“Now that we know you aren’t pregnant, I’m able to give you some medicine for pain through your IV.” The nurse tells Laci, as she bites her lip and nods her head.
“Thank you.” She murmurs, before she leans her head back against the pillows. “But you didn’t need to wait for a pregnancy test.” She shrugs slightly before glancing up at the nurse. “I could have already told you there was no chance.”
“Some people don’t show any pregnancy symptoms.” The nurse tells her, before glancing between the two of us. “It can go undetected for quite some time. It’s our protocol to run one on every female patient in their child bearing years.”
“Oh.” Laci shrugs again. “Right, but, don’t you have to have sex in order to be pregnant?” She giggles slightly, her eyes suddenly glazing over as the medication is pushed through her IV.
“Well, yes, unless you are the Virgin Mary.” The nurse says with a smile.
She rests back against the pillows, and grins again. This time, it’s a wide, goofy grin that fills up her face, causing me to finally relax. I’ve been on total edge since the fall, actually, since the very moment that I realized she hadn’t yet made it out of the woods.
We barely spoke a word as I loaded her into my car, before driving like a bat out of hell to the ER, and then tossing her into my arms and carrying her, while she yelled at me to put her down, straight through the ER doors and demanded that she be seen right now.
I’m sure more than a few patients and staff members got a good show, and maybe even a few pictures, but I am so beyond caring about any of that right now.
“Not the Virgin Mary.” Laci giggles again, speaking only to the nurse, almost totally unaware of my presence right next to her.
“Just the virgin Laci.” Another large giggle leaves her, and the nurse grins wide before glancing over to me.
“So, I guess I don’t need to tell you that sometimes, this kind of medication hits some people harder than others.”
Laci continues to giggle, but I am definitely not laughing. Because I’m too busy sitting here, trying to absorb the words that she just said.
Did she just say that she was a virgin?
No. No fucking way did she say that. Or well, hell, she said it, but she can’t have possibly meant that. She was just referencing to the Virgin Mary. Right?
I swallow hard, trying like hell to get my thoughts in check. She’s just drugged up, and saying ridiculous things.
There is no way that she has never had sex.
No fucking way.
She’s got to be at least in her early twenties. I guess we never really spoke our exact ages, but still. I have never in my life met a woman at this stage of the game who hasn’t had sex yet.
It seems impossible.
Satisfied with the thought that she is just rambling, I sit back in my seat, and listen intently to the nurse.
They are going to do some X-rays of her hand. Since she didn’t hit her head and doesn’t have any neck pain, they aren’t going to do any cat scans.
“They will come in soon to take you down for your X-ray.” The nurse tells her, before opening the bag of fluid attached to her IV. “That might be a little bit painful for you, which is why we waited until you got some medicine for pain. After that, I can give you a little bit more if you need it, and then we need to get these open areas cleaned up so that they don’t get infected.”
“Ok.” Laci’s eyes flutter closed as she leans her head back against the pillow.
“Do you think that you would be able to roll onto your side before we do anything else? I need to see what kind of cuts, if any, you have on your back so I know what kind of dressing supplies I need to gather.”
“Sure.” Her eyes stay closed.
“Do you want your boyfriend to step out?”
“My, what?” Her eyes open slightly, before another goofy grin flashes across her face. “Oh, no. He isn’t my boyfriend.”
“No?” The nurse smiles up at me, and I grimace. I know that look. It’s one that says she is quite happy over the fact that we are not together.
But while we may not be together, still. No fucking way am interested in her.
Hell, no one really seems to interest me lately, which is totally out of character for me. The sad fact remains, that there is only one reason for any of that. And she’s curled up on an ER cart, looking like she has just left a boxing ring.
“Ok, then, sir. I will just have you step out. You can stay right on the other side of the curtain. I’ll tell you when you can come back in.”
I start to stand, as Laci’s eyes fly open. “Wait.” She glances up to the nurse, before grinning sheepishly. “Do I still have my panties on?”
The nurse lifts the blanket before nodding.
“He can stay.” Her eyes find mine, and she reaches out with her good hand. “Jake, will you stay? I need to be able to squeeze your hand if it hurts.”
“Yes.” I engulf her tiny hand with my big one, and she squeezes, before turning towards the nurse.
She cries out softly, as her gown is lifted, and in an instant, I see exactly why.
There is just one scrape to her shoulder, that in the scheme of things, looks pretty mild compared to the rest of her. But that isn’t the reason that she gasps.
“Holy shit.” I growl, as my eyes travel down her smooth skin, stopping just at her tailbone, where a very large and angry green and purple bruise mars her skin.
“Oh, wow.”
“Is that from the other day?” I demand, as Laci blinks slightly before nodding.
“Yeah…”
“I thought that you said he didn’t hurt you!” I’m shouting so loud that the nurse’s eyes widen, before she glances down at Laci.
“Wait. This is old? What happened?”
“Nothing, I just fell…”
“Fell my ass. This is from Emilio, isn’t it? From when he knocked you over?”
“Who is Emilio.” The nurse helps Laci roll back over, and her eyes are firmly fixed on the rest of Laci’s body. But mine? Are staring straight into hers.
“It’s nothing.” Laci shakes her head. “I got knocked down the other day at work and landed on my butt. That’s what the bruise is from.”
“Is Emilio a boyfriend?”
“God no!” she exclaims, pulling her hand from mine. “He’s someone that I work with.”
“You know,” the nurse starts. “I would be more than happy to have to social worker come into speak to you. If you need it, that is.”
“Oh my god.” She groans, before frantically shaking her head. “No, I don’t need that. Like I said, he’s just a guy at work.”
“A guy who should have never put his fucking hands on you.” I growl, before slamming my body back down into my chair.
“Jake, you saw it. It wasn’t even like that.” She levels her gaze with mine, before glancing back up to the nurse. “It wasn’t like that. It was an accident. And I’m fine.”
The nurse pauses, glancing between the two of us, before Laci smiles. “Do you mind giving us a minute here?”
“Sure.” She nods, before looking at Laci one more time. “But like I said, the social worker would be more than happy to talk to you.”
“Thanks, but I’m good.”
“What the fuck are you doing?” she hisses, once the nurse is out of earshot. “Why are you freaking out like that? She thinks that I’m beaten, now, all thanks to you.”
I swallow hard, trying my best not to explode. But dammit, that bruise on her back looks so fucking painful, and I’m so enraged right now, that I’m barely holding it together.
“You told me that he didn’t hurt you.”
“Why would I have told you that Jake? Why? I figured you were only asking so that you could go back to the rest of the guys and get a few more high fives.”
“You really think that low of me, don’t you? You think that I would be happy that Emilio hit you hard enough that you have a gigantic fucking bruise on your body? Jesus, Laci. I’ve been an asshole in the past, but never on that kind of level.”
She falls silent, before closing her eyes.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I know now that you’re different. At least, I think that you are. But you need to understand. I was warned way ahead of time not to show any weakness to you guys. That’s why I didn’t say anything.”
“Fuck.” I mutter, anger still coursing through me. I don’t even know who I’m the angriest at right now. It’s just a combination of it all.
“Listen.” I sigh. “I get it, ok? But, Laci, I’m not an asshole like the rest of the guys. And I definitely do not want to see you getting hurt.”
My words slice through me, even as I say them, because, hell. I am the biggest asshole out of all the guys right now.
No, I didn’t want to see her get hurt, but for fucks sake. I’m the one who took the damn bet to sleep with her. And knowing what I do now about her?
Having sex with her in order for her to get fired would hurt her a hell of a lot more than a bruise to her ass.
But I can’t admit any of that right now. She would certainly never speak to me again, and that is something that I just can’t have.
She reaches for my hand, before taking it in hers. My eyes open, and meet hers, as she squeezes.
“I know that now. And I’m sorry, ok?”
I exhale long and slow, trying to force all of the negativity out of my system.
“I’m sorry for freaking out. I just…I don’t like this, one bit.”
“I really am fine. The bruise is healing, and I’m so doped up right now, that I don’t feel any pain at all.”
She giggles again, and I can’t help but smile.
“Alright, then, dopey. I will let the nurse know that you’re ready to go down for your X-ray.”