Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 107965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
“And you are?”
“I’m his…friend.”
The woman shook her head. “I’m sorry, but we’re unable to give out—”
A familiar voice interrupted, and I turned to find Trevor. He laid a hand on my shoulder and waved to the woman behind the glass. “I got this, Fran.”
Brock’s brother steered me away from the window.
“Is he okay?” My heart pounded. “Is Patrick okay?”
Trevor nodded. “They’re both going to be fine. Definitely a little shaken up, but it seems like nothing too serious. Brock has a broken clavicle and will probably have two black eyes from the airbag, but Patrick doesn’t have a scratch on him, thank God. They just took Brock upstairs for a head CT as a precaution, but he’s talking and acting pretty normal, which is a good sign. He yelled at the nurse that he wasn’t leaving the baby with someone he doesn’t know, so he seems like his usual grumpy self.” He thumbed toward a door that I assumed led to the examination area. “Elvin’s in the back with the baby now.”
I couldn’t stop shaking. “How long until they have the scan results?”
Trevor shrugged. “Not sure. But he’s in good hands. I really think he’s going to be fine.”
“What happened? What caused the accident?”
“Guy driving in the opposite direction fell asleep at the wheel and veered into oncoming traffic. Brock swerved to avoid a head-on collision, but his truck went off the highway and crashed into a tree on the side of the road.”
“Oh my God.”
He nodded. “They brought the other guy in, too. Didn’t have a scratch on him. Apparently, he woke up and avoided colliding with anything. Not sure he’ll be that lucky a second time if they let Brock anywhere near him. He looked ready to kill someone when the cops told him what happened. The guy’s wife was also in the waiting room, and I heard her on the phone. She said he’d been working double shifts all week. Doesn’t make it right, but that explains it. At least it seems it was a true accident—no drinking or anything involved.”
I didn’t even realize tears were falling until Trevor shook his head. “Don’t cry. I suck at lady tears, and if my big brother finds out I didn’t stop you from getting upset, he’s going to do more damage to me than he did to that tree…which is no longer standing, by the way.”
I wiped my cheeks and sniffled a laugh. “I’m sorry. I guess my emotions got the best of me.”
He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and squeezed. “Come on, let’s go sit down.”
We went to a quiet corner of the waiting room and sat. “I didn’t realize you were even in town,” Trevor said.
“I came for the christening.”
He nodded and opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing.” He shook his head. “I was about to stick my nose somewhere it doesn’t belong and thought better of it.”
But it was too late; I was curious. “What were you going to say?”
Trevor sighed. “I was just going to point out that you were pretty upset about the accident, yet you two aren’t a couple anymore, supposedly.”
“It’s complicated.”
“Is it? Because to me, it’s not. If you’re not sure whether something belongs in your life, you just close your eyes and imagine it’s no longer your choice whether it’s in your life anymore. If that makes you feel like a panic attack is coming on, you pull your head out of your ass and act before that choice is taken away from you.”
“But...”
“Close your eyes.”
“What?”
“Just humor me. Close your eyes for a minute.”
I wasn’t much in the mood for games, yet I took a big breath and shut my eyes.
“Now tell me the first feeling that hits you when I say each thing.”
“Okay.”
“Your fancy purse company gets bought out by a big chain that pays you a lot of money.”
It surprised me, but my shoulders relaxed.
“Whatcha feeling?”
“I think I feel relieved.”
“Good. Let’s try another one. Brock gets engaged to another woman, and you won’t see him or Patrick ever again.”
A wave of nausea rushed through me. I slapped my hand over my mouth and opened my eyes. “Oh God. That makes me sick.”
Trevor smiled and shrugged. “See? Simple.”
Fifteen minutes later, Elvin came out from the back. I stood. “How is he?”
“He’s about as patient as a tornado in a trailer park.”
I smiled for the first time since knocking on Brock’s door and getting no answer. “Can I see him? Do you think they’ll let me go back?”
Elvin nodded. “Let me talk to Fran who works the desk. She’s friends with Linda. Besides, I’m pretty sure there isn’t a better medicine for my brother than you.”
Elvin gave Trevor a quick update—clear scan, no unusual bloodwork results, and BP normal—and said Patrick just had a bottle and fell asleep. After he walked over and spoke to the woman at the desk, we went back to the examination area together. I was a ball of nerves as we passed several patients who looked pretty sick. When we got to Brock’s suite, Elvin put his hand out. “I’m going to go call my other brothers. I’ll give you two a few minutes alone.”