mini convertible. I am slightly jealous of his car. I am a big fan of the Mini.
“So, I have brought up on my GPS, pizza restaurants in the area. Any of these places you prefer?” Ethan asks us as we get buckled into the car.
“How about the furthest one it shows?” I suggest. “I would like to take advantage of this time out, so the longer it takes to get a pizza, the better.”
Sam laughs. “I agree, it’s a nice day and Riley won’t be out for another week.”
“Let me see,” Ethan says as he takes a look at the GPS. “The furthest is about 3.5k away. Is that far enough for you?”
“Sounds good to me,” I reply.
“All right! Off we go!” Ethan yells as he speeds out of the parking lot.
“Should I send Aden a Snapchat of this outing? Or would that just be mean?” I ask.
“Rub it in his face,” Ethan says from the front.
“No, don’t rub it in his face. Poor guy will be cooped up for a while. Send him something he can look forward to,” Sam says.
I hold up my phone and make a kissy face. Wish you were here. See you soon, Send.
Aden replies mimicking the picture I sent and says, I’ll be waiting.
“Hey, speaking of restaurants, did you guys know where Aden was taking me the night of the accident?” I ask.
Sam and Ethan both look at each other with the same look. “Um ya, some fancy restaurant downtown,” Ethan pipes up.
“He just wanted to celebrate making it through first year university,” Sam says.
“What restaurant was it?” I inquire.
“I think it was something like the Nest maybe,” Ethan answers.
“No, it reminded me of a fish name or a sitting spot,” Sam says.
“That’s okay, I will ask Aden later,” I say.
“It might be best if you don’t,” Ethan says. “I was in the room earlier when the doctor came in and he told me it was best not to talk to him about that night. It could hinder his healing.”
“Oh. That’s funny, the doctor never said anything to me about that,” I say.
“Maybe he just never got a chance to tell you yet,” Sam suggests.
“It’s possible, but he said I would be the first to…” I started.
“Oh look, I see the restaurant over there,” Sam cuts me off.
“Are either of you going to come in with me to order?” Ethan asks.
“No, that’s okay. We can stay here,” Sam says.
“Any preferences?” Ethan asks.
“Aden likes all meat pizzas, so if there is anything like that, order one of those,” I say.
“Anything I like, I know he will like too. Us men like our meat,” Ethan says.
“Yes they do,” Sam says. “If there is any chicken or tropical pizza, Riley and I would like that please.”
Ethan looks at me to confirm this. I nod in approval. “Okay, something meaty, and something tropical or with chicken,” he says. “I will be back in a flash.”
“Can I just run away and never go back to the hospital?” I ask sarcastically.
“You could, but I don’t think your doctor would be impressed. Neither would Aden,” Sam says.
“One more week until freedom!” I say. “I just feel so bad for Aden. I wonder if they will let him at least go outside?”
“I am sure they have something figured out already,” Sam says. “And if he can’t go outside, then we will bring the outside to him.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Do you want to extend your time outside the hospital today?” She asks.
“Of course,” I reply.
“Why don’t we stop at a green house on our way back and bring some plants to liven up his room.” Sam suggests.
“I think Aden would appreciate that.” I say.
“There is one just a few blocks down from here according to my phone,” Sam says as she clicks a place on her phone’s map.
“What’s a few blocks from here?” Ethan asks as he sets the pizza’s down in the back seat of the car.
“Mmm, those smell delicious!” I say.
“We were talking about going to a greenhouse just down from here. We thought a few plants would help cheer Aden up,” Sam says.
“Sure, I can make that happen,” Ethan replies. “Just give me directions and I shall take you there.”
“Thank you boo,” Sam says.