“Yes. I’m not dating at the moment.”
“Oh, sorry. I guess I just—”
“Assumed,” he said, cutting in.
“I couldn’t help making that assumption, okay? For all intents and purposes, she looked like your girlfriend.”
Jake laughed again. “Yeah, I think she really wants to be, too. I wasn’t sure about it, but you more or less cleared that up for me.”
“You’re welcome.” Holly smiled and stared out into the darkness.
“I didn’t thank you for that piece of information. But, I’m just not into her in that way.”
“Excuse me… but why not? She’s really beautiful.”
“Looks aren’t everything, and she’s an airhead.”
“Airhead?”
“Meaning, she doesn’t use her brain, shakes what God gave her, and makes money wearing almost nothing.”
“It’s a living.”
“One I’m so over,” Jake said quietly.
Holly rested her chin on her chest, letting her hair form a soft curtain between her and Jake. Through the curls, she noticed that the green lights from the dash of Leo’s SUV lit up his face softly. Holly didn’t want to look at him, scared that she might drool or something.
“Then don’t lead her on, Jake,” Holly finished.
“Okay, Medusa, and I’m not leading her on.”
“I’m not Medusa.”
“You sure about that? Because you keep hissing at me. I didn’t see a forked tongue, so it must be hiding in those curls of yours.”
Holly laughed again. “Don’t make me laugh, my hand seems to ache more when I laugh,” she complained.
“Right. I’ll keep quiet, then.”
Soon, city lights twinkled in the distance shortly after silence fell between them, and by the hectic turns Jake made, Holly came to the conclusion that he really knew his way around the city.
As they went around a particularly harrowing corner, the P&E Emergency sign suddenly came into view like a beacon in the night. The hospital looked like a five star hotel, rather than what it was. Holly could feel how her stomach started to twist into knots. She was positive she didn’t have the money to pay this kind of ER for their services.
Another twist of her stomach made her think back to the last time she’d been inside a hospital. It was the day Jamie died; she practically lived in one during that traumatic time in her life.
Holly took a deep breath as Jake drove around a huge water feature in front of the elite hospital, pulling into the parking lot in no time. He even did the gentlemanly thing and opened the door for her, the door squeaking softly as the hinges moved. She jumped out, landing on the smooth concrete and followed him inside. Her eyes grew wide as she took in its splendor.
“Are you sure this is a hospital?”
Jake laughed at her question, but didn’t answer as he opened another door that led into the emergency waiting room.
“Another emergency, Jake?” The triage nurse behind the desk handed him a board with a paper attached to it.
Jake snorted, in a good way.
Then without waiting for the paperwork or even asking what the trouble was, the triage nurse buzzed the door open and said simply, “You two can go on into the ER.”
For just a second, Holly glanced back at all the people waiting and wondered how Jake had managed to fast-track her inside. She followed Jake through the door. Inside, the staff all looked up as they entered and smiles quickly formed on every females’ lips. Holly knew the feeling by now. Jake lit up a room whenever he entered one.
He took her to the nearest bed and gestured for her to hop on while he filled in the information sheet. She had to give him answers as to her birth date and social security number.
“So, how much is this five star service going to cost me?”
He grinned while looking at the board, which he was still completing.
“Nothing.”
“Jake, you’re not paying for this.”
“No one is paying, Holly. It’s free.”
“This doesn’t look like the ‘free’ kind of hospital.”
“Don’t worry, it’s taken care of and it is free.”
“What, you have access to freebies here?”
He grinned fully now. “Something like that.” He continued to ask her boring questions, scribbling them down as he went along.
Holly couldn’t stop looking around at all the occupied beds. An invisible weight pressed down on her chest; she felt herself begin to feel woozy. Finally, a doctor in his mid-forties came to her rescue. Upon seeing Jake, he too began grinning from ear to ear.
“Henry Scallanger,” the doctor read off the chart.
“No, it’s Holly,” she corrected.
The doctor smiled at her. “Okay, Henry, what might be the problem?”
Frowning, she said once again, “It’s Holly.” She grabbed the chart out of his hand and saw Jake’s handwriting. It was unreadable for a normal person, but lucky for her it was clear. She looked up at Jake. He had indeed written Henry. “How do you spell Holly?”
Both Jake and the doctor barked with laughter.
“What is the problem, Holly?” The attractive doctor wanted to know.
“I hit an idiot and no, it wasn’t Jake. Another idiot.” A twinkle was evident in her eyes.
This brought about more guffaws from the two men. The doctor picked up her hand, which now resembled the color of an eggplant. He watched carefully as he directed Holly to close and open her hand and then spread out her fingers. She complied gingerly. Lowering it after the quick inspection, he reached for a syringe and a small bottle of liquid.
“No one said anything about an injection. I don’t do injections.”
“It will help with the pain and swelling.”
“I can’t stand injections. Please,” she started to beg, “can’t you just give me a tablet or something?”
“Holly, are you scared of needles?” Jake asked.
She almost felt like crying. If only he knew how scared.
“It will be over before you know it,” the doctor promised.
A single tear rolled down her cheek.
Jake took the doctor’s place, directly in front of her. “I get that you are terrified when it comes to needles, but it will only help you with everything, Holly.” He held her hand gently while he continued talking to her.
“It’s going to burn and hurt like hell. I don’t like injections.” More tears started making their way down her face.
“It will hurt for a little while, that’s true, but it’s worth what you’ll feel afterward. Trust me.”
She felt a quick wet dab of alcohol on the back of her hand and then a burning sensation shooting through it at that precise moment. Biting down hard on her teeth, she burrowed her head in Jake’s shoulder.
“It’s over, Holly.”
“But it’s still sore.” She couldn’t help the whine.
“Give it a few minutes. It doesn’t work instantly.”
“For this kind of pain it darn well should,” she moaned at the after-effect. It was still burning, a tiny bit, and for a person with a strong pain threshold, Holly didn’t do so well with injections. They were the bane of her existence.
“You are such a drama queen,” he said, while the doctor told him to take Holly to the X-ray room.
“I have an injection phobia. I’m sure there is a term for that; anti-hospital, or some such.”
He was clearly laughing again when he pushed the door to radiology open for her.
“So, what’s the deal with you and this place? Are you here on some sort of regular basis?” she queried.
“Something like that,” he mumbled, one side of his mouth tilting upward with humor.
Leading the way, Jake walked past Holly, which had her running after him to keep up with his long confident strides. Her hand had started to feel slightly better, but not enough for her to forgive the distraction with the injections a couple of minutes ago. He knew h
e was good-looking; she just couldn’t show him how much it bothered her, not like she had done back in the doctor’s consultation room.
The woman behind the desk saw Jake and Holly a mile away, and a grin grew slowly on her lips.
“So, who do we have here, Jake?” she asked, tilting her head to one side.
“Working tonight, Agneta?”
“Baby, I’m always working. This is what nurses do,” the short, African-American motherly nurse stated. She looked at the chart and then up quizzically. “Henry?” She looked at the chart once again, then at Holly, and then at Jake who had a huge smile plastered on his face.
“She don’t look like no Henry to me, Jake.”
“Agneta, you know how she gets. Please. Just say it was a Henry.”
Holly raised an eyebrow at Jake.
“I’ll explain later, just go,” he practically shoed Holly away.
“All right, I’m going.” She followed Agneta who continued to look at him skeptically.
“So, what happened, baby?”
“I hit an idiot.” She looked down at the nurse. “And no, for the second time, it wasn’t Jake.”
Agneta laughed. “That boy is far from an idiot, but he sure is playing at death’s door bringing you here.”
“What’s the deal with him and this place?” Holly asked as they entered a small room.
Agneta put a heavy, bulletproof-looking vest on Holly to protect her from radiation during the scan, and gently positioned her swollen hand on top of a big plastic cartridge. She aligned the head of the X-ray machine over both the hand and the cartridge.
“The P&E sign outside?” she said, and Holly nodded. “The P belongs to Jake’s family,” Agneta shared just before she ducked out of the room. The X-ray machine emitted a short beep as it snapped its picture and Agneta returned once more.
Holly looked stunned. “Really?”
“You didn’t know that?”
“I just met the guy. He’s good friends with my friends and offered to bring me in when I hit a really stupid guy. I normally don’t do that kind of thing.”
Agneta smiled cheekily. “You sure don’t look like the bimbos he used bring in.”
“No? I’m not an airhead, then,” she stated more to herself than to Agneta, who was in the process of removing the cartridge in order to transfer it to another machine. “So, who is this person he’s referring to?”
“His mother. She’s one hell of a doctor but when it comes to her children, she’s a bit crazy.”
Holly’s eyes crinkled at the corners. Better a crazy mom, than no mom at all, she thought. She cringed at that thought, though. Jane was really trying hard to reconnect with her, but she was being the hard head. Still, she should’ve never accepted that money from her for that stupid wedding.
Agneta looked at her with a tiny smile.
Holly started to feel slightly uncomfortable, what with those big brown eyes scanning the length of her body. “I just have to say thank you.”
“Why?” Holly sounded confused.
“He hasn’t smiled this much in a long time.”
Holly snorted, wondering where this was leading. She’d only just met him, but he didn’t seem like the I’m-depressed-kind-of-guy.
“All done,” she uttered, first removing the heavy vest, and then taking her back through the maze of hallways to where they left Jake waiting.
“You take care now, honey bunch, but before you go, wait for the X-rays so we can find out what the next step will be.”
“I’ll do that, Agneta. Thank you so much, and you take care, too.” She parted ways with the nurse who slipped behind the desk again to fill out yet more forms. She found Jake sitting patiently on the sofa in the waiting area.
“Henry?” Holly shook her head at him.
He just smiled.
“So what are you, some sort of a mamma’s boy?”
He raised his eyebrows in question, but replied with a “No, I’m not.” This was followed by a glare he directed toward Agneta. She wasn’t paying attention in any case. “My mother is opposed to us having relationships during our studies. She regards studying as being essential, and believes that one should always give a hundred and fifty percent. My sister only got married last year, after she graduated.”
“I get the picture, but what does this have to do with you helping someone?” Holly was genuinely curious.
Jake smirked. “I usually don’t bring girls in, other than the ones I’m dating.”
“Oh, I see. So you are basically scared that she would think I’m someone you’re dating.”
“I’m not scared of my mother.”
Holly tilted her head to one side and said but one word, “Henry.” Raising her eyes playfully at him, she added, “Sure you aren’t.”
This only made Jake chuckle.
A short silence followed this exchange, so Holly decided to say anything just to get rid of the zinging in her ear. “I take it you’re studying at the moment?” she asked.
He gave her a huge frown, which inevitably turned into a small grin. “Yes, I am. In fact, I’m going to be working here soon.”
“Oh, really. As what?”
“Who works at hospitals, Holly?”
“Well, lots of people do,” she huffed, but looking at him with narrowed eyes she asked, somewhat surprised, “You’re studying to be a doctor?”
“Is it so hard to believe? My entire family consists of doctors, so… yes. I’m just following in their footsteps.”
“Good for you,” she commented, making Jake laugh while simultaneously shaking his head.
Agneta returned with a huge, yellow envelope in her hands, as well as an unreadable face. Holly knew what the envelope held; her results from the scan.
“You guys sure are fast,” she commented, stating the obvious.
“Not really. They’re just scared that the boss’ son is going to spill on them,” Jake joked.
Agneta slapped him playfully. “We are quiet tonight but as is the case, I’m sure we will pick up around eleven o’clock when all the inebriated fools attempt to make their way home.”
“Thanks, Agneta. Such a pleasure meeting you.” Holly gave her a hug.
“Drive safely, Jake, and no more hitting guys, young lady,” she said in parting.
Holly grinned sheepishly. “She’s nice,” Holly remarked as they walked out into the corridor they’d come through.
“I’ve known her for a long time. She can be quite feisty when she wants to be. She used to yell a lot for some reason when I was younger.”
“I can’t imagine why, Jake.”
Jake chuckled, finding humor in her playful sarcasm.
Holly followed him into a small room, which was filled with boxes that were attached to the wall. He flipped a switch, bright lights illuminated every single one. Holly’s heart bounced inside her chest as he pulled the X-rays out from the envelope, and then slid them onto the uppermost part of the lit up box. She closed her eyes and began to pray.
Please, don’t let my hand be broken. I swear, I’ll never do this again.
“So, do you want to hear the good news or the bad news first?”
“Is there any good news in these types of situations?”
His smile lit up his eyes, which made her knees wobble. She was suddenly thankful that she’d had the good sense to sit down.
“There is always good news.”
“Fine. You’re the soon-to-be doctor. Give me the bad news, then.”
“It’s going to hurt like hell for the next couple of days.”
“Guess I’ll have to live with that. And the good news?”
“Exactly what you’ve been hoping for. It’s not broken, only cracked. You see that little line there?” he asked.
Holly hopped from the stool that she’d tried to make herself comfortable in, and took a closer look at where he was pointing. “That’s a crack?”
“That’s a crack. Luck was on your side.”
“Thank you, tha
nk you, thank you,” she practically sang, which was followed by a small prayer to God.
“It will teach you that you either have to learn to throw a punch properly, or leave the beating for the guys.”
“He deserved it, though,” she mumbled.
Jake just shook his head. “Let’s go back to the doctor. Best we make certain you’re allowed to go back to work with that hand.”
The doctor sighted them immediately as they returned to the bustling emergency room. He met them at the bed where they had started.
“I saw the read from the radiologist,” the doctor started.
“Hairline Bar Room fracture in the fourth metacarpal?” Jake suggested.
The doctor’s expression showed he was impressed. On the other hand, Holly swooned at the sound of Jake’s medical jargon. It was so professional, and so damn hot.
“You were able to notice it? You’re getting good. I’m glad I’m not in radiology or you’d have me worried about my job.” The doctor gave a chuckle that sounded genuinely relieved.
“Are you right-handed?” the doctor asked Holly.
She nodded.
Without skipping a beat, he scribbled something on his prescription pad and passed it to Jake. Jake excused himself, saying that he would be back shortly.
“And you’re working next week?”
She nodded again and the doctor scrawled a quick note.
“You need to give this to your employer. That hand needs to rest for at least two days. On Monday, call this number and make an appointment at the orthopedics clinic for Tuesday; you need a checkup. Take it easy, Henry.”
Holly nearly choked on the laughter that bubbled to the surface. “I will, thank you.” She barely managed to get those words out.
Jake wasn’t gone long at all, and as she was done led her toward the exit.
“You guys don’t hand out pain killers in this place?”
“Already taken care of, they’re right here.” He showed her an orange tube he’d put into the pocket of his jacket.
“They just better work,” she mumbled.
“Okay, Medusa. You can relax those snakes now.”
She merely smiled.
Inside the SUV, Jake gave her two of the small, white tablets, which she immediately placed in her mouth and swallowed.
Imperfect Love Page 5