Austin
I made Scarlett stay in the hospital overnight for observation. That went over well, and I’m pretty sure I learned a whole new set of obscenities I’ve never heard before. She’s asleep now and I’m trying my best to fall asleep in the guest chair next to her. The only thing that really stood out within her angered rage was the amount of times she told me I can’t tell her what to do. I know she likes to be in control of her life and doesn’t like being persuaded to do things, but she seemed to take her anger to a new level tonight. It makes me wonder if there’s something more going on in her life—something she hasn’t told me.
The moment I find a comfortable position to sleep in, I hear Scarlett’s sheets rustle. “Hey,” she says. “Are you awake?”
I clear my throat, trying to snap out of my haze. “Yeah, yeah, what’s going on?”
“I’m sorry for yelling at you,” she says
“Don’t worry about it. I get it.” I don’t, but we can talk when she’s feeling better.
“So, I’ve never told anyone this before … ” Oookay, I guess now is good too.
“What is it?”
“My dad was abusive,” she says.
I didn’t mean to stand up and shove the guest chair out from beneath my ass, but it was my only instinctual reaction. “What? Did he hurt you?”
“No, no, can you be calm? That’s what I need.”
I take a deep breath and blow it out slowly. I place my hands up to show I’ve calmed myself, and I sit back down. “I didn’t mean to react that way.”
“It’s okay,” she’s keeping her voice down because the room is dark for the most part, and the hallway is still since it’s the middle of the night. “I should have said, he abused my mom.” I’ve felt connected to Scarlett on a variety of levels, but from the beginning, there has been a missing piece about her that I haven’t figured out. She’s so forward and determined that it seems like a form of protection rather than a way of life. “He pushed her around and hit her.”
“That’s pretty shitty that you had to watch.”
“I didn’t just watch. I hit him back, but it didn’t do much damage,” she says. Scarlett’s tiny. Not that I would ever question her ability to take care of herself, but there’s only so much she could probably do. Again, I wouldn’t go about testing her, though. “I told my mom to leave him, but she wouldn’t. She couldn’t. My grandparents all died when I was younger, and she didn’t have a leg to stand on. Basically, my parents sleep in different bedrooms now and only talk when necessary. I feel so sorry for her, but I’ve offered to help her a million times and she just sticks by his side.”
“I heard everything you just said, but ... you hit him back?” I ask her, rewinding everything she just said to focus on that tidbit.
“You know what’s weird? When you see someone you love hurting someone else you love, emotions sometimes cause you to react in unexpected ways.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” I tell her.
“I know you do,” she says. “Austin, I don’t know what I want to do with the rest of my life, but I know I don’t want to be under a push pin, stuck somewhere.”
“I understand that more than I can explain,” I tell her. I know our stories are different, but I really do get where she’s coming from.
“You do?” she asks.
“I don’t plan on staying here forever. I never have. I was just waiting until I figured out what to do next.” In response to my confession, Scarlett releases the arm that’s holding her head up and falls back into her pillow with a smile.
Now that I’m wide awake and staring at her, I’m left waiting for a resolution to this conversation, but Scarlett is the queen of half sentences and partial thoughts. “Okay, well nice talk,” I tell her.
“I’m not done talking yet,” she says.
“Oh, well, I just figured since you were closing your eyes and pulling the sheets up—”
“Shh,” she says.
I drag my chair across the floor, making way too much noise. “Are you playing more games with me, Miss Scarlett?”
“What?” she asks.
“Do you even know what you just said?” I ask her.
“Yup.”
I close my eyes and place my forehead on the armrest of her bed. “You’re making me crazy.”
“You’re making me stay in a hospital bed all night,” she replies.
“You got knocked down by a pig,” I remind her.
“I got knocked down by a freaking pig, Austin. This town is dangerous.”
“And you didn’t hit the thing back. I’m kind of proud of you.”
“I was unconscious. Don’t think I won’t be on the prowl for Betsy Blue when I get out of here.”
“Darlin’, I would not recommend beatin’ up a pig in this town,” I tell her.
“Why not? Is it like the town mascot?”
“No, but it’s a blue-ribbon-winning pig.”
“What?” she asks with shock. “Who the hell rates pigs?”
“This town,” I say as if the answer is obvious.
“Well, she should have her ribbon revoked for breaking out of her pen and almost killing someone.”
“That’s a little dramatic,” I tell her.
“So is having a pig with a ribbon.”
“Okay, fair enough,” I give in.
“I’m going back to sleep in this comfy, cozy bed,” she grumbles.
“Goodnight, darlin’.”
“Goodnight, Austin.”
* * *
I wake up in a hospital room with an ache in my neck, and no one in the bed next to the chair I’m still sitting in. I shake my head around to snap out of my grogginess and look around the room. What the—what time is it? I look up at the clock, waiting for the numbers to clear up from my blurry vision, and I see that it’s eight.
I get up and head down the hallway, wondering why no one would have woken me up, especially Scarlett. I move around the front desk and find Scarlett in a johnny, her good hand holding the thing shut on her behind, while she and Daisy are deep in a conversation.
“Uh,” I say, scratching my head. “Good-mornin’ … ”
“Did ya sleep well?” Daisy asks, snickering.
“Sure.” Something’s going on, and I’m not sure I like it.
“Your hair looks like you stuck your finger into an electric socket,” Daisy tells me.
“My hair may be standing up, but Scarlett here is wandering around the halls in a piece of fabric with no backside.”
“You can’t see anything,” she says.
I close my eyes and smile. “Sure, I can, darlin’.”
“Rude. No, you can’t,” she argues.
I reopen my eyes because if she’s going to try and prove me wrong, I’m going to have myself a look, and that thing is definitely see-through. “Just so you’re aware, and I’m not trying to have a bicker-war about it with you, that thang is see-through. I can see every … damn … thing, darlin’.”
She shrugs. “Whatever, stare all you want.”
Relentless. I drop my arms onto the counter and throw my head down because I’m wiped out after working a full day, then taking care of Scarlett, followed by spending the night in a chair. Thankfully, I do have the day free, but I think Scarlett has to work later today at some point. “How’s your head feelin’?” I ask her.
“It’s fine. I don’t feel anything.”
I raise a brow at her statement. “You don’t feel anything, or it doesn’t hurt?”
“Same difference,” she argues.
“No, not exactly.”
“Ugh, why are you so grumpy? Do you need some caffeine or something?” She snaps at me.
“Yes, please,” I tell her.
“I have some spare clothes in the locker room. I’ll grab them for you,” Daisy offers Scarlett. I almost forgot that Scarlett’s clothes were covered in dirt and pig spit. If only I saw what she looked like when she came in. They had her cleaned up by the time I got to the hospital.
“Oh, thank you so much. I’d really appreciate it. The clothes I came in with are sealed up in a bag, and I’m not sure I want to open it … ever,” Scarlett says.
Daisy shakes her head with wide eyes. “That’s why I’m offering.”
Scarlett follows Daisy into the staff room, and I take a seat in the waiting area. I’ve never actually sat out here and looked in at all the action from this angle. Besides the reception desk and the triage area, everyone’s moving around, looking like they’re in a busy train station. If I were a patient, this might make me a bit uneasy.
“Hey bud,” Clara says as she grabs a stack of folders from Daisy’s desk. “What are you doing out here?”
“Waitin’ for Scarlett,” I tell her.
Clara comes over and takes a seat next to me. She slaps the stack of folders down on my lap and sighs. “Don’t let this one go, okay?”
For Clara to say this to me, it means something. We’ve both selflessly wanted the best for each other over the years, and it’s nice to know that mutual feeling is still intact. “You think so?” I ask her.
“You are back to the Austin I once knew … way, way, way long ago when you had a smile that could never be taken away. I’ve waited a long time for that Austin to come back, and it warms my heart to see you like this.”
“I just don’t know if she feels the same, Clara, but I appreciate you sayin’ that. I do.”
“Oh, she feels the same. She’s just showin’ it a little differently.”
“What if she wants to leave?” I ask her as if she might have some magic answer I haven’t thought of yet.
“Offer to go with her. Don’t chase, not like your pop told you to. Just offer. It’s different. Trust me, okay?”
Clara gives me a hug just as Scarlett clears her throat. “I am ready to get moving.”
“What in the hell are you wearin’?” My eyes hurt from the neon colors she’s got on. Pinks, greens, and yella’s. She’s like the damn sun.
“Hey!” Daisy shouts. “Don’t insult my clothing.”
I force a fake smile. “Sorry, it’s just ... so ... beautiful.”
Scarlett thinks it’s funny, so I shake my head and drop the subject. I realize I prefer her taste in clothes over Daisy’s, though.
“We’ll catch you guys later,” I tell Clara and Daisy.
The second we get outside, Scarlett starts some kind of strut and I can’t help but laugh. “What are you doing now?”
“Hasn’t anyone ever told you that you need to be comfortable in your own skin?”
“Yeah, but that ain’t skin.”
“Whatever. If I’m going to be dressed like one of your cheery people from down here, I’m gonna do my best to act accordingly. I wouldn’t want to insult Daisy’s wardrobe,” she says with a laugh.
“It’s like that bump to your head gave you a mood lift or somethin’.”
“Nah, I just feel a little freer.”
Maybe it’s because she let out what she was keeping in last night, or maybe it’s because I was still there for her even though she isn’t sure she can stay here. Whatever the case, I can’t help but look forward to whatever comes out of this girl’s mouth next. She’s like a jack-in-the-box, just waiting to jump out and surprise the hell out of me when I least expect it, and I love that part about her. “I’m glad you’re okay,” I tell her.
“Me too. Thank you for staying with me last night. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know I didn’t. I asked you if I could stay, though, and you said yes.”
“I don’t remember that,” she says.
“I’m guessing there are quite a few things you don’t remember about last night then.”
“It’s probably better that way. I still remember I got run over by a blue-ribbon-winning pig, though, and that’s enough for one night.”
“True that,” I agree.
“Oh, and I remember telling you why I have control issues.”
“Noted that too. All is good, Scarlett. No need to worry, darlin’.”
“Austin?”
“Scarlett?” She keeps on walking, even though I can hear there’s something loaded moving through her head just by the way she said my name.
“I know I’ve known you for just a little while, but I think I might love you, and I just wanted to tell you that.”
I grab her arm. “Hold up. Maybe your concussion is worse than we thought. You’re going to tell me you love me a day after getting pissy that I didn’t ask you to be my girlfriend?”
“I already said you’re too late,” she says.
“For what?” I ask, kind of baffled. No, I’m more than a little baffled. Where is this coming from?
“The order in which things usually happen,” she says, schooling me on relationships.
“Well then, get this, Miss I Control Everything. I think I loved you first, and there ain’t nothing you can do to change that.”
Scarlett stops walking and turns to face me. “I’ve pushed you away, teased you, tortured you, acted kind of nice a few times, then repeated all those things, and you think you love me?”
“That’s the thing, Scarlett … you think that’s what you were doing, but all along, you were just being you, and yeah, that’s why I—know I love you. You are an amazingly strong woman, and sometimes I just want to watch you because there’s never a dull moment.”
“Well, not every woman in this town is lucky enough to be knocked off her feet by a pig named Betsy Blue, so I’ll agree with you on that.”
She is never going to let this poor pig off the hook.