by Laci Paige
“Linda,” she breathed.
“Yeah, I kinda got that by the name tag.” He released her foot to point at her name tag.
“Oh.” She giggled.
Movement in the aisle caught his attention. He looked up and saw Roxi walking away. He called to her. When she looked back at him, the low lighting of the cabin lit her face with a soft glow. God she was beautiful. He knew every inch of her, inside and out. That thought made him sad. He’d probably never get to run his fingers along the soft skin on the side of her breasts again, or run his hands through her shoulder length silky brown hair, nor would he get to watch her sleep, to see those coppery brown eyes open in the mornings as she draped herself over his chest. She was only a few inches shorter than him, her body was firm and fit, but had curves in just the right places, and she fit the contour of his body perfectly. Fuck. Why does this hurt so bad?
Chapter Two
Jonathan called for Roxi, she looked over her shoulder, and they exchanged a few words. He saw the disapproval in her face before she ran off, and he felt like shit. Why the hell does she make me feel this way? It’s not fair. I should be able to enjoy myself. I owe her nothing, she’s the one who fucked up.
Linda spent the rest of her break talking about her career choice, and Jonathan said he was in customer service. He didn’t speak of it, but he came from a family of wealth and didn’t need to work. He’d signed on at the club for a paycheck just to see what the working life would be like, and to do something he enjoyed in his personal life as well. The pay amounted to nothing more than chump change, but he felt a sense of pride over the first few paychecks he earned on his own.
Linda mentioned she lived about an hour away from him. That’s not too far, he noted.
When the plane pulled up to the gate, Roxi decided to wait for Jonathan and not rush to be one of the first ones off the plane. Besides, she couldn’t get her bag down if her life depended on it. She relaxed in her seat with her eyes closed, relieved to finally be on the ground.
She sensed no more passengers were getting off, so she stood and spied Linda and Jonathan exchanging cell phones. They entered data, most likely phone numbers, and handed them back to one another. Roxi sat back in the aisle seat to wait for Jonathan’s help with her carry-on. Remembering her purse, she bent over to retrieve it from under the seat near the window, her original seat. It got caught on the footrest and she had to fight with the strap to free it. She heard people walking by. As soon as she freed her handbag, she sat up to see who it was. As far as Roxi knew, only she and Jonathan were left on the plane.
And they were, Jonathan had been the one to walk by with Linda in tow. Great. She huffed in frustration and stood on the seat to get her own bag. She fought with it, pulled it, and shimmied it from the overhead compartment. Just as it freed from above, she realized her arms weren’t strong enough to handle it, and threw herself off the seat trying to dodge the bag. Her foot got hung up on the armrest for a brief moment and she wasn’t able to duck out of the way in time. It slammed down on her head knocking her to the floor as a wheel from the underside slid across her cheekbone. “Shit!” She saw stars before her vision and a wave of dizziness hit.
She lay on the floor for what felt like a long time until the male flight attendant, John, came running from the back of the plane. “Are you okay?” He assisted in helping her onto her feet and righting her bag for her.
Averting her gaze full of tears and anger, she spoke to the man. “No, thank you. I’m fine.” Her head throbbed and her face hurt a little, but it was nothing to write home about.
Exiting the plane, alone on the jet bridge with no Jonathan in sight, she resigned herself to hail a taxi for a ride home. She tried to calculate if she had enough money or needed to go to the cash machine. Pushing open the door into the airport, complete chaos ensued in the terminal. Most she could gather was that the next departure at the neighboring gate had been delayed, and people weren’t happy.
She thought she heard her name, but when she looked around she saw no one she recognized so she trudged forward. Retrieving her money from the cash machine she sensed someone behind her. “Hey, honey. Do you need a ride home?” Sherry and Dan flanked her.
“No, I’m good.” She turned and smiled at them, but neither returned the smile. They both raised their eyebrows, eyes wide.
“Dear God, Roxi, what happened to your face? Are you all right?” Sherry put a hand out toward her cheek and then pulled it back without touching her.
Roxi reached up to her aching cheek and felt a bump. “Ouch.” She flinched at the pain from her touch. “I—I didn’t realize…my bag fell on me from the overhead when I tried to take it down.”
“Where’s Jonathan?” Dan asked.
Roxi shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. His seat got reassigned at the beginning of the flight. I haven’t seen him in a while.”
“He still should’ve waited and walked you out.” Dan’s voice rose in anger.
“He’s not my keeper, Dan. I’m fine.” She turned away hastily and headed toward the exit dragging her luggage.
“Roxi! Come back here, I’m sorry.” Dan’s voice sounded truly apologetic, but she continued on her path anyway.
“Roxi, honey. Please?” The concern in Sherry’s voice prompted her to stop and wait for them to catch up to her.
“You need to get ice on that. Come with me.” Sherry took Roxi’s arm and pulled her to the nearest restaurant and asked for ice explaining to them what had happened. Her friends made her sit and cared for her cheek, which by that point was swelling, and her eye started to feel funny.
After several minutes, a representative from the airline showed up. The restaurant must have called someone. That person in turn called for more people. Then the new arrivals took one look at her and called on their radio for medical assistance. By now Roxi’s head started pounding, and her eye swelled almost completely shut.
A golf cart arrived a couple of minutes later with medics on board. She felt silly for all the attention she received, and when Roxi tried to argue that she could get home fine, her stomach emptied of its contents right at everyone’s feet.
To make matters worse, when she looked up, she saw Jonathan and Linda arm in arm staring right at her.
Jonathan and Linda trekked around the airport looking for Roxi. He was supposed to give her a ride home, but they couldn’t find her. After trying to call her phone and texting her, he gave up thinking she went off on her own. They stopped to get an order of food to go, and planned to grab a table overlooking the runways while they ate.
Heading away from the restaurant, they noticed a commotion off to one side of the hallway. The medics pushed their way through the crowd when Linda heard on someone’s radio that there was an injured woman from the flight they just departed. “Oh, I need to go see what’s happened.”
Jonathan led her through the crowd and he couldn’t believe what he saw. Roxi vomited and when she lifted her head he saw her battered face. “What the hell?” He pushed away from Linda and made his way toward her.
“Roxi, what happened to you?” He stood nearby while she hunched over leaning on her knees.
“Sir, I’m gonna have to ask you to step back.” An older woman, one of the medics, ushered him away.
“She’s with me. I’m her ride home.” He didn’t take his eyes off Roxi.
“Then maybe you can give us some history on her injury. Do you know what time this happened exactly?” The woman held her notepad, a pen in hand, and ready to write.
“No, no I can’t answer that. We got separated and I’m just now finding her. I didn’t know she got hurt.” He shook his head over the fact that he hadn’t been there for her. Instead he was with Linda, and that made his gut twist in anxiety.
“All right, well, we’re going to need to get her to the hospital and have her checked out. She’s showing signs of a concussion.” The lady handed him a business card. “This is where we’ll be taking her. You can meet us there.�
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He wanted to tell Roxi he would meet her there, but she puked into a bucket while Sherry held her hair out of the way and rubbed her back. That should’ve been him helping her. He realized he had been foolish, and anger toward himself boiled through his veins.
“Yes, yes. I’ll be there.” He shoved away from the crowd and headed to the door for the parking area, but he froze before exiting the building. Turning around to look for Linda, he spotted her where he last left her, and he gave a shrug of his shoulders. She waved her hand indicating he should go.
Jonathan and Roxi had parked in the long-term lot which was a far distance to walk, but it would take even longer to wait for the shuttle service to bring him to his car. He picked up his pace and practically ran to the lot. He arrived out of breath, but that didn’t deter him from digging in his carry-on bag for the keys. He wanted to get to Roxi as quickly as possible.
He drove as fast as he could without getting pulled over by the police. Pulling off the worst park job ever, he ran into the hospital and immediately went to the information desk. They sent him to a waiting area while the doctor examined her, and said someone would be out to speak with him shortly.
Not a patient man, he paced back and forth with his hands laced behind his head. He couldn’t figure out what happened, and grew agitated with the thought that someone had harmed her. But in a public place like the airport? Someone had to have seen what happened.
Nearly forty-five minutes later, Sherry and Dan appeared in the waiting room. Sherry came over to him and patted his hand. “She’s definitely got a concussion. They’re keeping an eye on her. They might keep her overnight for observation, but she’ll be fine.”
“Do they know what happened to her?” Jonathan’s voice waivered.
Sherry looked at her husband and he nodded. “Tell the boy.” Dan’s voice sounded harsh, and came from a clenched jaw. When Sherry hesitated, Dan jumped in. “Roxi tried taking her bag out of the overhead compartment. It was too heavy for her, and it fell on her.” Bitterness laced his voice.
Jonathan’s hand flew to his mouth. His stomach churned, and he couldn’t have felt worse. Dan had every right to take that tone with him. Hell, he would be beating himself up over this for a long time to come. He sank down in a chair for the first time since he got there. He put his face in his hands and felt the urge to cry. How could he have totally forgotten her like that? He knew when he put that bag in the overhead that she wouldn’t have been able to get it down. He knew he needed to remove it for her, and yet he just blew her off and left with Linda without giving her a second thought.
He felt like shit, and made a silent vow to help her get better. “Should I call Jake and Kristy?”
“No. Let them enjoy their honeymoon. Roxi will be okay. They did a scan and there’s no bleeding, she just bruised her noggin real good. Dan and I can take her home and look after her for a few days.” Dan and Sherry linked arms.
Jonathan inhaled a deep shaky breath. “No need, I’ll take her to her place and stay with her.”
Chapter Three
I’m sure she’ll be more comfortable in her own bed.” Jonathan ran his hand through his hair. “It’s the least I can do. Besides you guys would have to take off of work. I don’t have a schedule this week to be concerned with.”
“Are you sure?” Sherry asked.
“You aren’t going to leave her side are you?” Dan used his protective Dom voice. The couple hadn’t known Roxi long, but with her no-nonsense attitude, she had a way of growing on people.
“I’m positive.” Jonathan gave a curt nod of assurance.
“Very well.” Sherry’s brows furrowed. “I think her own bed would do her some good. But watch her like a hawk, and don’t let her do anything for a few days. You do everything. Can you handle that?” The woman stared at him hard.
“Sherry, I can handle it. I promise. I’ll call and let you know how she is tomorrow.”
“And the day after?” Sherry put a hand on her hip.
“Yes, the day after, and the day after that if you’d like.” He raised his eyebrows.
Sherry smiled at him. “I know you care for her.” She sighed. “But I also know things aren’t great between the two of you. If things don’t work out, please call me.”
“I will.”
Fifteen minutes later, Sherry and Dan walked him to the door of Roxi’s room. Sherry stopped him before he went in. “They only let us in because we arrived here with her. We told them you two were a couple, lived together, and you’d be her caregiver. So they’ll release her to you, you just need to show ID and fill out some forms.” Her fingers wrapped around his arm and gave a comforting squeeze. “Don’t turn the lights on. She is sensitive to the brightness. Thanks Jonathan, take good care of her.”
He nodded, hugged Sherry and shook Dan’s hand. “I’ll make this right.”
Roxi couldn’t be sure where she was, other than lying in a bed. All she knew, her head throbbed, and nausea rolled through her stomach. In the dark room she could hear quiet beeping from some sort of machines. Fatigue washed over her, and all she wanted to do was sleep.
A door clicked open, and when she looked toward the noise, a bright flash of light shot a bolt of pain through her head. She flung her arm up over her face.
“Roxi baby, it’s me, Jonathan.” The door closed, pitching her back into darkness. “You awake?”
Roxi groaned. “Jonathan?”
“Yes, I’m here.” He sat in the chair next to her bed and took her hand. “I’m sorry. I—I didn’t mean for this to happen. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have left you.” His hand tugged hers gently, and his lips warmed her knuckles.
Relief washed over her; Jonathan was there, she could hear his voice. A sleepy haze blanketed her, and her heavy eyes closed.
“Is she okay to go home? She still seems out of it.” A few hours later, Jonathan held Roxi’s release papers in his hand. His nerves were in a bunch about her leaving the hospital in her condition.
“She’s fine to go home, sir. I assure you. We wouldn’t let her leave unless we knew she was all right.” The nurse took Roxi’s hand to help her into a wheelchair.
“Then why the wheelchair?” He motioned toward it.
“We give everyone a ride to their car when they visit us. It’s hospital procedure.”
Jonathan nodded, and glanced over the paperwork. “There sure are a lot of instructions for a bump on the head.” His voice sounded uncertain, and he felt overwhelmed.
“Do you have any questions? I’d be happy to go over them again with you.” The nurse looked at him with a furrowed brow.
He held up the paperwork. “No, I’ll just look these over every so often to make sure I don’t forget anything.”
“You’ll do fine. I see how much you care for her, and if you have any questions our phone number is at the bottom of her discharge paper.” The nurse’s face relaxed and she gave him a warm reassuring smile.
He brought the car around to the front door, and the nurse helped him get Roxi into the car. Once buckled in, he reclined the seat and she settled in, closing her eyes. It was evening, but the lights under the overhang on the building were bright.
He shook the nurse’s hand awkwardly. “Thank you for everything.”
“It’s my job, no need to thank me. Just call if you have any questions.”
During the drive home, he made sure to keep things quiet. He turned off the radio and dimmed the lights on the dashboard for her comfort. It was no surprise that when they arrived at her place he found her asleep. Drowsiness was a symptom, one he had to watch for.
Roxi lived upstairs in an apartment over her brother’s gym. Jake and Kristy lived across the hall from her, but since they were still on their honeymoon Jonathan needed to call someone for help. He called Roy who thankfully worked the front desk inside of the gym. Roy was Jake’s buddy and co-owner of the gym.
“Jeez, what happened, Roxi?” Roy asked when he saw her face illuminated by the inte
rior overhead light of the car. Jonathan shushed him and shook his head.
Roxi groaned, and shooed them away with her hands, but they proceeded to help her out of the car anyway.
“Tell you later,” Jonathan said, quietly. “Please help me get her upstairs to her place.”
On either side, they walked her through the office and up the stairs. Once they reached her door, Jonathan rustled the keys out of his pocket. He’d found them in her purse back at the hospital.
In the apartment, they guided her to the bedroom. Roy pulled back the covers and Jonathan sat her on the edge of the bed. He knelt in front of her and removed her shoes, and then lifted her legs onto the bed. He tucked her in and kissed her forehead. She snuggled into her pillow with a small smile on her lips.
“Can you watch her for a minute while I get our luggage out of the car?” He pointed over his shoulder.
“Sure man, take your time. The gym is slow tonight.”
To make one trip of it, he made sure he got all of her things and all of his. His hands, arms, and shoulders were full, but he managed. Once back in the apartment, Jonathan called Roy out to the living room. They sat on a black leather couch and he filled Roy in on everything from the wedding to the hospital visit.
“That’s rough man, to have a great trip like that marred by an accident.” Roy shook his head.
“Just lucky it wasn’t something worse, but I take full blame.” Jonathan pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Sounds like an accident. Those just happen. No one’s to blame.”
Jonathan stood to go check on Roxi. “The accident wouldn’t have happened if I stayed with her, like I should’ve. I knew she needed help, but I was thinking with my dick, and now she has to pay for it.”
***
“It’s gonna be all right. She’s tough and will heal fast. You wait and see. Then the two of you can go back to fightin’.”