Chapter Seven
Carrying Layla on the flat section of the trail hadn’t been too bad once she stopped fighting him and relaxed. But her extra weight going uphill had him breathing harder than normal by the time he got to the top. And having her wrapped around him—her soft breasts pressing against his back, her hands clutching at his shoulders, and her legs wrapped around his waist—did something to him that he hadn’t expected. It wasn’t just having a pretty girl on him, though God knew he found her attractive enough. But her trusting him enough to get her out of there, especially since she had such a fierce independent streak, had him softening toward her despite her prickly attitude.
She wasn’t being prickly now. And she hadn’t fought him when he needed to adjust how he carried her, even though he’d been pretty sure she was going to.
Now they were back. Their cars were the only two that remained, parked on opposite ends of the graveled trailhead. The light had taken on the dull gray-blue quality that comes with twilight in winter. Reaching her car, he turned and set her down on the hood, releasing his hold on her legs. Her hands trailed down his shoulders and over his back, her touch sending a thrill down his spine, swelling the chub in his pants a little more. He resolutely ignored that feeling, just wanting to get her in her car after extracting a promise that she’d go straight to the ER to get her ankle checked out.
Turning to face her, she had her right ankle crossed over her other leg, her fingers gently prodding at the swollen joint. He hadn’t realized how bad it was while they were walking. Had it gotten worse once he put her on his back?
He took her foot in his hands, pulling out his phone and turning on the flashlight so he could see better. It was definitely swollen, and a faint purplish tinge spread across the outside of her ankle. “How does it feel?”
She grimaced. “It hurts. It’s not as stabby since I’ve been off it, but it’s still throbbing. I’ll ice it when I get home. That should help.”
“Whoa. You’re not going straight home, I hope. That needs to be checked out. What if it’s broken?”
Pulling her foot from his grip, she rotated it back and forth, a stifled grunt of pain coming through her compressed lips. “I don’t think it is.”
He stood with his hands on his hips, trying to figure out the best course of action. “You can’t be sure. With that bruise, it could be. You need to get it checked out. Will you even be able to drive?”
Her chin lifted, the stubborn expression he was growing used to settling on her face. “I’ll be fine. Why do you care so much anyway? It’s not like we’re friends.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” He ran a hand through his hair, clenching the short strands in frustration. “Maybe we’re not friends, but I’m not going to let you fuck up your leg because you’re too stubborn for your own good. Are you refusing to go for some other reason or because I suggested it?”
She opened her mouth, but didn’t seem to have a response.
“Look. Just flexing your ankle hurts. You shouldn’t drive. I’ll give you a ride, we’ll get your ankle looked at, and we’ll come get your car later.”
“Evan, seriously, you’re being—“
Stepping closer, he cut her off. “I don’t think you get it. I’m not making a suggestion. I’m telling you what’s going to happen.” And he scooped her up again and started toward his car. She wriggled again like before, but not quite as much. Instead she hit him in the chest.
“What is your problem? You can’t go around picking up women because they don’t automatically agree to what you decide should happen. That’s not the way life works.”
“Sure I can.” He gave her a quick smirk as he propped his foot on his tire, resting her legs across his knee so he could dig his keys out of his pocket and unlock his door. “I pick up women all the time.”
After placing her in the passenger seat, he leaned into the open door, giving her what he hoped was his most intense stare-down. “It’d be easier on both of us if you’d agree with me. Your ankle is hurt. If it’s not broken, then there’s some kind of soft tissue damage, which is worse in a lot of ways. Going home and putting ice on it is stupid. I’m taking you to the ER. If you want to call a friend to meet you there, I’ll leave you in their hands. But I’m not leaving you alone until I know you’re getting checked out. Got it?”
She crossed her arms over her chest, her face a mask of irritation, but the pain must’ve been worse than he thought, because she didn’t argue. “Fine. I’ll call my friend Alyssa on the way to the hospital.”
“Good plan. Buckle your seatbelt.”
Before she could respond, he slammed the door and walked to the driver’s side. When he climbed in, she had her phone to her ear. But apparently her friend didn’t pick up, because by the time they were on the road headed for the hospital, she was leaving a voicemail.
“Hey, Alyssa. It’s me. Call me back when you get this. Bye.”
He stifled a snort. How informative. No urgency to the message at all. He glanced over at her. “Gonna try someone else?”
She pressed her lips together and shook her head, her eyes glued to her phone. She sat that way the whole time, like if she stared at her phone hard enough, her friend would call back. But she never did.
It looked like Evan was going to be staying with her at the hospital after all.
Layla looked up from her phone as Evan stopped in front of the entrance to the ER. Alyssa hadn’t called her back, despite her voicemail and text. With a sigh, Layla waited until Evan came around to her side of the car and helped her out. Her ankle throbbed, the whole joint a white-hot ball of pain, and as much as it galled her to admit it, she needed his help.
At least he didn’t pick her up this time. He smelled too good for her sanity, and being pressed against his body scrambled her brain in a way she wasn’t used to and didn’t like. And that smile. If she didn’t know he used it on literally everyone, it would make her melt into a puddle at his feet with the force of its charm. But he was indiscriminate, and when he turned it in her direction, she knew it meant nothing. She had to remember that. Even if he made it hard by being nice to her, carrying her over a mile to the parking lot at the trail and then driving her to the hospital.
That was one thing that made him different from Mark. Even at his best, Mark never would’ve gone so far out of his way to help her.
A man with graying hair came out of the hospital doors with a wheelchair. “Need some help?”
“Yeah, she hurt her ankle pretty bad. Can you take her inside? I’ll come in once I park.”
Evan helped her into the wheelchair, and she looked back and forth between him and the man behind her. The man gave her a reassuring smile. “Let’s get you checked in.”
“I’ll see you in there.”
Layla felt like she should say something, but Evan was back in his car before she could, and the man whooshed her through the doors to check in. Evan must’ve found parking near the doors, because he was back inside before she’d finished filling out the paperwork, and he wheeled her over to the triage station. The nurses made him wait in the waiting area while they took her vitals and asked questions about her health history and how she injured her ankle, then wheeled her out to sit with him when she was done.
He glanced up from his phone when the nurse stopped next to his chair, set the brakes, and left, but he didn’t say anything before turning back to whatever he was doing. Glancing around, she tried to figure out what to do to pass the time. She had an old flip phone, smart phones and their data plans too expensive for her college student budget. Her parents helped with rent and paid for her health insurance still, but otherwise she was on her own. And that meant she didn’t get the latest and greatest gadgets. Since she’d been out hiking, she didn’t have a book with her. She’d left it in her car, and since Evan hadn’t even let her get inside her own vehicle, it got left behind. And she couldn’t reach the magazines from where she sat. Not that any of them looked very appealing anyway.
Checking her phone for the millionth time, she was disappointed that Alyssa still hadn’t gotten back to her. How was she going to get home? She couldn’t expect Evan to wait with her for however long this took. He probably had plans or something. Friends. A party. A hundred things more fun to do than hang out with her in the ER.
“Evan?”
He looked up. “Yeah?”
“Um, so, my friend should call me back any time, and she can come get me whenever I’m done here. And I’m sure you have better things to do. You don’t need to stay.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll stay till she gets here.”
“But—“
“Layla.” His eyes met hers. “I’m not going to abandon you in the hospital. If your friend comes, then great. I’ll let her take you home. But until someone else is here to help you, you’re stuck with me. Got it?”
She examined his face, noticing the firm set of his jaw, and nodded. It didn’t take a genius to recognize a stubborn man intent on getting his way. She didn’t have the energy to argue with him right now.
Closing her eyes and leaning her head against her hand, she tried to focus on her breathing instead of the pain in her ankle or her dread of what might happen in the ER. They shouldn’t need to give her a shot, right? She’d twisted her ankle, so no need to take blood or anything involving needles. Breathing deep, she pushed away her panicky thoughts before they could take over. They’d probably just look at her ankle, take some X-rays, and maybe give her some kind of brace or something. The nurse came and called her name soon after that, wheeling her back through the automatic doors with Evan walking along behind her while the nurse introduced herself and chatted away about the weather.
The nurse parked her in a room and helped her settle onto the bed, folding up some blankets to prop up her ankle and taking her vitals again. After she left, an awkward silence descended, with Evan sitting in a chair against the wall opposite her bed and looking all around. She flipped through the channels on the TV, but there was nothing on, so she turned it off.
It was strange to see him so awkward. Usually he seemed at ease and confident no matter the situation. Maybe doctors and hospitals made him nervous too? If she weren’t so in need of something to distract her, she would relish his discomfort a little more. But since Alyssa still hadn’t gotten in touch, he was all she had to help her get through this. She should try to break the awkward tension that filled the room.
She cleared her throat, hoping he would glance her way. He didn’t. His focus remained on his hands, where he turned his phone over and ran his fingers down the side again and again, one ankle propped on the opposite knee, his foot bouncing nonstop.
So much for that. “Hospitals make you nervous?”
His foot stopped, and his head snapped up. “What?”
“You seem nervous. Is it the hospital? Doctors? Because they make me nervous as hell. Needles scare the shit out of me.”
He grinned. “I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you curse.”
“I got in trouble for using bad language growing up, so I mostly do it in my head. But my ankle hurts like hell, and I’m in a hospital, and I don’t know if they’re going to want to poke me with needles for some reason. In my experience, hospitals and needles go together a lot.”
Shaking his head, Evan let out a low chuckle. “Unless they need to numb you up to set it if it’s broken, I doubt you’ll meet any needles today.”
Swallowing her sudden nausea, she nodded. “Do you think it’s broken?”
His eyes zeroed in on her. “You said you didn’t think it was.”
She shrugged. “I was trying to get you to leave me alone. Not that it worked.” She skewered him with her gaze. He gave her an unapologetic grin. “But you seemed to think it might be broken.”
“I was trying to convince you to get it checked out.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t really know. You can move it, so that’s a good sign, but hairline fractures don’t always impede movement. Let’s just wait and see what the doctor says. Sound good?”
She nodded. “You never answered my question, though.”
“What question?”
“Do hospitals make you nervous?”
He shook his head, adjusting in his seat to get more comfortable. “Nah. I’ve never had a problem with doctors.”
“Why were you acting so weird then?”
His brows crinkled, and he tilted his head to the side. “I was trying to figure out what to talk to you about. But was coming up with nothing.”
She let out a spluttering laugh.
“Why’s that funny?” His voice held a mixture of curiosity, irritation, and amusement.
She shook her head. “I’ve never seen you at a loss for words. Especially not with a girl.”
His grin turned rueful. “Yeah, well, you don’t respond to me like most girls. I was worried that anything I said would piss you off.”
“Why would you think that?”
He laughed out loud at that, full and booming, and Layla couldn’t help smiling as well at his hilarity. “Christ, Layla. You get mad at almost everything I say. I could walk up to you and say that the sky is blue, and you’d get mad and argue with me.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but before she could, the doctor walked in, shaking her hand as well as Evan’s and introducing himself as Dr. Zakin. Pulling up the rolling stool he settled in next to Layla’s bed. “So I hear you’ve hurt your ankle.”
“Yeah. My right one. I was out for a walk on the High Drive Parkway Trail, and I tripped on a rock and slipped in the mud, rolling my ankle really bad. It felt like something popped. I tried walking on it, but kept having to stop and rest because it hurt so much. And then Evan here came across me and carried me the rest of the way back to the parking lot.”
Dr. Zakin glanced at Evan, who gave a closed mouth smile and nod of confirmation. Turning back to Layla, Dr. Zakin rolled to the foot of the bed closer to her ankle. “Lucky you. I take it you guys already knew each other?” He paused and waited for her nod. “Good. That’s a little less awkward then, huh?” Not exactly, but Layla didn’t feel the need to correct him. It didn’t matter to the doctor, anyway. “Let’s take a look at your ankle, and then we’ll get some X-rays to see what’s going on inside, okay?”
Layla nodded, rolling up her pant leg to give him more access. At least she’d shaved her legs this morning. How embarrassing would it be to have not only the doctor looking at her stubbly legs, but Evan there witnessing it too? Thank goodness for small mercies.
She winced as Dr. Zakin poked and prodded at her ankle, following his directions to move it around. When he was done, he stood, offering his hand again. “Alright. I’ll get those X-rays ordered. You can move it well, despite the swelling, so I don’t think it’s broken. But since you said you felt a pop, we want to make sure everything’s okay. I’ll be back once we get the images and let you know.”
With a nod at Evan, he moved past the privacy curtain and left the room. A tech came in and introduced himself and helped Layla into a wheelchair to go to X-ray.
When she returned to the room, Evan looked up from his phone and stood to help her from the wheelchair back onto the bed. Resuming his seat, he tucked his phone in the kangaroo pocket of his sweatshirt. “How’d it go?”
Layla grimaced. “Fine. I had to hold my ankle in weird positions that hurt while wearing a lead apron, but nothing too traumatic.”
“Good, good.” He looked around, and it seemed like the awkward tension from earlier was going to take over again. But instead, his signature flirty grin came back. “So, Dr. Caldwell. Made any progress on our project?”
She grinned back at him, glad for the neutral subject. “Not really. I’ve started, but figured we could plan our project out together. I was going to write down some ideas and talk to you about it on Tuesday after class.” She wrinkled her nose a little. “It’s still funny to me that Dr. Rankin calls us all doctors.”
Maybe spending a few hours with Evan in the ER wouldn’t be so bad after all.