“I think so…? Sorry to delay the trip,” she said. “You can go and—”
“As if.” Eric stared at her like she had suggested a heinous crime. “You’re stuck with me, at least until the professor arrives.”
“Toni? She’s not coming.” Addie scooted backward, wincing at the pain in her arm. “She doesn’t want to see me.”
Eric hurried to help Addie as she tried to prop herself upright to force herself to stay awake. “What do you need? Do you need a nurse? Or—”
“Answers.” Addie leveled a look at him. “Why do you think Toni’s coming? We ended things.”
Eric gave her a long appraising stare. “She’s flying out here. You said to call her. I did.”
Addie closed her eyes. “That doesn’t mean I want to see her.”
“Well, how was I to know that? You were in an ambulance, and before you left you said call, so I thought you two had made up. Again.” Eric let out a frustrated noise. “I cannot keep track of where you two are on the reject-her, love-her, run-away process. Don’t be angry with me because—”
“I’mnotmad at you,” Addie said. “At least she doesn’t know which hospital or where I live—”
“Actually.” Eric looked sheepish. “You can’t blame me. You said to call her.”
Sighing, Addie looked at him. “I don’t blame you. Let’s get me released and…”
Eric held up both hands in a defensive gesture. “Ads. You hit your head, have bruised ribs from a sofa on you, and you had to have surgery for a tear from being stabbed. You’re here overnight.”
“Damn it.” Addie blinked away tears, and then a nurse—or maybe she was a doctor? Addie had no idea—came to check on her.
A short while later, someone else was wheeling her entire bed to her room. Eric stayed at her side. “I called Aunt Marlene. Gave her a modified version.”
Addie winced. “Are we being invaded?”
“Sorry, cuz.” Eric squeezed her hand. “I can tell her not to come until Friday. That’s the best I can do.”
With a sigh, Addie said, “Phone.” She took the phone, grateful it was hers so the numbers were preprogrammed, and jabbed her mother’s name. “Mom? Yes. Hi. I—”
“You could’ve died,” Addie’s mom wailed, dragging the word out in a cry.
Addie downplayed it. “It was a pair of scissors. Set accident. I’m—”
“I hope he lost his job. Eric said it was a man on the set,” her mom said. Then she started crying. “You’re my baby, and I know thisis a nice job but… you need to move home. I talked to your father. He can move in with me, and you can have his half of the house.”
Eric gave her an empathetic look.
Addie’s dad obviously took the phone. “Temporarily, Addie. Temporarily.” He lowered his voice. “I love her too much to live with her long-term, even for you.”
Addie laughed, wincing with pain as she did. Her ribs were sore. She pointed at them and mouthed, “Broken?”
Eric shook his head and whispered loudly, “Bruised.”
“Bruce?” her mom asked, back in possession of her phone now. “Who’s Bruce?”
“I’mbruised,Mom. No Bruces here.” They’d reached her hospital room then, and Addie took it as the distraction it was. “I need to go now. I’m fine, though. You and Daddy can stay—”
“We’ll be there tomorrow night. Eric will give up his room for the night. It’s all settled, and then once you can travel, we’ll get you moved back here to the Bay Area.”
“I’m not moving,” Addie insisted.
“We’ll talk tomorrow,” her father yelled.
“We love you, Addie.” Her mom sniffled again. “We’ll be there, and we’ll discuss it.”
