Luke paced the linoleum floors of the emergency room. The soles of his shoes peeled off the floor with something sticky each time, trying to hold him in place. He hadn’t held still since they’d wheeled her in here.
Elaine was her name. He’d learned that when he’d grabbed her purse from the ground. He’d left behind the taco take-out bag as it was a casualty, and the ants were already on it. Her state ID had slipped from her purse, and he’d seen her name.
He wasn’t the only one who knew her name. One of the EMT drivers had known her name, as well. It was a small town. Of course, everyone knew everyone else. He’d given Luke the side-eye. It was the first unwelcome gesture he’d been presented in this town.
He couldn’t blame them. It was his fault. He was surprised more people weren’t glaring at him from the sidewalk.
The accident had happened after the end of the lunch rush, so not many people had been out. He’d been able to whisk her to a bench and out of the road. The car that had been driving by had out of state plates, which was likely why they hadn’t stopped. No ties to this community.
It hadn’t been the driver’s fault. It had been Luke’s fault. He hadn’t been paying attention, and she’d tried to save him. Then everything had gone in slow motion.
He’d felt the tug on his wrists. He’d turned, and there she was. She was backlit by the sun. Her hair wasn’t all brown. There were golden highlights amongst the strands, and they sparked in the sun’s spotlight.
The same golden flecks were in her brown eyes. Like twinkling stars in a hazel galaxy. Luke felt himself being pulled into warp speed. Everything around him went fuzzy, except her clear, sparkling eyes.
Her clear, sparkling eyes that were filled with alarm. Why was she alarmed? Was she feeling the pull too? She certainly was pulling him toward her.
Only her gaze wasn’t filled with passion. It was filled with worry. No, that was fear. Actually, it looked more like terror.
Luke spotted the danger in his peripheral vision. A car was headed straight toward them. She was trying to save him.
Instincts took over. He swung their bodies around so that he was closest to the danger. But in doing so, she landed on her side. His body wasn’t able to cushion her blow. The sparkles in her eyes dimmed, then went out as she closed them and lay unconscious.
He just wished it had been him unconscious on the street and not her.
She was still unconscious when the ambulance arrived. She was unconscious the whole ride. Though they’d let Luke ride with them.
“Mr. Jackson, your girlfriend has been moved to a room.”
There was also that. In order to ride with Elaine in the ambulance, he’d had to tell a bit of a lie. Luke didn’t hesitate to mislead the paramedic. He had no intention of letting Elaine out of his sight now that he was paying attention.
“Is she all right?” he asked as he followed the nurse.
“It just looks like a concussion. Nothing is broken. She should wake up soon.”
Luke exhaled. But not fully. He wouldn’t let go of his full breath until she walked out of the hospital on her own two feet. He didn’t plan to leave until then.
The nurse led him into a room. There were two beds separated by a thin curtain. On one side of the curtain lay an older woman, snoring lightly. And then Luke saw her, Elaine.
She looked peaceful with her eyes closed. Like an angel dressed in blue and white polka dots. She made the hospital gown look like the height of fashion.
On the table sat her belongings. There was the bag with her book poking out. Luke tore his gaze away from her face and picked up the book.
Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles was not one of Luke’s favorites. He didn’t like books where the decks were stacked against the protagonists. True, he wrote books about the underdog. But in his books, the protagonists eventually won and defeated the evil empire. Hardy didn’t always play by those rules.
But it would seem those rules followed Luke around. This wasn’t the first time someone else had suffered because of him. First, his mother. Then Paul. And now her.
A soft moan escaped Elaine. Luke went to her immediately. He held his breath while her eyes fluttered and then opened.
She stared at him. He stared at her. He held still as her gaze flicked over him, and he waited for recognition. And finally, there was a sparkle in her eye.
Luke’s heart skipped a beat gazing into those coffee-colored supernovas. It was like a shot of adrenaline right into his chest. Her lips parted, and he forgot how to breathe. Her hand lifted off the bed, and he felt like he should take a knee, like a knight pledging fealty. Shakespeare rang in his ears, what satisfaction canst though have tonight?
“My book,” she said.
Luke blinked. She wanted a book. No, he wanted her book. Her Tess book. Luke presented it to her like it was the flag from an opponent he’d just bested in a joust.
Elaine examined the book, brushing her fingers over the cover. She sighed as she cradled the book to her chest. Luke felt intensely happy as if he’d just given her the world.
“You saved my book,” she said.
“You saved my life. We’re even. But I’m afraid your taco didn’t survive.”
“Oh, Mary—ouch.”
Elaine had tried to rise from the bed. But winced the moment her head came off the pillow.
Luke flew into action. At least he would have if he knew what to do. “Should I call the nurse? Do you need medication? Another pillow?”
Elaine rubbed tenderly at the back of her head. “No, no. There’s just a bump here.”
“I’ll get the doctor,” he said. “They should run more tests.”
“For a bump on the head? I’m sure I’m fine.”
Luke wasn’t so sure. Before he could reach for the door, an older gentleman came in.
“Hello, Elaine. Pretending to be a superhero, I hear?”
“Just doing my civic duty, Dr. Brady,” she said.
“It was my fault,” said Luke. “I was looking down at—”
“Your cell phone?”
“No,” both Luke and Elaine said at the same time.
“He was looking down at a book,” said Elaine.
“Sounds like something you would do,” the doctor said to Elaine. “I’ve brought your discharge papers. And one of the nurses let Mary know you’re here and that you’re fine. She said to take the rest of the day off, obviously. You’re free to go when you feel up to it.”
“Free to go?” said Luke. “Have you done a cat scan? X-rays?”
“There’s no medical need for any of those things,” said Dr. Brady. “It was just a bump on the head.”
Paul’s injury started as just a bruise on his back, and now he had chronic pains. Paul just had a twinge in his back before they discovered it was more. Luke’s mother had had a few cramps and dizzy spells before she’d been taken by her ailment. There could always be something more lurking beneath the surface.
“Just take a few aspirins, and you’ll be right as rain in the morning,” said the doctor.
‘Thank you, Dr. Brady.”
“Shouldn’t she at least be under observation?” asked Luke.
“You look after her tonight then,” said the doctor. “You’re qualified as her boyfriend.”
And with that, he ducked out into the hall. The older woman on the other side of the curtain continued snoring lightly. Luke turned to face Elaine slowly. He sensed he was turning to face a firing squad. He was right.
Her narrowed gaze and pinched expression confirmed his suspicions. “Did he say you’re my boyfriend?”