“Get us to Saint Thomas General, now!” I growled.
I wrapped Jenny up in one arm and squeezed her tight. My other hand stroked her hair as she cried into my shoulder. “Is he okay?”
She burst into a sob and it was like a kick to the groin. What did I do? Jenny couldn’t speak. Her whole body trembled under my touch. “We’ll be there in a minute. Don’t worry. I’m sure he’s fine.”
And this is what I always did. I hurt people. Usually, I didn’t care much, but this time—I wanted to die. I pulled her closer to me, trying to absorb every bit of pain she was feeling. I failed.
Tim, my driver, sped through a red light after looking both directions. It wasn’t fast enough for me and I kicked the seat in front of us. “Get us there! Now!”
Jenny’s hand gripped the lapel of my jacket and she looked up at me. Her face was pure hurt, her mascara streaked down her face in thin, jagged black lines. I could see her mind racing just by looking into her eyes. Her brow furrowed and she shoved me away from her.
“Fuck you!” It was a scream that rattled my bones.
I knew she was hurting. I knew she was upset with the situation, and she wasn’t there because of me, but there was no way I could’ve known this would happen. For fuck’s sake, I was an asshole, but not even I was capable of something like that. Five minutes ago she was coming on my fingers and moaning my name into my mouth, and now she hated me?
“I didn’t know—”
“Fuck. You.” Her words cut into my flesh.
Anger swarmed me from all angles. I tried to shove it all back inside, but it was at the point of eruption. “Don’t say that. I didn’t know, okay? So just don’t.” My words were stern, much more so than intended.
“I would’ve been there.” She shoved me again. “He is terminal! He has cancer! He’s about to fucking die and you tricked me into leaving him!”
I shrunk back in my seat. I’d known her dad was really sick, but I didn’t know he was on his deathbed. My hands went up in surrender. “I didn’t know—”
“You don’t know shit! Fuck you! Let me out of the car!” She yanked at the door handle like a crazy person until she finally broke down into another fit of sobbing, clutching her hand over her mouth.
The tears streamed down her face and I reached over to try and hug her. She slapped me away with her free hand. “Don’t touch me right now!”
Jenny wouldn’t stop screaming. I sat there for the three longest minutes of my life, watching the woman I wanted to comfort suffer alone in the seat next to mine. Pure agony. That’s what it was. My fingers dug into the seat and I stared up at the roof of the car and then back at her. “I’m sorry.”
Her face fell into her palms and she let loose with more sobs, each a knife thrusting deeper into my heart. The car skidded to a stop in front of the emergency room. The doors unlocked and Jenny yanked hers open.
“I’m coming with you.” I reached for my door handle.
Her head whipped around to me. “No! Don’t come near me. Leave!”
I lost control. “I’m not fucking leaving you like this! You’re pissed off and that’s fine, but don’t take it out on me!”
“Don’t you fucking come anywhere near this goddamn hospital or I will call the cops, Ethan! Shove your job up your ass and lose my phone number. Got me?”
She slammed the door closed and I jumped across the seat and rolled the window down as she turned to run up the steps to the hospital.
A few people stared and covered their mouths as she stormed past them.
“Leave!” She didn’t turn around to look at me when she screamed it.
“Fuck!”
I pummeled the punching bag that hung from the ceiling of my workout room. It was impossible to stop pounding it with everything I had. I kept swinging until I had nothing left and collapsed to my knees on the floor, sweat streaming down my face.
I crawled over to a weight bench where my phone sat and looked at the screen. Nothing. Not a text or a missed call to let me know how her father was. Not a goddamn thing.
I pulled myself to my feet and wiped my face off with a workout towel. She’ll calm down, realize I wouldn’t do that to her. I told myself that over and over, but I didn’t believe it. It was the way she’d glared at me, screamed at me. She hated me.
I walked into my living room and plopped down on the couch. Every time my phone lit up I leaped at it and clutched it in my palms. It was all work stuff—emails, messages about meetings. Nothing from Jenny. What was I going to do?
A light knock startled me and the door opened. Matt walked into the living room, looking around aimlessly until he spotted me on the couch.
“What’s going on, bro? You never text me this late. That message was cryptic as hell.”
I yanked on my hair. It’s what I did when I was frustrated. Matt knew this about me. He knew pretty much everything about me.
He dropped onto the couch. He was in workout shorts and a cutoff T-shirt, his arms covered in a fine sheen of sweat like he’d just finished up at the gym.
“I lied to her. I lied to you.” I sat up.
“What do you mean?”
“There wasn’t a date. I told her it was a client meeting.”
Matt chuckled at first, but stopped when I shot him a pointed stare. “I’m guessing it didn’t go over too well?” His tone was half-joking, half-serious.
I snickered a little. It’s why I’d texted him. I knew he’d come over and lighten the mood. “She ran from the restaurant.”
He laughed again. “Really? She ran?”
I nodded. “Quick style. Like boom, gone.”
“What’d you do?”
“Chased her down. I had to. She looked incredible, gorgeous. Didn’t think twice about it.”
“And?”
“Kissed her. Kissed her hard. Best kiss of my fucking life. Got hot and heavy in the car.”
Matt looked around at the empty house. “I’m failing to see why you’re sitting there miserable. Where is she?”
I clutched my face and did my hair-pull maneuver once more.
“What did you do?” His eyes widened and he enunciated his syllables.
“Her dad’s in the hospital. He’s sick. Like really sick. Dying sick.”
“Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Neither did I, man. I mean, I knew he had medical issues. But he’s like terminally ill on hospice or something. I had Tim drop her at the hospital. She screamed at me. Told me to fuck off. That she didn’t want to see me again.”
“Shit.” He stood up and scratched his head. It’s what he always did when he was thinking. After a few seconds his hand dropped to his side. “She has to know you didn’t mean for that to happen. Right? Like there’s no way you can predict something like that.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. She was distraught, sobbing. But it wasn’t like lying about a meeting helped matters.” I fell back into the couch, letting my head drop into the cold, soft leather. “Fuck, I’m such an idiot.”
He walked over and put a hand on my shoulder. “This is true.” He smiled. “Just give it some time. Yeah, it was stupid as fuck and yes, you are a pussy for doing that.” He chuckled again. “It’ll pass though. She just needs some space and time with her family. Would be nice if she let you know he was okay.”
“That’s the worst part. I have no idea. He could’ve died for all I know. I’m not about to text or call. She hates me.”
“She doesn’t hate you, bro. She’s just upset. And chicks turn us into irrational idiots when we like them. And guess what?”
I looked up at him. “What?”
“They’re humans too. And I’m sure we do the same to them. It’s probably why she flipped the fuck out on you. She’s scared because she likes you too.” He let out a huge sigh. “I mean you two idiots are perfect for each other. Both stubborn as balls. Everyone can see it.”
“Yeah, well, I took your advice and look what happened.” I pointed my thumbs in at my emotional state.
“No, I told you to ask her out like a fucking normal person.” He laughed. “I didn’t say con her into a fake-meeting-date, spin doctor.”
“Yeah, well, that’s why you pay me so well.”
“Indeed it is.” He beamed at me like a proud parent. “But she’s not a deal you’re trying to make. You need to try and remember that shit.”
“It’d be easier if she was.”
“Oh, I’m sure it would be. General managers don’t have feelings. She does. Include that shit in your magic equation next time before you broker a fucking date with that girl.”
“You should stop being logical. It scares me.”
He grinned. “I gotta run. You good?”
I stood from the couch and gave him a fist bump. “Yeah, I’m good.”
Matt started for the front door.
“Thanks, bro.”
He waved a hand in the air. “Anytime.”
Matt had been that way since we were kids. If I was down, he picked me up and vice versa. I still wasn’t convinced she’d give me the time of day, but somehow a little bit of the weight lifted off my shoulders and I didn’t feel like it was pressing me down into the earth.
While I felt better at that moment, I knew it wouldn’t last. I wasn’t good at sitting around and waiting. I liked to take action. I’d fucked up and hurt Jenny, albeit on accident, but I’d hurt her all the same.
I knew her last name and the hospital we’d dropped them off at. I could call or do some investigating to make sure her dad was okay. But what if she found out somehow? It was too risky. She didn’t want anything to do with me.
Fuck.
I had to give her some space, no matter how hard it was for me. When she wants me in her business, she’ll let me in.