Chapter Fifteen

Everything hurt.

The epicenter was her ankle, with waves of pain pulsing up her leg. Her hip felt like one massive, throbbing bruise. And then there was her elbow, which was currently on fire.

Nicole distracted herself by watching people stream back and forth in the hallway as she tried not to puke. The ER was a zoo tonight. Three car accidents, one drug OD, and a man next to her who, from the sound of it, was passing a kidney stone.

“This might sting.” The nurse shot Nicole an apologetic look as he prepared to clean the gash on her arm. “I have to get the gravel out.”

“It’s fine,” she said, looking away.

Shit shit shit.

Tears stung her eyes, but she refused to watch as he flushed out the cut.

“You okay?”

She glanced up to see David standing by the curtain.

“Yeah,” she said, but the next searing pain stole the breath from her as the nurse lifted a little flap of skin.

David stepped over, his brow furrowing as he glanced at the end of the bed, where her bare foot was propped on a pillow beneath an ice pack. After diving out of the path of a speeding truck, Nicole had scrambled to her feet and turned her left ankle, and now it was swollen to the size of a rump roast.

“How’s it feel?” David asked.

She took a deep breath. “Have you seen Misery?”

He frowned. “Damn. Really?”

She nodded.

“I’ll have them get you something for the pain.” He glanced at her foot again. Then he looked at her, and Nicole’s stomach clenched because she could tell he had bad news.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I talked to the attending physician, Dr.Chan.”

“And?”

“It’s a lateral malleolus fracture.”

“So, it’s broken? Does that mean a cast?”

“You’ll need a boot and crutches.”

Her stomach sank. “How long?”

“Depends,” he said. “Probably five weeks.”

Fire tore up her elbow, and she yelped.

The nurse froze. “Sorry. Let me just finish sterilizing this.”

Nicole looked at David again, trying to focus on his words and not the sensation of having her skin peeled off.

He moved closer, his forehead wrinkled with worry. He wore charcoal slacks and a blue dress shirt that matched his eyes. He smelled like cologne, too, which reminded her that they were supposed to be on a date right now, not stuck in the ER.

Nicole’s mind was still reeling. Everything had been so chaotic with police cars and paramedics and people stopping to gawk as she lay sprawled on the sidewalk. Luckily, no one else had been hurt, but the guy who’d run the light had raced off without stopping.

“He’ll be in in a minute to explain,” David said.

“Dr.Chan?”

“Yeah.”

She took a deep breath. “Can I use your phone? I lost mine back at the accident scene.”

“Sure. You want to call your parents?”

“No.”

His eyebrows tipped up.

“I mean... this would definitely freak them out.” She shifted on the gurney. Pain shot up her ankle, and she tried not to wince. “I’d like to call my sister, though.”

He entered the passcode and handed the phone over.

“Take your time,” David said. “I’ll go see about those pain meds.”

“Thanks.”

She looked down at his phone, disoriented by the unfamiliar screen. The nurse continued to work on her elbow, inflicting agony with his cotton swabs. Gritting her teeth against the pain, Nicole tried to pull her thoughts together. Kate was supposed to be having dinner with their parents tonight. The very last thing Nicole wanted to do was tell them she’d been hit by a car and send everyone into a panic. And anyway she hadn’t been hit. But the near miss had left her banged up and shaken to her core.

Taking a deep breath, she dialed. Kate didn’t answer—probably because she didn’t recognize the number—and it went to voicemail.

“Hey, it’s me.” She tried to sound, if not normal, then at least functional. “I’ve been in an accident. I was on my way to dinner with David and I tripped and broke my ankle so... Anyway, I’m at the ER now. Everything’s under control.”

Her elbow burned, and she darted a look at the nurse as he dabbed ointment on her cut.

“They’re getting me fitted with one of those boots and then David is going to drive me home.” A call came in, and Nicole hurried to wrap up. “Anyway, don’t worry and don’t let Mom and Dad freak out either. Everything’s fine. I’ll call you later, okay? Bye.”

She hung up just as David returned.

“You get her?”

“I left her a message. Thank you.” She handed back the phone. “You missed a call from someone.”

“Thanks. So, Chan’s on his way in. He’s going to get you taken care of.” David glanced at the nurse. “How’s the elbow coming?”

“Almost done here,” the nurse said, wrapping the gauze. “Don’t get it wet for forty-eight hours. And you’ll need to change this dressing out twice a day.”

The nurse finished taping and then smiled and ducked out, leaving Nicole and David alone in the little curtained-off area. Well, alone except for the kidney-stone guy groaning next door.

“I’m sorry this happened to you,” David said.

“Me, too.”

“The officer at the scene told me they’re trying to get a license plate.”

“I know.”

He pulled his phone from his pocket and read a text message. His face tensed, and Nicole recognized the look.

“You have a callout?”

He glanced up, and she knew the answer.

“Let me just—”

“It’s okay if you have to go,” she said.

“I might not. Let me just take this.”

He stepped into the busy hallway, and she stared at the empty doorway. Was he really going to leave her here and rush off to work? She knew from the look on his face that he was. He was just nailing down his excuse.

Glancing around the room, she found herself alone for the first time in what felt like hours, although she had no clue what time it was. Her head was whirling, and her entire body felt off-kilter.

She looked at her swollen foot, and suddenly reality crashed over her like a wave.

“Shit.” She clutched her stomach.

Five weeks? Tears burned her eyes. How was she going to work? Everyone in their department was already under intense pressure, and now she was going to be struggling even more to keep up.

“Hey.”

She glanced up to see Emmet, and her heart flipped over. She hadn’t seen him since back at the accident scene. He and Adam had been interviewing bystanders as Nicole argued with David about whether she needed an ambulance to take her to the hospital. David had won.

“Excuse me, sir.”

Emmet moved out of the way as a nurse rushed through the door and into the neighboring curtain.

Emmet stepped over to Nicole’s gurney. “Hi.”

“Hi.” She wiped her wet cheeks, and he pretended not to notice she was crying.

“Stitches?” He nodded at her arm.

“Just a bandage.”

“And the ankle?”

She took a deep breath. “It’s broken.” The words put a cramp in her stomach. “I’m going to be on crutches awhile.”

His stared down at her for a long moment. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out her phone. The screen was shattered, but just the sight of it made her smile.

“Oh my God. Thank you,” she said, taking it.

“It was under a car near the intersection.”

She examined the phone, then set it on the sheet beside her. She should really call Kate again, but she didn’t want her parents racing over here.

She glanced up and caught Emmet’s dark expression.

“You look pissed about something.”

He scoffed. “Yeah.”

“Is it the hit-and-run?”

His jaw tensed. “We can talk about it later.”

“Miss Lawson?” Dr.Chan walked into the room and glanced up from his clipboard.

Emmet stepped aside.

“Wait.” She reached for his arm. “Would you do me a favor?”

He nodded.

“I think I need a ride home.”