Seven finally came back to the room after what felt like hours, and by the look on her face I’d say they’ve given her something to deal with the pain. “Stone I’ve missed you” she says as she is wheeled in. Helping her up out of the chair I carefully slide her back into the bed and place a kiss on her forehead. Seven giggles and falls back into the bed with a drugged smile on her face. “The doctor should be in shortly” the gentleman says while wheeling the chair back out of the room. “Thanks” I reply as I pull a chair closer to the bed.
“How ya doing little one?”
“Just dandy, they gave me something that is fantastic Stone! I mean I should really get hurt more often, this stuff rocks” her head wobbles back and forth on the little pillow. All I can do is shake my head at my high as a kite girlfriend. “So it appears that someone is going to need surgery” the doctor says while walking into the room. Instantly my heart drops, we knew it was broke but it wasn’t meant to be this bad. Looking over at Seven I can tell she is so doped up that nothing the doctor is saying is really going to register. “Stone, her boyfriend”, I thrust my hand out to shake the doctors. “Nice to meet you, I’m Dr. Glass” he says while bringing the x-ray picture up on the computer. “Right here is where she shattered three of her knuckles, we are going to have to pin these two so they can heal correctly” as he circles the last two digits on her right hand.
“When are you guys going to do it?”
“In about an hour I’d say, just waiting for the orthopedic surgeon to get here” he flips off the computer and places Seven’s chart at the end of the bed. “Well little lady we will be pulling you back for pre-op soon, just sit tight” Doctor Glass says in a calm voice as he turns to leave the room. Seven’s eyes are closed at this point and her mouth slightly turned up into a smile, I’m sure she could hear everything we were saying but thank god for the drugs right now cause nothing was really processing for the time being.
Grabbing my phone I type out a message to Hunter that I’m going to be here for a while, then I quickly send one to Tammy to let her know what’s happened. I’m betting she still cares; my sister really does have a good heart. For some reason she is being a little snit with this fucker Trent, but I’d bet she is dying to know what happened to Seven tonight. “Stone” a voice sounding shocked steps into the room holding a clipboard. Quickly glancing over I see a woman dressed very professionally sitting down in the chair next to me. “Wow, so nice to see you again! It’s been like what two years or something?”
“Um yeah it’s got to be” I wrack my brain to place where I know this chick. “Is this your sister?” a sweet voice emerges. “No it’s my girlfriend Seven” glancing over at the bed. “Oh well I need insurance information, do you know it” her voice instantly filled with venom. Grabbing Seven’s gigantic bag I pull out her wallet. It feels awkward just rifling through her stuff but I don’t want to try and wake her to grab just a card. Pulling out some out from a pocket I start to flip through them, finally finding the one she needed. “Here” I hand it to the now scowling women. “Thanks, who is next of kin we should notify” she scribbles something down on the chart. “No one, it’s just me” as I stuff the remaining things back into the bag and zip it up. The woman stands and exits the room, not uttering another word to Seven or myself.
She has got to be a chick from the past since it never sat well when I mentioned girlfriend status. The vibration of my phone makes me jump as I open it and read Hunter’s text. “Hey little one, they are going to take you back to surgery soon, Hunter is on his way to keep me company. I’ll be waiting for you when you wake up.”
“Transport” the curtain is pulled back and a guy walks in and starts fiddling with her bed. “There is a surgical waiting room up on the fourth floor, just take the elevators up and it’s down the hall on your right” he mentions while clicking the bedrails in place and slowly lowering the head of the bed. Seven barely stirs as I quickly lean down and press a kiss to her lips. It was beginning to feel like nothing in our relationship was going to be easy; shit easy was becoming an understatement now.
The nurse said it was only going to take a little over two hours to fix up her hand, around the first hour I began to pace the floor like a caged lion. “What’s going on Padre” my loud best friend walks through the door. Hunter is holding up two bags of Taco Bell and I couldn’t be happier to see this idiot. “It’s a fiesta amigo, dig in” he grins and drops the bag on the small table in the room.
Pulling out a chair I grab a burrito from the bag and chow down, realizing I haven’t eaten since before I picked up Seven. “Dude the fucker is claiming you hit him for mouthing off” Hunter says between stuffing his face full of tots. “I’m sure Seven will set the story straight, and when her hands all bandaged up, I’m betting they will believe her and not that fucker.”
“Is her hand okay? I mean obviously there is a problem if we are sitting here waiting, but you know what I mean dude” Hunter asks as he slides a drink over to me. “Yeah man, she smashed a couple of her knuckles on his face, they are going to pin them to make sure they heal correctly” as I crumple the wrapper and throw it back in the bag.
“Dude you should have seen his face later! Man both eyes were like fucking black and his nose was crooked. It had to been an epic hit!” Laughing I just shake my head and glance at the clock. I swear the clock hand has to be stuck on the half hour mark; this was taking way too long.
Seven
It felt like a ton of weight was placed on my body, my eyes are like shutters locked up tight waiting out a bad storm. The sound of beeping is slowly bringing me out of the slumber I was partaking in; I knew once I opened my eyes the pain would be real. Darkness filled my vision and I struggled to gain clarity while scanning the room in search of Stone. Letting out a little sigh the gigantic man is curled up in a little chair sleeping, the image of him still with me is something I had to cherish.
Scrunching my nose I try to recall the last thing my memory lets me bring up; x-rays being taken, doctor finally giving me something for the pain, getting back to my room, and then a black void takes up the space in my head. Glancing down at my arm, I notice it’s been propped up on several pillows and bandaged to high heaven. “Fuck” I mumble as I try to sit up straighter in this stupid hospital bed. My throat feels raw and itchy; hitting the call button on my bed I ask a nurse to bring me some water.
A few minutes later a gray haired lady comes rushing in with a pitcher of water. “Well good morning dear, how is your hand feeling?”
“Like I put it in a meat grinder” I moan. The older lady chuckles as she pours me a glass and hands it to the remaining good hand. “Let me do your vitals and I’ll see what we can do about the pain” as she busies herself slapping on a blood pressure cuff. “What time is it?”
“A little after six in the morning dear” ripping the cuff off my arm and punching in the results into the little computer she carries. “Has he been here all night?” I ask nodding to Stone. “Oh dear he wouldn’t leave your side even if we told him to” she smiles as she slips something into my IV line. “You’re going to get sleepy again but don’t worry, we will wake you when the doctor does his rounds” the nurse smiles as she pats my shoulder. I could feel the weight reappearing in my eyes; slowly they fell closed like a vault door at a bank robbery.
“Seven baby wake up.” I can hear Stone’s voice but I seems so far away. Mentally cursing at myself for not being able to just come to, I slowly start to wiggle my stiff body. I feel a soft kiss to my forehead, causing my eyes to flitter open. Gradually I came to focus on Stone’s face smiling above me. “Glad to see your beautiful green eyes this morning.” Taking a deep breath I exhale leisurely, “thanks” I manage to squeeze out.
“Well Seven, it’s a pleasure to meet you awake” comes a voice at the foot of my bed. “I’m Doctor Mason and we had the privilege to meet in the O.R. last night” the younger man smiles. Giving the man a nod, I glance back at Stone who has now pulled his chair closer t
o my bed. “You did some damage to those knuckles of yours, however we were able to repair them with a couple of pins. They should be good to go in about twelve weeks or so with a little hand therapy” the doctor scribbles something on the tablet he is holding.
“When do I get to go home” I ask quickly. “Well as long as you are able to eat and drink I think
you can be discharged early this afternoon.”
“Can you bring her something to eat now” Stone eagerly says. “Let’s see if she is even hungry there champ” the short nurse says as she checks my vitals again. “Sure I can eat” throwing a smile at Stone. I really wasn’t hungry, but if that’s what it took to get me out of here, then bring on a thanksgiving feast. “I’ll have the nurses write up some discharge instructions and who to follow up with next week.” Doctor Mason says while waking out of the room.
“I’ll go grab you something light to start with” my nurse unwraps the cuff off my arm. “I’m glad to see you awake” Stone smiles as he grabs my good hand. “You didn’t have to stay” I look into his eyes. Stone didn’t have to say a word, his eyes said it all; that man would move mountains for me, and I would gladly do the same for him.
“Are the papers ready yet?” I whine as I kick my legs off the side of the hospital bed. “Slow down there speedy, the nurse is checking to make sure your prescription is ready at the pharmacy. Then they will let us go” Stone says while tapping something out into his phone. “Ugh, I just want to shower and sleep” as I readjust the sling over my shoulder. “Well you can do that once we get back to my place” Stone says while walking over to sit with me. “Your place? I’m going back to the dorms Stone.”
“Right cause I’m going to leave you there all doped up on pain pills and only one functioning arm. Besides I’m not sleeping in a twin bed when I’ve got a king back at my place” giving me a wink. I never really thought about help after this as I glance down at my arm tucked away in my sling. “Can we swing by and grab my stuff on the way to your place?”
“No need, I have Tammy working on gathering everything you need.”
“Do you really think she will help out with that” I ask sarcastically. “Seven she is still a good
person, just totally wrapped up in that asshole right now. You’re still her friend; of course she will help out.”
“Fine” I watch my feet kick back and forth. “Knock knock, all set to go dear” the older lady smiles. “Thank you” I shout and quickly stand up, only to realize I’m not very stable on my feet. Stone instantly reaches out to steady me, shaking his head at my eagerness to get the hell out of here. “Now Mr. Hastings you take good care of her you hear” the nurse gives Stone a stern look. “Thanks Betty, you know I will” giving her the trade mark smirk of his. Betty blushes and lets out a little giggle as she turns to leave the room. “So, been flirting with my nurses while I’ve been out” I ask raising my eyebrows at him. “Well how else was I going to get those delicious cookies they were keeping behind their desks” he says with a grin. “Take me home Stone” I laugh. This man was relentless in getting what he wanted.
“Will do little one, will do.”
Chapter 10
Stone
I try to not let my nerves show while pulling up in front of the dorms, “I’m just going to run in and grab it okay?” Seven nods as she rests her head on the back of the seat; thankfully the last pain pill she was given made her tired, otherwise a battle would have taken place over her doing things on her own.
Knocking on their door I kind of was hoping the asshole would be there, at least give me a laugh over his messed up face. “Hi Stone” Tammy says meekly. “Hey sis, where are her bags?” Tammy motions to the bed where she has packed 2 duffle bags neatly. “Thanks” grabbing them then turn to head out the door. “I’m sorry Stone” Tammy quickly blurts out. “Are you still seeing Trent” I question her. The look on Tammy’s face says it all; my sister has yet to break it off with that douche. “Well I’ll take it as a no.”
“You don’t know him Stone, he really is a good guy” she pipes up. It takes everything in me not to turn around and just keep walking. That man preyed on the emotions of Seven; tormented her, taunted her about what happened. How could he be a nice guy?
I quickly bound down the stairs and into the sunshine of this fall day. Looking over at the truck I think Seven is sleeping, thankfully I won’t have to fill her in on my sisters dumb boyfriend choices anytime soon.
I run up the stairs and unlock my apartment, tossing the bags quickly inside. Propping the door open with my end table I head down the stairs to carry Seven in. Unbuckling her seat belt she slowly stirs as I gently take her in my arms. “I can walk you know” she mummers as she lays her head upon my shoulder. “Now where is the fun in that” as I carefully take the steps up to the door.
“Bed or couch” I ask as we walk through the door. “Bed” she mumbles and lets her eyes close again. Smiling, I head down the short hallway to my room, cautiously placing her down on the soft bed. “Ah this bed is amazing” she shifts herself to climb under the covers. Grabbing a couple pillows I help slide the sling off of her arm then guide the pillows under her arm. “How are you feeling little one” leaning over her. “So tired, must sleep” she says as she slowly fades into a slumber. I check her arm once more and walk out to the kitchen to write down some things.
I make a list of the times she needs to take her medicine and tape it to the fridge, this way I won’t miss a dose. Looking at the clock I realize it’s a little after two, I told Jason I would do this job for him and since the whole Preston thing he has been hurting for cash pretty bad. Seven shouldn’t need another pain pill till five tonight and I doubt she will wake up till then was the logic I was reasoning myself with. I grab a bottle of water from the fridge and set it on the nightstand next to Seven with a note saying I’ll be right back.
Locking the front door I quickly hit the call button for Jason to get the stats on this pick up, it better be fast is the only thing wandering around in my head.
It took almost a damn hour to find this stupid place as I stand in front of a shithole bar in the neighboring town. “Let’s get this fucker done” I mutter to myself as I walk up to the big black door. The place is dark and dirty, a few scattered customers here and there, basically a hole in the wall type place. It doesn’t seem like the normal business that Jason mixes himself up in, something just didn’t sit right. Glancing around the parking lot I notice a ton of black cars. If this is any indication of how this pick up is going to go then I’m going to be in for a fun time.
Walking up to the bar I notice a rough looking guy standing behind it. “I’m looking for Jackson” as I lean up on the ratty old bar. “Who are you” the biker looking dude snarls. “Is he here or not?” I ask while lowering my eyes to glare at the server. “Don’t get all nasty with me walking into my bar” the guy spits out crossing his arms over his chest to flex his muscles. I can’t help but laugh in my head; this guy has no clue what I could do to him. And after the last couple days I’ve been having I’d like nothing more than to bash his fucking ugly face in on his bar “Look I’ve had very little sleep and a real shitty weekend. I’m here to collect on a bet, simple as that” Standing up straighter. It wouldn’t take much for me to knock this jackass out, one good blow to the chin and he’d be a goner.
“You here for Jason?” This guy was starting to really piss me off; I just needed to fucking collect the money and get back home to Seven. “Yeah I’m here for Jason, so is Jackson here or not” the irritation starting to show on my face. The server walks over to the cash register and pulls out a wad of cash, “here, should be all there.” Stuffing it into my pocket I roll my eyes at the douche “pleasure doing business with you.”
“Next time, tell Jason to do the job himself” the voice calls out from behind the bar. Pushing the door open I don’t even bother returning a response to the idiot. Climbing into my truck I type out a message to Jason, telling him to get the cash from my place
. Seven’s been alone for way too long already, that fucker could come to me tonight. Pulling out of the parking lot I glance in the mirror at the bar behind me, hopefully Jason starts to wise up with who he is dealing with. This place can only lead to trouble.
It is a little after four when I get back to the apartment. I try to be quiet as I unlock the door and slowly open it to try and prevent the irritating creaking noise it normally makes. “What are you doing up” Seven startles me just sitting on the couch. “I got hungry, and then I noticed you were gone” she shrugs her shoulder and goes back to stuffing her face with the bag of potato chips. “I just had to run out and do something, really didn’t expect it to take that long. Are you doing okay, need anything?” I ask as I walk into the kitchen and stuff the cash into a drawer. “I’m still hungry” she says with a smile. “Well you’re in luck my dear, I’m a fantastic chef” pulling the massive amount of restaurant menus out of the junk drawer. Taking the seat next to Seven I hand her the stack of menus to look over.
“What’s your pick tonight little one?” Seven’s eyes grow huge looking at the very large pile, I couldn’t help but laugh cooking was never one of my strong points. “Chinese sounds amazing but I don’t know how I’m going to do it with one arm” she sighs and picks up the next menu. “Well I could feed you” I wink at her. She lets out a little laugh and shakes her head. “You can’t do everything for me Stone” while rolling her eyes. “Oh but I can, and I firmly intend on making sure you are thoroughly taken care of. The bath comes later tonight” as I lean over and trail kisses down her neck.
“Stone! You are not bathing me” she pulls away and swats me with the pizza flyer. All I want to do it tackle this girl and rip her clothes off, but that damn arm of hers is going to get in the way. Licking my lips I scoop the injured Seven into my arms and head to the bathroom. “Put me down right now Stone, you are not getting me naked you baboon!” All I can do is give her a devilish grin as I walk into the bathroom and deposit her on the counter. “Doctors order’s Seven, I was told to take real good care of you and that’s exactly what I’m going to do” while reaching for the button on her jeans.
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