After what seems like the longest three hours of my life, I’m finally climbing out of the taxi at the front entrance of Strong Memorial Hospital.
Everything fell into place perfectly, and even though there were no delays anywhere, it’s still taken me way too long to get here.
Striding in through the doors of the emergency department, I spot the inquires desk to the right and make a beeline straight to it, not even paying attention to anyone around me in the waiting room. Standing in front of the glass, there are two nurses casually conversing with each other behind the desk, in no rush to acknowledge me waiting.
I don’t have an ounce of patience left in me, so I lift my fist to the glass.
Knock, knock, knock.
I can see them speaking, probably bitching about me, but I couldn’t give a fuck. Finally, one of them turns and pushes the button and speaks into the microphone.
“Can I help you?” Her tone is flat and gives the vibe that she will be the least helpful person I’ve ever met.
“I’m here to see my girlfriend. Her…” And before I could even finish, she just turns to the computer and in that same damn monotone voice speaks over me.
“Name?” she asks.
“Poppy Bertrum.” She searches the patient list ever so slowly. “She’s the firefighter that came in from the fire today,” I add, hoping it will help, assuming that everyone in here would know her because there’s mutual respect between first responders and they look after each other. My voice is a little louder than needed from pure irritation at how long this is taking.
“And who are you?” The nurse glares at me.
While behind me, a deep male voice asks, “And who the fuck are you? Poppy’s not taking visitors, and she doesn’t have a boyfriend.”
Spinning on my heel, I come face to face with a guy slightly shorter than me. Brown hair, dirty face, and still in full firefighter gear. Behind him there are several other firefighters now sitting on the edge of their seats paying attention to me and ready to back up their buddy at any moment if needed. But this particular guy standing in front of me doesn’t look happy to see me, so it’s not hard to guess who he is.
Dean. Poppy’s fuckface ex.
Ignoring him, I turn back to the nurse whose eyes are now a little bigger as she takes in the confrontation on the verge of erupting.
“Landon Wood,” I bark back at the nurse.
She starts nodding. “Yes, you are listed as her boyfriend and emergency contact. I’ll buzz you through those doors.”
“Not a chance. You’re not going in there. If we can’t see her then neither can you.” When I turn to walk toward the doors she’s pointing to, this dick steps in front of me. He stands upstraighter and tries to puff out his chest that little bit more than before.
“Sorry, didn’t you hear the nurse? Boyfriend and emergency contact. Now get the fuck out of my way.” I’m about to shove past him, but I don’t get the chance. Another one of the firefighters, older-looking, grabs him by the arm and pulls him forcefully backwards.
“Volk, sit the hell down and don’t fucking move. That’s an order.” He pushes him toward the rest of the crew and forces him down into a chair. Maybe I was wrong, he called him by another name. But I’m not hanging around to find out.
“Landon, was it? Wait a minute.” The guy who seems to be in charge strides toward me, and the other dick is still carrying on in the background to his crewmates. Not waiting for me to answer, he quickly keeps talking. “I’m Lieutenant Rosco, Bert’s—sorry, I mean Poppy’s boss. Sorry about Dean, he’s a hothead, but it’s just that he’s worried, we all are. She wouldn’t let me call anyone, so I’m mighty glad to see you. I stayed with her until she woke, but then I wasn’t allowed back in. Can I give you my number and you can let me know how she is when you see her? That way once we know she’s okay and has someone to take care of her, I can send everyone home.” I can see in his eyes that this man cares about her, and I’ve heard his name before when she was telling me about her job.
I try to soften a little, but I don’t want to be standing here wasting precious time. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I unlock it and open up a new contact page.
“Sure.” Handing him the phone, he quickly punches in his name and number, then passes it back to me. “I’m here now, so she’ll be fine. I appreciate you getting her here safely. I’ll be in touch, but I’m telling you now, if Dean attempts to come anywhere near her, I won’t hold back next time.”
Holding his hand out to me, I shake it briefly.
“I totally understand.” He takes a step closer and lowers his voice a little. “And he would deserve it.” Dropping my hand, he then steps back.
I already like this Rosco guy.
“Mr. Wood.” I hear the nurse calling me from her spot behind the desk where she’s getting impatient, waiting to buzz me in through the doors.
Feeling done here, I push open the door that she has unlocked for me. There’s a large nurses’ desk in front of me that is surrounded by many nurses and doctors. It’s a hive of activity happening around me, with machines beeping in the background and people crying out in pain, which puts me on edge that one of them could be Poppy.
“Excuse me,” I say to the nurse who is seated at a computer at the end of the desk. “Can you tell me where Poppy Bertrum is?” I keep my voice low, knowing there are some very sick people being cared for here right now.
“Landon?” She looks straight up from what she was typing into the computer. Her use of my name catches me a little off guard.
