firmly with my best “fuck you” voice.
Landry looked like I’d kicked his puppy as he walked out of the room. I couldn’t find it in myself to care.
“I’m sorry too,” said Lane in a small voice as she came and sat on the edge of my hospital bed, tears brimming in her eyes. They were red-rimmed and swollen. I don’t think she’d stopped crying since I’d woken up.
“What are you sorry for?”
“I shouldn’t have pushed you to go to the party. You’re just already so closed off. I just wanted you to have fun.”
“I didn’t want to go to the party because I was scared, I just didn’t want to be around Jackson, if he showed up…and I hate crowds,” I admitted, not wanting her to feel bad for something she didn’t do.
She laid her head on my shoulder. I hated hospitals, and I was scared to death of what the doctors were going to come back and say about my leg, but it was nice to have someone with me for once.
It seemed to take forever, but the doctor finally came into the room. My heart skipped around in my chest as I waited for the news. His face was perfectly blank, and it was impossible to get a read on him.
“You, Ms. James, are a lucky girl. You have a concussion, and a bad contusion on your shoulder, but you only have a bruised bone on your leg. You’ll need to be on crutches for two weeks, but I expect you to be back to normal after that.”
My relief was palpable, and the doctor’s gaze warmed as he looked at me. “I know you’ve been through a lot these last few years after I looked through your records, Everly. But this particular hard thing will be over before you know it.”
I nodded, unable to speak, because I didn’t want to cry anymore. Lane was doing enough crying for both of us.
“Do you have anyone who can stay with you tonight and make sure to wake you up every couple of hours to make sure you’re all right?” the doctor asked.
“I will,” came Jackson’s voice from the doorway, causing all of us to jump from the unexpectedness of it.
Lane immediately jumped to the rescue. “She can stay with me.”
“You have a roommate and a twin bed, you can’t fit someone else. It’s just me in my place, and I have a queen size bed and couch,” Jackson argued calmly, as if it didn’t matter one way or another to him what happened and he was just stating facts.
The doctor looked between Lane and Jackson awkwardly. “Well, I’ll just let you decide, dear,” he finally said to me, patting my good knee before he walked towards the doorway. “The nurse will be in soon with your papers, and then you can go. Good luck, Ms. James.”
I was tempted to call for him to come back with the way Lane and Jackson were eyeing one another.
“She’s not going to get better sleeping on the floor of your dorm,” Jackson snarled at Lane.
Lane looked affronted. “I would give her my bed!”
“I’ll go with Jackson,” I said tiredly, wanting a bed desperately. Lane’s roommate wasn’t the friendliest, although she was no Melanie, and I didn’t want Lane to have any more problems with her because of my presence.
Lane looked shocked. “Can I talk to you…privately?” she asked when Jackson showed no hint of leaving.
The nurse came in just then, preventing any conversations I was too tired to deal with. Five minutes later, and I was on my way…Jackson and Lane bickering the whole way to Jackson’s enormous truck.
“It’s okay guys, I just need to sleep,” I finally told them when they showed no signs of stopping.
Lane huffed. “I’m going to ask her all about what happens tonight, buddy. So you better play nice,” she snarled at Jackson.
Jackson rolled his eyes like she was being ridiculous. Time must have taken the edge off of his memories as well.
Moments later, I was in the passenger seat of Jackson’s truck, a place I’d never imagined myself sitting again.
“Thanks for this,” I told him nervously.
He huffed like I’d just said something ridiculous.
We didn’t say anything else the entire drive back to his place.
The truck pulled into a townhome community about a mile beyond campus. It was brand new, judging by the fact that half of it was still under construction.
“This is nice,” I commented lamely.
He just nodded. We pulled into the garage, and my brain sparked to