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Colt
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“I’M GOING.” I OPEN the bathroom door a crack so Em can hear me. “Keys are on the table.”
“Enjoy your date.” The sarcasm is thick in her voice. She’s going to by chicken feed and run some errands while I go and woo my lady.
I put the leashes on Clyde and Jordan and take them with me to meet my date.
Ethel is sitting on the park bench overlooking the basketball court when I arrive.
I lean down and press a kiss to her cheek. “Miss me?”
“It was rather peaceful, actually.”
I chuckle and sit beside her. She clucks at the chickens and they nuzzle her leg.
“What happened here?” I ask Ethel, indicating the bandage on her hand.
“Stabbed myself with the garden shears.”
“You need to be careful.”
“If it wasn’t for my knees giving out when I tried to stand up, I wouldn’t have hurt myself. But these knees aren’t as sturdy as what they used to be. Once upon a time, I used to be able to drop to my knees like that,” she says, snapping her fingers.
I choke back a laugh. “Tell you what. Save your knees. I’ll come over later in the week and do some work for you.”
She smiles and pats my leg. “Why are you so good to me?”
To be honest, I don’t know. I don’t know what it is about her but I like spending time with her. Maybe because it’s just been me and dad and Em for so long. I don’t have grandparents.
“Because you feed me well,” I tell her.
“Taking advantage of a poor old lady for her food.” She shakes her head.
“I can take advantage of you in other ways.” I wiggle my eyebrows.
“Oh, Colton. You flatter me.” She blinks rapidly. I love that she has a sense of humor and plays along with me.
“There’s more where that came from if you feed me.” I glance at the picnic basket beside her feet. “I’m a sucker for your lasagna.”
“Well, aren’t you in for a treat?” she says, nudging the picnic basket with her foot.
My stomach grumbles and my mouth waters at the thought of the possibilities inside. I’m starving. Reaching for the basket, I maneuver the chickens to the side but my phone rings.
The caller ID shows a number I’ve never seen before. I hesitate before answering. “Hello?”
“Is this Colton James?”
I glance at Ethel and frown. “Yes.”
“You’re listed as Emerson Hayes’s next of kin. Is that correct?”
“Who is this?”
“Nurse Lange from Franksville General.”
My heart stopped and I struggled to breathe. I stood and began pacing. Ethel watched me with worry on her face. “What happened?” I ask.
“There’s been an accident. Emerson...” I didn’t listen to the rest because I ended the call and turned to Ethel.
“Sorry. I’ve to go. Emerson’s... There’s been an accident,” I tell her, pressing a kiss to her cheek before I take off, running.
***
I BUST THROUGH THE double doors, out of breath, and rush to the nurse’s station.
“Emerson Hayes?” I demand the moment the nurse lifts her head. My stomach rolls and the overwhelming urge to throw up settles in the pit of my stomach.
“Room 204. Are you—?”
But I don’t listen to any more, I’m already running down the hall. My stomach had been uneasy and churning all afternoon, as though it sensed something would happen. I couldn’t shake the bad feeling gnawing away at me, but I thought it was just nerves. I figured she was with Austin and I was about to lose two thousand dollars. It never crossed my mind that she could have been hurt.
“Hey, you can’t take them in there. What are you doing?” The woman from reception chases me down the hall, but I don’t stop. I grip Clyde and Jordan’s leashes tighter as I weave through halls, trying to make sense of the signs on the walls. The birds cluck and flap their wings behind me, flying every few steps to keep up.
Why were hospitals so confusing?
I find room 204 as the severe-looking nurse from the front desk catches up with me.
“You cannot bring chickens into a hospital.”
“Please? My...” I stop. Will they let me see her if I’m a friend? Don’t they usually have rules about visitors? “My fiancée was in an accident. I’ll call someone to pick them up. I need to see her.” I plead and give her my most sincere smile. It’s something I’ve been practicing, so I hope I don’t appear deranged.
“Just get rid of them,” the nurse says, eyeing the birds. Her lips pull up into a grin. “I'll be watching you.”
“Thank you.”
I knock on the wall beside Em’s open door. My heart hammers in my chest, and I’m almost too nervous to walk in, not knowing what condition she’ll be in. But I’m surprised. She’s in a private room and resting in bed when I walk in. She doesn’t appear to be too badly hurt. She’s awake and breathing, so that’s a good sign.
“Fiancée?” She smirks, amusement mixed with pain tainting her voice.
“Wasn’t sure they’d let me visit.”
“You brought Jordan and Clyde in to see me?”
“They’re family.” I grin. “We were out picking up chicks when I got the phone call.”
“Thought you had a date with Jane.”
“Who?”
Em sighs. “Libby.”
“Oh, no. I had a picnic on the beach with Ethel.”
She nods and chuckles softly. Her eyes drift closed and she winces in pain.
“You okay?” I ask, taking in her appearance, the tubes and cords attached to her.
“A little battered and bruised, but nothing bad.”
“You have a bandage around your head, your arm and leg propped up on pillows and an IV. Nothing bad, my ass. What the fuck happened?”
“Fine, I have a small concussion, a broken ankle and a broken arm. A few cuts and bruises but mostly fine.”
“Fuck. You scared the hell out of me. When they called to say there had been an accident, I swear to God, Em, my heart stopped.”
She lifted her hand up for me to grab. “Sorry. I tried to avoid it, but the other car was too out of control. I swerved but he came straight at me. It was unavoidable. How’s the car?”
“Who cares about the car? You sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, just tired.”
I hold the chickens out for her, and she rubs their heads with her good hand. They cluck happily. Looking around the room, I try to find somewhere to tie the birds and decide to hook their leashes around the chair leg. Sitting down, I pull out my phone and text Austin.
Me: I need you to come to the hospital and pick up Clyde and Jordan.
Austin: Your chickens are in hospital?
Me: No, dipshit. Em is in hospital. I was with Ethel and the birds when they called me and came straight here.
My phone rings two seconds later.
“Yeah?”
“What happened to Em? Is she okay?” Austin sounds frantic with worry. He’s not the only one.
Rubbing a hand over my face, I sigh and stare at her. She’s tired and in pain. “Car accident. She’s fine.”
“If she was fine, she wouldn’t be in hospital.”
“A few broken bones and concussion. Nothing too serious.”
“A few broken bones is nothing too serious?”
“Nothing life-threatening then, okay? Can you come or not?” I snap. I’m not in the mood to answer questions or talk. I want to focus on Em and make sure she’s not in pain.
“Yeah, I’ll be there. Who’s Ethel?”
“My sugar granny.”
Em chuckles then winces in pain, clutching her side.
Keys rattle and a door opens on the other side of the line. “I’m not even going to touch that with a ten-foot pole. I’m on my way. What room?”
“204.”
He hangs up without another word.
“You okay?”
“Okay, I might have bruised ribs too,” she hisses, and I huff out a breath. She’s not okay.
“Who was that?” Em asks once I’ve put my phone back in my pocket.
“Austin.”
“You asked him to come?”
“If I don’t, I think you might be eating roast chicken tonight for dinner,” I say, glancing down at the birds. They ruffle their feathers and cluck once. It almost sounds angry.
“Don’t scare them like that. It’s okay, chickies. No one is eating you for dinner,” Em coos at them and they return to pecking the chair leg.
“You sure you’re okay? What did the doctor say?”
“I’m fine. They want to keep me in overnight for observation. I’m being taken into surgery soon.”
“Surgery! What for? You said you were fine.”
“Relax. It’s for my arm. It’s broken in three places and needs pins. They’re waiting for a free operating room.”
I lean forward and grab her hand. “What about your head?”
“I have some swelling. Doc says I should be fine in the next day or so.” She shrugs. She’s so blasé about the whole thing, meanwhile my heart is about to beat its way out of my chest, and I can’t catch a breath.
I run my hand through my hair and pull on the ends until it hurts. I can’t sit still; my legs are trembling and my chest aches. The fear of something terrible happening to her is too real. I can’t deal with it. My vision blurs and the room spins.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath. “Head injuries are no joke, Em. Are you sure that’s all it is? Have they run a CAT scan? Are they sure there’s no damage?”
“I’m fi—”
I pull my hand back and stand, pacing the room. “Don’t say you’re fine. My mom said she was fine, too, but then she died six hours later from a bleed on her brain. They didn’t run a CAT scan when they should have, Em.”
Em’s reassuring smile drops from her face and she pales, turning a sickly white. She brings her hand up to her mouth and whispers, “I’m sorry. I didn’t think. Your mom. You... This must bring back a lot of memories. Colt, I—”
I walk over to her and kiss the top of her head. “You worry me. I can’t lose you, too.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she whispers.
“Promise?”
“Cross my heart.”
Breathing out a sigh of relief, I’m content for now but it doesn’t mean the worry still isn’t there. I hope this hospital does a better job of looking after her than what the last one did my mom.
I’ve learned to live without Mom, but I don’t think I can live without Em. She’s a part of me, and without her, I’m afraid of what would become of me.
The door opens and a man walks in. His white lab coat is blindingly bright under the fluorescent glow of the harsh hospital lighting. He smiles at Em and opens his mouth to speak when Clyde clucks and pecks at his shoes. Pulling his glasses off his face, he looks down, blinks and blinks again. When that doesn’t seem to be enough, he wipes his glasses clean and places them back on. His eyes widen. “Well that’s not something you see every day in here.”
Em grins. “They said family could visit. This is Colt,” she introduces me before gesturing to the chickens “And they are...” she points to each individually, “Jordan and Clyde.”
“Nice to meet you Colt, I’m Doctor Wentworth. You must be Emerson’s fiancé. The nurse told me you were here, but she failed to mention you brought two guests with you.” He reached out a hand for me to shake.
“Ah, yeah. We were on a date when I got the phone call about Em. I came straight here.”
He frowns and opens his mouth to speak before thinking better of it, instead choosing to nod and direct his focus at Em. “I’m here to check up on you and make sure you’re comfortable. Someone will be in shortly to take you down to the operating room where we can get that arm fixed and that ankle in a cast. We’ll have you on the mend in no time.”
“When can she go home?” I ask.
“If everything goes well in surgery, she should be able to go home tomorrow. We want to run another CAT scan later tonight to make sure everything is okay up here first.” He taps his pen to his head. “Never can be too careful with a head injury.” He smiles, and I wonder if he had been listening to our conversation from the other side of the door. “Emerson, do you have any questions?”
“I don’t think so.” She shakes her head.
“How long will she be in surgery for?”
“It’s hard to say until we get her in there and have a better look at the damage. The ankle is straight forward. But the arm is a different story. From the scans it should be a few hours, but, like I said, we won’t know for sure until we get in there and have a better look. You’re welcome to go home for a few hours and the nurse will call you when Emerson wakes up.” He glances down at the chickens.
“Nope. I’m staying here.”
Doctor Wentworth clears his throat. “Perhaps you can take the birds home. It’s against hospital regulations to have animals in the building.”
“It’s fine, their uncle is coming to collect them. I’m not leaving here until Em does.” I cross my arms over my chest and lean back in the seat.
“Okay.” The doctor chuckles, realizing he won’t win an argument with me. “Well, Emerson, I’ll see you down there soon.” He writes something on her chart and then leaves.
“Uncle? You really are running with this whole family thing, huh?”
“What else was I going to say? The guy my fiancée may or may not be dating is coming to pick them up.”
She rolls her eyes “Austin and I are friends. You could have just told the doctor someone was coming.”
“I did. Their uncle.”
Em sighs. “Colt, go home. I’ll be okay. I’ll call you when I wake up.”
“Not leaving, Em. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”
She gives me a grateful smile, relieved that I’m staying.
“Will they put me to sleep?”
“Most likely. It’ll hurt too much otherwise.”
The relieved expression on her face changes to one of tension and fear at my words, and I want to ask if I can go into surgery and lie beside her. Hold her hand.
The nurse arrives about thirty minutes later and nearly trips over Clyde when she walks in. Where the hell is Austin? It doesn’t take that long to get here.
“Okay, Emerson, are you ready? We’re taking you down now to get that arm in a cast.”
“Okay,” Em replies. Her voice is soft and quivers slightly. She swallows and plasters on a fake smile, one like she gives me when I’m driving her crazy in public and she’s trying to be polite.
She’s nervous. Scared.
Years ago, she would wake up in the middle of the night crying and completely terrified. She never could work out why, and we always figured it was a bad dream she never remembered. The tears and bad dreams stopped the night I went from sleeping on her floor to sleeping in her bed.
She’s afraid it will happen again.
I lean down and press a kiss to the top of her head. “It’ll be okay.”
She gives me half a smile and closes her eyes. “Colt?”
“Mmm...”
“Kiss me?”
“I’ll be here when you wake up,” I say, ignoring her question. She grins, putting on a brave face for both of us and then she’s wheeled out of the room.
I pace the room anxiously. I do not enjoy being with her for something like this. She’s scared. And I’m freaking the fuck out. What if they screw up and I lose her, too? I don’t think I could survive that. I’m never letting her out of my sight again. We’ll be joined at the hips from now until eternity.
After what seems like forever, Austin strolls in. A big teddy bear under one arm, a bouquet of flowers and a small overnight bag in his hand.
“What do you think you’re doing with that?” I eye the overnight bag, much like his gym bag.
“It’s not for me, dude. Calm down. I picked up a few things for Em.” He drops the bag on the chair. “And for you, too.”
“Me?”
With a lift of his shoulders, he turns away and places the flowers and bear on the bedside table. “Yeah, I know you won’t leave her side until she comes home. So I figured you might need clothes, and a toothbrush at least.”
I rub both hands over my face, dragging my skin back like a facelift gone wrong. “Thanks, man.”
“No problem. How is she?”
“In surgery. They need to put pins in her arm and a cast on her leg.”
“What the hell happened?”
I fill him in as best I can without knowing all the details, and he sits with me until the nurse comes and tells me I need to get rid of the chickens or she’ll call security.
They haven’t caused that much damage.
“That’s my cue to leave,” Austin says, leaning down and picking up the leashes. “Want me to take them back to your apartment?”
I hand him my keys. “Yeah. Put them in the coop and check there is enough food and water for the night.”
Em was out shopping for supplies for them when she crashed, but there should be enough for a few days.
After Austin leaves, I pace Emerson’s room again while I wait for her to return. The staff are much nicer to me now the chickens have gone. One stops in to see if I want a coffee while I wait. Another stops by to keep me updated, assuring me everything is going well and that Em will be out soon.
It does little to ease the fear and tension in my chest, and I’ve almost worn a path in the tiles and pulled all my hair out by the time they wheel Em back in.
She’s awake, but completely out of it. The nurse gets her settled in, makes her comfortable, and lets me know she’ll be sleepy for a while until the anesthesia wears off entirely. As soon as the nurse leaves, I kick off my shoes and climb on the bed beside Em, careful not to knock her arm or her ankle, hoping that she can go home tomorrow.
Hospitals make me uncomfortable and I don’t want to be here any longer than I need to be. The memories of my mom’s death, too much. I never want to witness that pain and anguish, and total heartbreak on my dad’s face again.