Emma
“Eli?”I’m looking down at him. Seeing him here, in a hospital bed, hooked up to monitors and an IV is more than distressing. Cody said he was hit by a puck on the side of his head. He was wearing a helmet, but it hit him so hard the helmet cracked. Cody also said the minute he regained consciousness, the first word out of his mouth was “Emma.”
Cody did what he thought was right. He grabbed Eli’s phone and called me. When I saw his name appear, my first reaction was to let it go to voicemail, but then I thought about what Carley said. So I took the call. I’m glad I did.
Carley dropped me off at the emergency entrance, then went to park the car. I ran to the information desk and asked about Eli. Luckily, Cody appeared and led me back into the emergency department. He stopped in front of a wall made of a blue curtain. Pointing, he said, “He’s in there.”
I nodded and grasped the edge of the curtain that acted as a partition from the other bays in the ER. Peeking in first, I noticed the room was dim. I saw him on a gurney-like bed with an IV in his arm and a beeping machine behind him. His head was wrapped up in a colorful strip of something and the side where, I assume, he was hit, looked lumpy. I hoped that was an ice pack instead of lump.
“Eli?” I ask as I approach the bed. He doesn’t respond which worries me. “Eli?” I repeat as I lean down closer to his face. My voice is soft, barely a whisper. I can’t decide if I should wake him up or not.
He did ask for me.
“Eli?”
“Emma?” he asks as his eyes flutter open. “Is that you?”
“I’m here.” I reach out and touch his arm. It feels cold so I pull up the thin blanket they’ve got over his legs until it’s covering his upper half. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Just got the wind knocked out of me.”
“You were hit by a puck. In the head. It broke your helmet.”
“Oh. Right.” His chuckle turns into a wince. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me too.”
He lifts his arm off the bed and reaches for my hand. “I’m sorry about earlier.” He pauses. “My dad.”
“I know. Cody told me that your dad is….”
Eli laughs, then winces again. “…An asshole.” With a sigh, he adds, “But he’s my dad.”
“I get that.” I do. My parents look out for me, us, too, but they do it differently.
“I really like you, Emma.”
When our eyes meet, I feel something I’ve never felt before. Not about a boy, anyway. I feel a connection. I think he actually seesme. Ordinary and nerdy Emma Perkins. “I like you too.”
“Good.” Eli squeezes my hand as he closes his eyes. “Need to sleep.”
“Do you have a concussion?” If that’s the case, I don’t think he’s supposed to sleep.
“He sure does” says a woman as she pushes through the curtain. I watch as she washes her hands, then she holds one out to me. “I’m Doctor Striker. I’ve got an update.”
“Um, I’d better get his dad.” Or Cody. I start to stand just as the curtain whips open the rest of the way and Jack Baxter appears.
He looks first at Eli, then me, then the doctor. “She can leave.” He points to me. Since Eli’s asleep, I don’t expect him to need me around, so I stand. Keeping my head up, I walk around Mr. Baxter. The minute I’m on the other side of the curtain, Eli says my name again. “Emma?”
“She’s gone,” his dad says gruffly. “The doctor is here. Let’s hear her out.”
I don’t wait around to eavesdrop on their conversation. If Eli wants me to know what she says, he’ll tell me. Instead, I make my way out of the emergency department into the waiting area. I spot Carley right away and move toward her. Cody approaches carrying two cups of coffee. Handing one to Carley, he looks over at me and smiles. “You get a chance to talk to him?”
“For a minute. The doc stepped in, then his father…” I don’t know how to tell them that he kicked me out of the room. But he did. “I, uh, left so they could talk.”
“That’s a nice way of saying that Jack Baxter kicked you out of the room.” Cody’s chuckle is humorless. “Don’t take it personally, Emma. He doesn’t even want Eli to hang out withme. And we both play hockey. Plus we’ve known each other for years. We played in the juniors together in Chicago.”
I don’t know what to say to that. All I know is Eli likes me and I like him. And maybe that’s enough for now.
