ELLIE
THE FIRST DAMN DAY I brave leaving the house and it turns into total chaos. I swear I’m fucking cursed!
As if my past wasn’t enough reason to believe that, today leaves no doubt. The only two people that spoke to me today are lying in the hospital being operated on. I should’ve taken those pills. Then I wouldn’t have been around to spread my curse to those poor guys.
Marcus was shot in the leg by the first robber. I think I heard one of the paramedics say something about his femur being shattered. I suppose he’s lucky to be alive. The other employee had made it to the back office, before the robbers saw him, and called the police. He’s also the one that snuck up behind the robber and knocked him out cold. Unfortunately for Marcus, it caused the gun to go off and shoot him.
Then there’s Nik, that beautiful man that saved my life today. The one that had me tied in nervous, giddy knots before those two assholes showed up and ruined our day. The one that protected me from all those flying bullets, four of which the surgeons are trying to remove from his body right now.
They took him straight to surgery when we got here. They’ve been operating on him for three hours already. After I gave the police my statement, and the ER doctor released me–with a bandage on my head, and a pain pill to swallow–a nurse walked me up here to the surgical waiting room.
They all believe I’m his fiancée, but thankfully haven’t asked me any questions that I couldn’t bullshit my way through. I was afraid if I told them I wasn’t they wouldn’t let me see him. I have to know he’s okay.
I’ve paced the floor, chewed my nails, and counted the ceiling and floor tiles a hundred times trying to keep myself from having an attack. So far, it’s worked. I honestly can’t believe it considering the day I’ve had. Maybe my brain knows I need to be level-headed throughout this, and is waiting until it’s all over to short-circuit. When I sit down to start counting the ceiling tiles again I overhear a man ask about Nik at the nurse’s station.
“I’m here to see about Nikolas Jensen. They told me downstairs he was in surgery. Can you tell me how he’s doing?”
“Last I was told by the nurse he was stable, but still critical. They should be finishing up soon. His fiancée is in the waiting room over there. I’m sure she would appreciate the company,” the nurse answers him.
“Fiancée?”
Shit.
“Yes sir, she’s right over there in the waiting room.”
I’m shocked it took his family this long to get here, but my jig is up now. Maybe if I beg they’ll let me stay long enough to know he’s going to make it.
I try to look as worried as I can–which isn’t hard at all since I’m a nervous wreck anyway–when I hear his footsteps heading this way. He stops, and looks at me once he’s taken a few steps into the room. He’s tall, but not as tall as Nik. He looks nothing like him, either.
He’s got brown hair and eyes, he’s skinny as a rail, and wears glasses. Just your average nerd. He’s not old enough to be his dad. Maybe a brother or cousin? Nik definitely got the looks in the family if that’s the case.
“You’re Nik’s fiancée?” he asks, his Southern accent thick. “I’m his boss, Scott Evans.”
So, he’s not family. That makes me feel a little less awkward.
“Ummm, I’m Ellie Cochran,” I say, reaching to shake his hand. He’s one of those that think women don’t shake like men. His hand’s limp as a dishrag in mine. I pull away to worry my shirttail again. “You probably already know this, but um, I’m not actually Nik’s fiancée. The paramedics assumed I was his wife, but instead of agreeing with that I thought fiancée might not be as bad. He saved my life today, and I really need to know he’s okay. That, and I want to thank him,” I explain, praying he believes me.
He sits down across from me, and looks me over a bit. He’s not being creepy, just trying to size me up I think. Then he gives me a warm smile. “Your secret is safe with me.”
I let out a deep breath I didn’t even realize I was holding. “Thank you. I really appreciate that, but what about his family. Do you think they’ll kick me out of here?”
He shakes his head. “Other than his sister that lives overseas, Nik doesn’t have any family. Their parents are dead. His buddies will show up soon, but I’m sure they won’t have any problems with you staying,” he tells me.
“Oh, well then, I would really like to stay. Do you know how to contact his sister? I’m sure she would want to know.”
“Already done. I left a message with her assistant to call me as soon as possible. She’s probably out clubbing. She’ll be on the next plane once she finds out.”
I nod and stare up at the clock on the wall. It’s been three hours and twenty-four minutes.
Why is it taking so long?
“Can you tell me what happened today? If it’s not too much that is,” he asks. “The police wouldn’t tell me much.”
“Oh, yeah. Sure. I’m sorry. We ah, we were just standing there…”
Thirty-eight minutes later a nurse walks in the door, making my heart lodge in my throat. I jump up and walk over to her, Scott slowly follows.
“Is he okay?” I ask, my voice squeaky.
“He’s out of surgery and stable.”
“Oh, thank God.”
“They’re moving him up to intensive care right now to monitor him. I’ll take you up there, and then the doctor will come speak to you both, okay? Y’all can follow me,” she tells us, walking out the door. She takes us upstairs to ICU and straight to the waiting room. “Wait here while I go get Rachael. She’s his nurse tonight. I hope he recovers quickly,” she says with a small smile, then disappears.
Scott and I sit down across from each other and try to relax. It isn’t working, at least not for me. I feel like I have jumping beans for legs, they keep bouncing so badly. I must look like a three-year-old trying to sit still and failing miserably, because Scott reaches over and puts his hand on one of my knees.
“He’s going to be okay. Nik’s a strong guy, physically and mentally. He’ll pull through this,” he says with a confident nod.
“Thanks. After the day I’ve had I just can’t sit still. I feel like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs, you know? I think I’ll be able to relax when I see him for myself.”
He laughs a bit, but it’s a nervous one. “Yeah, me too.”
“Hi y’all, I’m Rachael,” another nurse walks in, introducing herself. I nearly jump out of my skin. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m sure your nerves are on edge after the day you’ve had, huh?” she says, rubbing my shoulder.
I give her a nervous smile and nod. “I’m sorry. I’m Ellie and this is Nik’s boss, Scott,” I introduce us. “How is he? Can we see him?”
She sits down beside me, taking my hand in hers and starts rubbing it. She’s very touchy feely, but I like her already. “He’s resting well, his heartbeat is real strong, too. He won’t wake up for a while yet, probably tomorrow morning early. I already have the pain meds going so if he does wake up he won’t be hurtin’. We’re gonna take real good care of him for you honey,” she says, giving my hand a squeeze.
“Thank you,” I choke, not able to stop the tears.
She wraps me in her arms and rubs my back. “It’s gonna be okay, sugar. That big beautiful man is gonna be back home with you real soon. I promise.”
Imagining him at home with me twists my stomach in crazy ways. Some good and some bad. I pull out of her arms and grab a tissue off the table beside me, and blow my nose as ladylike as possible.
She smiles, and pats my leg before standing up. “Dr. Peterson should be here to speak with you both soon. After he’s talked to you I can take you to see Nik one at a time, all right?”
We nod, and both tell her thank you. Then we wait some more. I notice Scott is giving me a funny look when I glance over at him after a few minutes.
“What? Do I have snot on my face or something?”
He barks out a loud laugh shaking his head. “No ma’am, no snot. I was just thinking that if I didn’t know any better, I would believe your fiancée story without a doubt. You are either a very good actress, or you have a very kind heart. I’m leaning towards the kind heart.”
I shrug my shoulders at him sheepishly. “Thank you. Unfortunately, I can be a bit on the emotional side even on a good day,” I confess. “Not that I’ve had any of those in a long time,” I mutter to myself.
Lord, if he only knew.
He gives me another odd look, but thankfully decides to let it go when the doctor finally walks in. We both get up to meet him.
He is not what I was expecting. I thought he’d be an older gray-headed guy, or one of the brilliant Asian or Indian surgeons you see in the medical specials on TV. Instead, he’s a very good looking young guy, maybe twenty-eight or twenty-nine. He has light sandy brown hair and pretty green eyes. You can easily tell he works out, he has one of those gym bodies.
The cocky bastard knows he’s a catch, too. The second his eyes land on me it’s like a switch flips inside him, and the charm starts oozing out. He ignores Scott completely, and walks over to me with an arrogant smile. I hate him instantly.
His hands go to my shoulders, starting to rub them slowly. He’s looking at me like a parent looks at a sad child. “Miss Cochran, I’m sorry to have to meet you this way. I’m Dr. Peterson, but you can call me Jake,” he purrs.
Fucking creep. This man has been told I’m Nik’s fiancée, and he’s still pouring it on this thick?
I back away from his touch, moving closer to Scott.
“Dr. Peterson, can you update us on Nik? We’re anxious to know how he’s doing,” Scott asks with a definite edge to his voice.
Sounds like he doesn’t care much for him either.
He spares Scott a glance before bringing his eyes back to me. “Of course, you’re worried. Forgive me. Nik is a very, very lucky man that I was on call today. He’d be dead if it wasn’t for me. Getting shot five times is not something most people survive. But, I saved the day, and him.”
Is this dude serious? He’s preening and fluffing his feathers for us? Really?
I give Scott a look that displays my disbelief, and he returns one just as baffled. Already done with his shit, I turn back to Mr. Boastful.
“Dr. Peterson, I’m grateful that you saved my fiancé,” I tell him, making sure to stress those last two words. I’m not, but I want to make damn sure this dickhead knows I’m off limits. “And I’m sure your surgical skills are top notch, but I really need to know if he’s going to be okay.”
He’s a little taken aback by my attitude, but lets it slide right off. “Mr. Jensen is going to have a long recovery, but he’ll be back to rights in a few months. The bullet that grazed his head didn’t do too much damage, other than gouging the skull a bit. I dug it out of the back of his scalp. I’ve never seen anything like it before. That shot coming from such a close range should have killed him instantly. He’s gonna have one hell of a headache from it when he wakes up,” he chuckles.
CHUCKLES!! I want to slap the ever-loving shit out of this bastard! Who in their right mind ever thought he’d make a good doctor?
“The second and third bullets went in his upper left shoulder,” he continues, oblivious to the anger floating off me and Scott. “One went all the way through, and the other one ended up breaking his shoulder blade into a few pieces, before lodging in his chest. It missed his heart by a fraction, along with the important veins and arteries, too. I had to be very delicate getting that one out.
“The fourth one went in his mid-back, nicking his spleen and large intestines. We had to remove his spleen, and take out a very small section of his intestines. It should all heal up nicely barring any infection.
“The last one got his leg, shattering his tibia, and breaking the fibula in half. We got the bullet fragments out, but our orthopedic surgeon won’t be here to operate on it until Monday. We cleaned it up as best we could, and have it immobilized. It’s best to let the swelling go down before they operate anyway. We’ll have to watch for infection in all of his wounds, but he should be out of immediate danger in a few days,” he says with a smile, as if we’ve been talking about the nice weather.
“Thank you,” I say, between gritted teeth, a fake smile twisting my face.
Scott comes to my rescue by shaking the asshole’s hand, and asking if we can see Nik.
“Sure, I’ll let the nurses know you’re ready to see him.” Just when I think he’s leaving he turns around, and pulls a business card from his scrub pocket hands it to me. “You’re welcome to call me anytime if you have questions, Miss Cochran,” he purrs with a wink before walking off.
The second he’s out of sight I turn to Scott. “As soon as Nik’s out of the woods I’m reporting that dickhead.”
“I’ll help,” he says with a disgusted frown.
Rachael comes in, her face falling when she sees ours. “Oh dear, I thought Dr. Peterson’s news was good?”
“It was, I’d like to fire the messenger is all,” I grumble.
“Crap! I thought he’d be too tired from surgery to pull his Peacock Peterson routine, or I would’ve warned you. I’m really sorry about that, y’all.”
I genuinely laugh for the first time all day. “Peacock Peterson! That describes him to a ‘T’. How in the world does he still have a job?”
“He’s very good at what he does. The hospital can’t afford to lose him. He’s harmless for the most part,” she says. I raise my eyebrows to the ceiling. “All right, he’s not, but no matter the complaints, he’s somehow still here. I’ll try to keep him away from you until Nik gets out of here, okay?”
“Thank you. I would really appreciate it.”
“You ready to see your Nik?” she asks.
“Yes! Please!”
Geez, that was a bit too quick for my liking. I am way too attached to a man I’ve really only known for ten minutes at most.
“All righty, y’all follow me. As long as you both don’t stay too long you can go in together,” she tells us and heads out the door. The knots in my stomach that have been there for hours get tighter and tighter with each step closer I take towards his room.
Please God, don’t let me have an attack. Keep it together Ellie, for a little while longer. Breathe. Breathe.
Rachael slides open the big glass door to his room, the beeping and swooshing of machines flooding out. I falter, but her hand on my back gets me through the door. I knew the sight of him wouldn’t be pretty, but I still wasn’t prepared.
My hand goes to my mouth to muffle an involuntary whimper. Rachael walks across the room and Scott comes up to my side.
“Damnit, Nik,” he whispers, when he gets a good look at him.
I take a deep breath and wipe some of the tears off my face before walking around his bed to his left side, leaving Scott on the right.
This man was so full of life hours ago. His eyes had sparkled with happiness and hope when he looked down at me, and then determination as we stood up together against our attackers. That hope I saw in his eyes is what made me choose life over death today. Now he’s laying here hooked up to machines, so very still, and way too pale.
His healthy tan is gone, replaced with a dull gray. The right side of his head and most of that side of his face are wrapped in bandages. There’s blood seeping through them, and they do nothing to hide the swelling. I can already see bruises making their way across his beautiful face.
I had wondered for a split second earlier today what his chest would look like without his shirt on, but I never wanted to see it like this, covered in bandages and stained with black and blue everywhere else. His leg looks the worst. It’s laying in an open splint that hangs from the ceiling, the wounds open and oozing. It looks almost like they never touched it.
“Do you guys have any questions?” Rachael asks quietly. Never looking away from Nik, I shake my head. I faintly hear Scott tell her no. “I’ll give y’all a few minutes then. I’ll be right outside if you need me,” she tells us, rubbing my back before walking out.
I slowly lean over and kiss his forehead. “Thank you,” I whisper against his skin. Then I look down at this man who confuses me so, reaching over to play with his hair. “I’m not worth this pain. You didn’t deserve all of this. You should have let them take me, and saved yourself. I barely know you, and I’ve already ruined your life. I was ready to go before you walked in that door, and now I’m terrified to leave. Why Nik? Why did you save me?”
“Well, I for one am glad he did,” Scott says, startling me. I’d forgotten he was there. “I hope you stick around, and let him get to know you better. He needs someone like you in his life. He must have thought so, too, if he risked all this to keep you here. Stay, Ellie. Until he’s better. Please?”
I pull my eyes from Scott back down to Nik’s face, and marvel at the way my fingers are caressing his cheek all on their own. I haven’t touched a man in so long.
“I’ll stay, at least until you’re better,” I whisper to him. “I’ll stay for you.”