“Come on.” The nurse held a hand out to her. “Let’s get you to the nurses’ station, and I can at least check your vitals.”
“I think I’ll be okay.” A sharp stabbing pain made her suck in breath. “Actually—” Her words came in short spurts. “I might need—something is wrong.”
The nurse wrapped a supportive arm around her waist and helped her walk to the nurses’ station. Her vision blurred while her knees started to buckle. Brooke gripped the top of the nurses’ station to keep herself upright. The nurse reached for the thermometer behind the desk to check her temperature.
“I don’t know—” Brooke tightened her grip on the desk. Wave after wave of pain made her groan. “This might be?—”
Then Brooke hit the floor, and the world became black.
How long she was out she had no clue, but Logan’s voice pushed through her psyche. “Hey, are you okay?”
She tried to open her eyes, but the blinding lights overhead made her head throb.
Why was he here? This must be a very bad and strange dream. The cold linoleum pressed against her back made her shiver. Slowly, she forced one eye open. Logan’s face filled her field of vision.
“Hey,” his voice was soft and steady. He brushed her arm with the pad of his thumb. “You’re coming out of it. That’s good.”
“Logan?” Her temples pulsated and the stabbing sensation in her gut made her wither in pain. “Something is wrong.” She closed her eyes again.
Everything hurt.
“I happened to be walking by when I saw you hit the ground.”
“Ahh.” She gripped her stomach. Her eyes remained clenched shut. “What are the odds?”
Logan brushed her hair off of her forehead. “I’m glad I’m here. Describe your pain for me.”
“I think I have appendicitis.” Brooke cradled her side and moaned. “I think I need surgery. I thought—it was—bad Taco Bell.”
Brooke felt Logan’s hand move gingerly to her right aching side. He pressed only slightly.
“Ahh!” Brooke thrashed around on the floor in pain. “Stop, stop, stop,” she hollered.
Logan sprang into action and shouted instructions to the nurse. Within moments, he and the nurse helped her onto ahospital bed. She moved in and out of consciousness. The world spun while she fought to stay awake, but the pain made her want something entirely different. She wanted to fall into a deep sleep where the pain would no longer register.
Memories came in quick spurts while they pushed her down the hallway on a gurney. Logan held her hand and walked with the speed of the bed. The bright lights seeped through her closed eyelids. Then the world went black, again.
Brooke awoke hours later in a hospital bed. Her head ached. She peered across the small room. Logan was curled up on the single lounge chair in the corner fast asleep. Her side throbbed. Machines beeped. How long had she been out? And what happened? Slowly, her hand moved down to her abdomen. A huge gauze bandage covered the length of it, and she didn’t have the strength to sit up.
“Logan,” she croaked. “Logan, wake up.”
He stirred. Groggily, he swiped at his tired eyes. When his gaze finally locked with hers, he scurried out of the lounge chair and raced over to her hospital bedside. “Brooke, you’re back.” He interlaced his hand with hers and squeezed. Then he leaned in and kissed her on her forehead. “You scared me. I thought—” His voice cracked.
He brushed her hair out of her eyes and smoothed the top of her head.
“What happened?” She attempted to shift but the pain gripped her. She groaned. “Was it my appendix?”
“Yes.” Logan patted her hand he held with the opposite one. “It burst. You had to have emergency surgery. It was scary there for a minute. I thought—but you’re okay. You’ll be fine. The infection hasn’t spread. You should be cleared to go home in a few days.”
“Did you perform the surgery?” Brooke tried her best to process everything, but her temples pulsated.
“No, it was a conflict of interest.” He squeezed her shoulder. “My fellow surgeon did it, but I scrubbed in on it. I wasn’t going to leave you. I’ve made a lot of mistakes that I need to make up for. I let other people influence how I felt, but I know how I feel now. I want to be with you.”
“Let’s talk about this later.” Brooke leaned her head back against the pillow. “My head is very fuzzy.”
A knock at the door interrupted them. Aubrey came barreling into the room with a huge bouquet of flowers. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again!” She rushed to her other side and placed them on the side table before taking her other hand.
Brooke smiled. “I think I only have one appendix, so I think you’re good.”
