“Yes. Wait right there.”
“Do you really think I’m going anywhere anytime fast? Hell and damn, girl. I’ve been stuck in here for an hour.” Then she grumbled, “Doesn’t anyone do laundry anymore?”
Erin texted Smith,Emergency. Tilly fell. Where are the apartment keys?
Fortunately, he texted right back.In top drawer to left of kitchen sink. Be home in half an hour. Soon as I can.
“I’ll be right back, Tilly,” Erin called and ran upstairs. She found the ring of keys and raced back to Tilly. After going through a few, she found a key that fit the bathroom door. She entered to find Tilly in a state. The poor woman sat on the lid of the toilet, her weight shifted to one side, her expression one of pain. When she saw Erin, her expression lightened despite the tears in her eyes.
“Hell of a thing, getting old,” Tilly said, reaching for Erin.
Erin hurried to help her to her feet, conscious that Tilly favored her right side. They walked slowly, grabbed Tilly’s cane to use as extra support, and continued up to the first floor, Erin apologizing all the way. Tilly weighed less than Erin did, so assisting her wasn’t difficult. But not creating more injury meant they had to walk so carefully.
“I’m sorry. I know this hurts. I’m so sorry. You’re going great. Let’s keep going.”
“Just take me to my apartment. I’ll be fine.”
“I’m taking you to the hospital.”
Tilly flushed. “Hell, no. That’s a bother.”
“You have insurance, don’t you?”
“Yes, but—”
“No buts. Tilly, you could be bleeding internally. You could have broken something. You need a hospital.”
“Fuck me sideways. Fine. But no ambulance.”
“Right. Just…wait right here.” Erin propped her against the hallway wall and rushed to grab her purse and car keys. Then she returned, only to be ordered to grab Tilly’s purse as well. Tilly held out a shaky hand with her keys.
Erin blinked back useless tears and rushed to get Tilly’s things. Along with her purse, she grabbed Tilly’s favorite shawl and a coat and then drove her to the hospital, all the while worrying about Tilly’s pallor and her hip.
After checking Tilly in, Erin realized she hadn’t texted Smith. She let him know where to meet her and waited. Then she wondered if she should text Rupert, the only known member of Tilly’s family. Erin decided it couldn’t hurt, so she let him know what had happened to Tilly but didn’t hear back right away.
Tilly hadn’t looked so good by the time they’d wheeled her into emergency care. After filling out a ton of forms and being directed to two different stations, Erin had nothing to do but wait and worry.
Tilly had become a surrogate grandparent in a lot of ways. She gave Erin advice Erin hadn’t asked for, as well as a sense of support and kindness she needed. When Erin had had no place to live, Tilly had offered her a more than fair deal, from which Erin continued to reap the benefits. And one of them was having Tilly as a friend.
The thought of possibly losing her hit hard, and Erin had to wipe away tears, worried by all that could go wrong. Tilly was seventy-nine years old with a history of osteoporosis. She’d already had one hip replaced. Fortunately, not the one she’d hurt. Seeing her in pain had been awful, and knowing Tilly had suffered for a while, and might have continued to suffer had Erin not found her, rang warning bells.
Tilly might need around the clock care after this. Could she afford it? If not, who could help her? Erin wanted to offer, but did she need to be qualified to administer medication? Would Tilly even want her around all the time? And besides, Erin also needed to work. She had more editing awaiting her at her apartment.
Worn out from the shock of Tilly’s fall and her meeting with Cody, she grabbed a magazine and settled in for some mindless reading about celebrities and their scandals and every day activities.
Two hours had passed. No word from the doctor yet, and Smith was stuck in traffic.
Gosh, she needed him by her side. With Smith around, she felt safe and cared for. Almost…loved.
Smith couldn’t believehe’d been sideswiped by some drunk asshole after being stuck in traffic forever. Wasting time while some young cop struggled to understand the concept of emergencies and needing somewhere else to be, it was all Smith could do not to clock the bastard who stood on the cop’s other side, bitching about being late to a meeting.
“Look, officer,” Smith growled. “I’mthe guy who got hit on the way to the hospital, where my grandmother is in emergency care. I wasn’t drinking or speeding,” he directed to the rich asshole.
“Please. I’m totally sober.” The guy’s phone rang, and he stepped aside to answer it.
Smith had totally been speeding before he’d stopped at the stoplight. And by calling Tilly his grandmother, he hoped for a little more sympathy and urgency in dealing with the accident. “I was turning right on green when this guy plowed into me, running a red light. I can fucking smell him from here.”
The cop sighed. “Yeah, so can I. I’m sorry. We’re nearly done. There’s one more thing I need to do, then you can be on your way.”
