Lucy

Light streamed into the room and Lucy blinked back against its harshness as the room came into focus. She was in a hospital. So yesterday had really happened then?

She tried to sit up but biting pain lanced through her so swiftly it made her gasp for air.

“Lucy?”

Startled, she turned toward the sound of her name, and sucked in another painful breath. Every little movement hurt. That’s why she was grateful when whoever called her name moved into her line of sight.

It was a boy with rumpled brown hair and deep blue eyes full of worry. For an instant, Lucy’s brain had trouble placing him, but then everything came tumbling back at once. “You . . . you saved me.”

“I don’t know about that,” he started, but the half smirk playing at the corner of his lips said he was just being modest. So did the hand he raised to rub the back of his neck self-consciously.

“Why are you here?” she asked, then her cheeks flushed realizing how rude that sounded. Although the boy glanced at the wall clock and rubbed the back of his neck again, like he was embarrassed or bewildered to find himself at her bedside himself.

“I must’ve dozed off,” he admitted. “Sorry, I’m Jaxon,” he said stepping closer to the bed and extending his hand.

“I know,” she replied, refusing it.

“Oh, right,” he said dropping his hand. “I wasn’t sure how much you remembered from yesterday.”

“I remember everything just fine. But yesterday wasn’t the first time we met,” Lucy replied, pinning him with a glare. “Lab partner.”

“Right. Wasn’t sure you remembered that either.”

Lucy cocked an eyebrow at him. “Did you hit your head yesterday, too?”

“No. Why?”

“I’m just wondering if I should be worried that you’re so accustomed to girls with such bad memories.”

Jaxon

Shit. This was not going well. Jaxon raked his hand through his hair. “No, it’s just—”

“You standup a lot of lab partners so it’s hard to keep track?”

Damn. Why was this girl grillin’ him? “No.”

“Ah, so it’s just me then. Aren’t I lucky?” she muttered.

Jaxon didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t expected the tiny bruised girl in front of him to be so feisty. Damn, it was easier to be around her when she was sleeping. His brother was right, Smalls was a fighter. Jaxon had foolishly assumed someone dating a jerkstore like Alex Alvez was probably some spineless shrew who would fawn all over Jaxon for rescuing her. But he couldn’t have been more wrong. Lucy was no damsel in distress. She may be covered in bandages and bruises, but she was the one doling out the distress today.

“I’m surprised you even bothered to rescue me,” Lucy continued. “I mean what better way to get rid of an unwanted lab partner, right?”

Jaxon sucked in a breath, pulling himself to his full six foot four height. He’d been willing to let the girl vent. She’d just been through a traumatic experience and was on some pretty strong pain meds for her injuries. She might not even be aware of what she was saying. But accusing him of looking the other way when someone was in a car accident was where he drew the line. “I think I’ll go let your nurse know you’re awake.”

Lucy

The minute Jaxon was out of the room, Lucy bit her lip, exhaling through the pain. She knew she was being a bitch, but she was in tremendous pain and the insensitive words that tumbled out of her mouth seemed to be her only relief. She knew she should apologize when Jaxon stiffened and stalked from the room in search of her nurse, but truthfully, she wanted to be alone when she burst into tears, which would be at any moment. Everything hurt, even breathing. And just looking at the cast on her leg made her lips begin to tremble. Even that tiny motion hurt.

As the uninvited tears began to slip down her cheeks, Lucy lifted her hands to swipe them away, recoiling as soon as her fingers touched her swollen left cheek. It throbbed beneath the bandage and even the lightest touch made her wince. God, she was a mess. It was probably a good thing Lucy couldn’t see her face. She could only imagine what she looked like, and it certainly wasn’t good.

The sound of footsteps outside her door made Lucy suck up her pity party. She swiped at her tears again despite the pain it caused her. The last thing she wanted was an audience. Crying in front of people was not her style. Plus, she didn’t want to give Jaxon more ammunition. He’d already seen her in too many vulnerable scenarios. Yeah, she remembered the whole getting her out of her pants thing, too. She didn’t need to add blubbering mess to that unflattering memory.

Lucy was still bitter about the fact that Jaxon had seen her in her underwear. She hardly knew the guy but he was already familiar with her undergarments. Maybe more, she thought bitterly as she looked down at the thin hospital gown she wore. It was practically see-through and the tiny blue stars on the white material were doing nothing to hide the fact that she was freezing. She wasn’t wearing a bra and her nipples could practically cut glass. Talk about kicking a girl while she’s down.

Lucy shifted in the bed and tried to pull her blanket up, but her body protested each movement by welcoming her with a fresh wave of excruciating pain. Everything ached. It felt like she’d been hit by a truck. She sputtered a laugh, realizing she actually had been hit by a truck. Maybe it was a car, but same difference.

Just then a doctor with dark hair and kind eyes walked into her room. He looked like an older, slightly shorter, version of Jaxon and it caused Lucy to do a painful double-take.

The doctor was smiling as a nurse in pink scrubs and Jaxon followed him into her room. “Lucy, it’s good to see you awake,” the doctor said. “I’m Doctor Bradburn, chief of surgery. Cali will be your nurse this morning, and I believe you’ve met my nephew, Jaxon?”

Nephew? Now the resemblance made sense. Lucy swallowed and nodded.

“How are you feeling this morning?” Doctor Bradburn asked.

“Like I got hit by a truck,” she muttered.

Doctor Bradburn grinned. “I’ll bet. How’s your pain level on a scale from one to ten, one being low, ten being the worst.”

“Eleven,” Lucy groaned.

Doctor Bradburn rubbed the fine stubble starting to show on his jaw. He nodded to the nurse who entered something into the computer next to the bed. She then began injecting a syringe into Lucy’s IV line.

“Lucy, we’re going to give you something for the pain now. It should start to work immediately. I’d like to go over your injuries with you and then Cali will get you set up with a pain pump so you can manage your pain level a bit more evenly. Does that sound okay?”

Lucy nodded and the nurse began unsnapping Lucy’s gown at the shoulder.

Jaxon stood, abruptly. “And that’s my cue to leave,” he said, fleeing the room like he thought she had rabid dogs hidden under her gown. Good Lord, they were just boobs.

Jaxon

Jaxon decided he’d go get some coffee. He felt groggy as hell and hoped a jolt of caffeine would set him straight. He took a detour on his way to the café, stopping in the bathroom. When he went to the sink to wash his hands his reflection stopped him dead. He looked awful. He had shadows under his eyes and was two days past needing a shave. It didn’t help that however he’d been sleeping had left his hair with a massive cowlick in the front. It needed to be cut, too. But that was something his mother usually took care of.

He sighed at his reflection. Jaxon couldn’t believe he’d actually fallen asleep in Lucy’s room. He’d meant to stay only until her family showed up. It baffled him that they still weren’t here. Maybe the roommate was right, Lucy didn’t have anyone. The thought made him sad.

Jaxon leaned over the sink and washed his face, drying it with a handful of paper towels. His brief washing up helped him feel a little better, but he was still stiff and exhausted—no doubt from sleeping in a chair all night. But he shouldn’t complain. Things could always be worse. Like poor Lucy. The girl looked positively pitiful this morning, covered in bandages and angry purple bruises. That didn’t stop her from giving him a tongue lashing.

After leaving the bathroom, he headed straight to the café. Once there, Jaxon took his time. He didn’t want to chance going back to Lucy’s room while they were in the middle of something. Things felt awkward enough between them as it was. If Jaxon hadn’t left the room when he did, he would’ve seen Lucy topless.

Damn. Jaxon rubbed his neck. What else was left? In less than twenty-four hours he’d already tried to get Lucy out of her pants, given her mouth to mouth and now almost seen her tits. That was further than he’d gotten with half his girlfriends. The thought was enough to make Jaxon take a premature drink of his coffee, scalding his mouth.

He swore and blew on the caffeinated beverage while moving over to the breakfast case. Jaxon ordered himself a BLT with egg whites, avocado and cheese, then took it over to a table where he scarfed it down. He hadn’t realized how starving he was. It made him wonder if Lucy was hungry. After all, she was the one who went through the traumatic ordeal. Jaxon was just a bystander.

Should he get her something? He glanced back up at the cases of food and vending machine. He had no idea what she liked or what she was allowed to have. He took another sip of his coffee, which was finally a good drinking temperature. He could at least get her a coffee. Everyone liked coffee. Maybe it would help smooth over the whole lab partner thing, because obviously saving her from a burning car didn’t do the trick.

Jaxon was beginning to think he shouldn’t even go back to Lucy’s room at all. It’s not like they really knew each other. As far as he was concerned, his job was done. He’d gotten her to the hospital and she was awake. He’d seen it with his own eyes. He could stop worrying now—except he couldn’t.

The accident kept replaying in Jaxon’s mind and he couldn’t get the driver’s face out of his head. He also couldn’t stop thinking about what Lucy had said to him a few minutes ago. ‘I remember everything just fine.’

If she remembered details from the accident, she needed to talk to the police. Maybe with both of their statements the police would actually have a good chance of nailing the bastard that thought he’d gotten away with a hit-and-run. It was a lot of maybes, but Jaxon couldn’t let it go. It was the first glimmer of hope he’d felt in a long time and he wanted to hold onto it.