Page 118 of Gold Rush

“I need to check on another patient,” the doctor says quickly. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

She hurries off almost as fast as Haley did. I wonder what my face looks like.

I grasp the edge of the curtain and pull it so the hanging sheet encloses the entire bed. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” I hiss.

“Aside from the concussion?”

I tilt my head back, staring up at the white panels covering the ceiling. Blow out a long breath, wishing I could exhale all my emotions too.

“It was a joke, Rory.”

I know it was a joke. I know Flynn jokes. And I’ve always found it exasperating. Occasionally found it amusing. But I’d never, until a few minutes ago, found it terrifying.

I thought he’d forgotten the past two months. Forgotten Finch and why he randomly mentioned smoke detectors. Forgotten I’d called the cops on him. Forgotten we lived together. Forgotten he’d told me about what happened in college. Forgotten a very small percentage of the total time we’d known each other, containing so many special moments.

“Hey,” he says, softer. “Rory⁠—”

“You weren’t wearing a seat belt?” I ask the ceiling, not Flynn directly, but he answers.

“We had just left a meeting. The other car came out of nowhere and rammed⁠—”

“You didn’t call me, so I had to find out from one of your friends?”

“I actually explicitly told Rhody not to tell you⁠—”

“Stop interrupting!” I snap, blinking rapidly as the panels above blur.

“You interrupted me first.” There’s a rustle of fabric, as I think he stands. I don’t look to confirm. “I was going to tell you what happened tonight. I didn’t want to … bother you.”

“Well, I would have been a lot less worried if I’d heard about it from you. Gideon didn’t know anything. He didn’t even find out if you were paralyzed!”

Flynn makes an amused sound in the back of his throat. “If you’d look at me, you’d know I’m not.”

I sigh, then lower my chin. Flynn is a little fuzzy too.

He must notice why because he’s earnest now, no trace of teasing in his expression. “I’m sorry. It was a stupid joke. I was surprised to see you here. I figured Rhody told you I was fine, and I—I didn’t think you’d be worried. The car got the worst of it. Jay insisted we both come to the hospital, and they’re being extra cautious since I got a couple of concussions playing lacrosse.”

“Not the time you hit your head on the diving board, trying to learn how to backflip?”

Flynn grins. “I knew you remembered all the stupid shit I’d done.” His right hand lifts, thumb swiping beneath my eye. “You really didn’t need to leave work.”

“Me ignoring you in the hospital wouldn’t have made much sense, especially just before we announced our engagement.”

“Right. Yeah. I guess that could have raised some questions.”

Flynn’s smile is different than it was a few seconds ago. Stiffer.

“Plus, Finch would be upset if something happened to you,” I add.

“Devastated, really,” he agrees. “No more baths.”

“Exactly.” I clear my throat. “You promise you’re fine? They checked everything out?”

“I promise. Clean bill of health.”

I nod. “Okay.”

He clears his throat. “Thank you. For coming.”