Chapter 37
The wee hours of Sunday morning,
hospital emergency room
Savannah kept falling asleep, and then waking up because she couldn’t move. Each time, Edward’s voice would break into her fuzzy thoughts.
“You have to stay awake, luv,” he said. “If you get through the next few hours without showing signs of concussion, we can go home.”
Savannah wrinkled her brow in concentration. “I’m not home?” She opened her eyes to the bright lights and energetic bustling of doctors, nurses, orderlies, and emergency personnel in the cramped emergency room. “Why can’t I move?”
“You’re wearing a neck brace. They don’t want you to move your head until the results of the CAT scan come back.”
“I’ve been awake before?”
“Yes, which is a good thing, because they won’t talk to me. They will only let me sit with you because you have no relatives. I could at least prove that we’re engaged and living together. Thanks for badgering me into getting the address changed on my driver’s license.”
Savannah looked around as much as she could with her limited head movement. “This is the same place where Nicole was brought, isn’t it?”
“Yes, luv, but you’re going to be fine. You need to stay awake for another couple of hours and they’ll let us go.”
“Us?”
Edward took her hand and cupped it between his. “You’re not in here alone. Never alone.”
Savannah exhaled a long umm. “You always know exactly how to make me feel wonderful.”
“That’s my job.”
She scooched up a little higher in the bed. “What happened after—”
A nurse pulled the privacy curtain aside with a lively flourish. “Hello, hello! It’s time for your vitals check. Let me check your wristband.” She examined the printed hospital band on Savannah’s left wrist. “Good. What’s your name?”
Savannah frowned.” Savannah Webb.”
“What day is it?”
“Umm, by now, I think Sunday.”
“Do you know where you are?”
“Bayside Hospital emergency room.”
“Where do you live?”
“St. Petersburg, Florida.”
The nurse let a tiny smile escape, then took Savannah’s temperature, blood pressure, and pulse. She turned, twitched the privacy curtain back in place, and left the room.
Edward’s eyebrows shot up like twin darts. “That was abrupt.”
“Has she been asking me questions since I got here?”
“No, this is the first time I’ve seen her. Your original nurse must be busy elsewhere.”
“How many times have they checked me out?”
“This is the third time.”
Savannah frowned. “I don’t remember the first two.”
“Well, you did get quite a knock. They took you away for a CAT scan, but I don’t know the results.” He cupped her hand again. “I’m not a relative, so they won’t tell me what the scan showed.”
Savannah tentatively explored the back of her head and found a tender spot.
“Ouch.” She smiled up at Edward. “That’s going to be tender for a while. What happened to everyone?”
“Well, that’s a good sign.” He smiled and kissed her hand. “Curiosity has always been your greatest strength. Sadly, also your greatest weakness.”
“Come on. Stop stalling.” She gingerly lifted herself upright in bed. “Jacob! Is Jacob all right? I remember that I made a grab to pull him out of the path of the white car. Is he hurt? Is Suzy hurt?”
“Calm down. Everyone else is fine. You’re the only one who made it here.”
Savannah felt a wave of tension leave her shoulders.
Edward continued. “Jacob was the first to recover and he snatched up Suzy, who was howling up a storm just like she did when Nicole was hit. I was the next to get up from the pile and I helped Officer Williams secure SNARK. When I turned back to you, Frances was trying to wake you up. That’s when Officer Williams called for the EMTs.”
“I don’t remember any of that.”
“You just wouldn’t fully wake up. You seemed to be mumbling in a dream. The EMTs put you in this neck brace and whisked you away to here. I followed them in your Mini.”
“What happened to Myla Kay?”
“Also known as SNARK?” Edward tilted his head. “That was a big surprise. It was a miracle that she wasn’t killed outright in her attempt to run down Jacob. It turns out she was full of drugs and couldn’t even tell Officer Williams who she was.”
“Where’s Amanda? How is she holding up?”
“She’s fine,” Edward answered tersely. “You need to stop asking questions and rest. If you keep agitating yourself, we’ll never get out of here.”
“But what about the Best Burger in the Burg competition? You left the pub on the most popular voting night.”
Edward opened his mouth to answer and was interrupted by the sound of the privacy curtain being drawn aside.
A thin, dark young man in blue medical scrubs entered with an electronic device in his hand and a stethoscope draped around his neck. “Savannah Webb?”
“Yes, that’s me,” said Savannah. “When can I go home?”
The young man smiled and looked even younger. “That’s a healthy attitude.” He looked at Edward. “Is it okay to share the results?” He then looked at Savannah. “Would you like some privacy?”
“No, Edward is my fiancé. I want him to know if there’s a problem.”
“Perfect. The news is good. Your CAT scan is clean. There are no fractures in your neck or spine.”
Savannah grinned so wide her cheeks nearly cramped. “So, you can take off the neck brace?” She started to reach around to the back of the brace.
“Yes. Hang on.” He placed his device on the side table. “Let me help you get that off. Sit up.”
Savannah sat forward while the doctor pulled on the Velcro straps and removed the brace. She rolled her neck from side to side. “Oh, wow. That feels wonderful. How much longer do I have to stay?”
“Only two more hours. We need to make sure there’s no delayed bleed at the impact site. Stay quiet. Stay in bed. Two more interviews by one of the floor nurses and I’ll release you.”
He picked up his device and turned to Edward. “Make sure you watch her closely for the next day or so. They’ll tell you what to look for when they release her.”
Edward stood to shake the doctor’s hand and yelped when his left foot bore his full weight. He stumbled into the doctor’s midsection and they both tumbled onto the cold tile floor.
The doctor recovered quickly and helped Edward hop back into the chair without using his left leg. “So, when were you going to let somebody know that you injured yourself?”
“It didn’t seem to be so bad. Until now.”
“Right. Let’s get you checked in and examine that foot. It may be broken.”