“You’re going to the hospital,” he said, as if we’d had an entire conversation about it and he’d come out of it as the voice of reason.
“He’s there, from what I understand.”
“You said—”
I knocked my head against the window; it hurt but also steadied me.
“Stop.” Casey grabbed my shoulder, and I shied away from him, but he didn’t let go. I left my forehead pressed against the cold glass and stared at the bright lights dotting the gloomy world that passed by in a blur. “He probably hurt himself doing whatever the hell he did to get arrested.”
Casey was silent, and soon the healthy glow of Walnut Creek Hospital’s lights came into view, followed quickly by the sprawling brick buildings of the medical complex that took up nearly a city block. In the far distance, Lake Ontario glittered with reflected brilliance as we topped a short hill. There was a red-and-white sign on our right that directed us to the ER. The car slowed, and Casey let out a shaky breath as he turned the wheel and the vehicle moved into a drop-off lane. Even though it was getting late, a steady stream of visitors came and went through the ER doors, and in spite of the cold there were clumps of people standing around talking on the sidewalk. One doctor stood near the doors smoking, which was weird. Weren’t docs supposed to do healthy things?
“Too much?” I mumbled. “I understand. It’s my life and it’s more than I can handle sometimes.”
“No,” he said. His deep voice rumbled through the space and made me want to forget about my phone call. It would have been so nice to go somewhere and let him talk to me. Distract me. Do things to me. Now that wouldn’t be happening. Bitterness sank its fangs into my chest and coldness spiraled there. This was yet another thing Dad had ruined for me, without even trying. Casey cocked his head and smirked. “I’m guessing this isn’t a typical weeknight for you.”
“Not far from average,” I grumped but smiled back at him, and he managed to give me a friendly fake laugh.
The awkwardness that bubbled between us was so thick I had trouble moving to open my door when he stopped in the half circle near the ER entrance. I didn’t miss that he was sending me in alone. Fuck, when had I begun to count on the idea of him going inside with me? My disappointment was as shocking as it was stupid.
“Thanks for bringing me,” I mumbled.
“I’ll park and meet you inside. Go get registered.”
“Really?” I twisted around to gape at him. “You don’t have to stay.”
“I am.”
Gratefulness made my tongue heavy and I couldn’t speak. I got out, and he gave me a real smile as I shut the door. I still had his coat, so at the very least he’d probably be back for that. The lights of the ER were too brilliant as I picked a path along the sidewalk that let me stay far away from the groups of people, and I went toward the entrance and on inside to a clean, brightly lit short hallway. There were several people in front of me. I was checked for weapons by a guard at the door and then directed through another set of doors to a counter to sign in.
It had been a while since I’d needed to come here. Last time I’d dragged myself to the ER was from a concussion Dad had given me in the middle of the night while I was asleep. I shuddered. Yeah, I could never live with him again. I was still waiting in line when Casey came through the doors at my back.
Casey smiled and was friendly with the security men, but they took double the time with him than they had me, sending him through the metal detector twice and asking him to empty out his pockets, which they hadn’t bothered to do with anyone else. I wanted to say something nasty to them because they weren’t even nice to him, just ordered him around. When Casey finally got his wallet back in his pocket and was past the second set of doors, he seemed more like the man I’d met at his office and less like the guy who’d taken me to his boat.
“What are you doing?” He glared at all the people ahead of me.
“Waiting my turn.”
“No,” he said.
“Oh, okay, no.” I rolled my eyes, but he’d already gone around to a small door next to the check-in desk, where the lady who would just tell me to sit in a chair for the next five hours was speaking with someone else. Casey opened the door as if it was okay to do whatever the hell he wanted and stuck his head in the room. Immediately he started talking to someone, and I almost fell over when a man followed him out. The skinny, dark-haired doctor dressed in green scrubs gave Casey a wary frown but then smiled at me. He had nice blue eyes and freckles across his nose. The smell of cigarettes made my nose itchy when he stopped beside Casey in front of me. It clicked that he was the man who’d been outside smoking when I came in.
“I’m Doctor Adams. Show me the issue.”
Casey unwrapped his coat gently from my shoulders, and I held out my wrist to be inspected. Dr. Adams’s cold hands had me hissing out a sharp breath through my teeth. Then the pain hit, and I clenched my eyes closed.
“Sorry,” he said, and by the time I was able to force my eyes open again, Casey was glaring at the doctor like he wanted to smash him into the ground. His needless posturing both scared and warmed me, and I felt seven kinds of fucked up about the ribbon of happiness unwinding in my belly. Dr. Adams hemmed and hawed around and then nodded. “Yeah, we’ll X-ray it. Follow me.”
“How did we jump the line?” I whispered. Rather than answer my question, Casey stepped aside to let me follow the doctor back through the doorway he’d emerged from, and the room was some sort of office area. We were led out another exit at the back of the cramped space into a bustling hallway. The clean floor reflected the overhead lights, machines beeped in rooms, and the smell of disinfectant had my nose wrinkling with the urge to sneeze. A nurse in blue scrubs shot past us with her eyebrows raised at Dr. Adams.
Casey leaned down to whisper in my ear, “Powers of persuasion.”
“We went to undergrad together,” Dr. Adams said with a glance at me. He cut a wide-eyed look toward Casey and cleared his throat. “How did you get that injury? Looks painful.”
Flushing, I only shrugged.
“Angel came to our date that way.” Casey’s jaw went hard and he seemed upset. Was he ashamed the doctor might be thinking he did this? I wasn’t sure why, but that pissed me off.
“Oh, yeah, Casey didn’t have anything to do with it,” I said.
