Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 100628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
“Take it,” Mick replied easily. “I’ll take your piece of shit.”
“At least it’s running,” Nova pointed out quietly, her eyes searching the crowd.
“You takin’ them to the hospital?” Casper asked, jogging toward us.
I nodded.
“Fuck me,” he said, stopping in front of us so he could look at Bird and Nova. “Should’ve gone in an ambulance.”
“Too expensive,” Nova muttered.
“We fucked up,” Casper whispered, his eyes on my girl. “Fuck.”
“I’m gonna puke,” Bird moaned. Micky barely got him on his feet before Bird was vomiting everything he’d eaten that day.
“Let’s go,” I said, getting Nova moving again.
“Don’t puke in my truck,” Micky teased Bird.
“No promises,” Bird replied, spitting.
The hospital was crowded with people coughing and groaning and holding little puke bags, but the lady checking people in took one look at Nova and Bird and got them straight into triage.
“No, I need to go with my brother,” Nova argued as they tried to put the two in separate rooms.
“You both need to be seen,” the nurse replied, a little more firmly than I was happy with. “Separately.”
“I’m fine, No,” Bird said, standing up a little straighter. “Go.”
The kid was trying to be brave, but no one could miss the fear in his eyes.
“I’ll stay with him,” Micky cut in. “I won’t leave his side.”
“I’m his sister—”
Before the argument could go any further, the sound of footsteps had us glancing toward the wide hallway. Brenna, my gram, my aunt Farrah, and my mom were hurrying toward us.
“Are you family?” the nurse asked as they reached us.
“Aunties,” Aunt Farrah said dismissively.
“Have you checked in with the front desk?” the nurse asked skeptically.
“Why are these two standing in the middle of the hallway?” my mom snapped, ignoring her. “Micky, grab him. He’s about to go down.”
After that, things moved pretty quickly. The women convinced Nova to get her own room with a few quietly spoken words from Brenna. My mom and Aunt Farrah went with Micky and Bird to a room directly across the hall, while Brenna and my gram came with Nova and me.
“Maybe you should step out,” Brenna said, lifting up the hospital gown the nurse had left on the bed for Nova. “I’ll call you back in—”
“I’m not leavin’.”
“He can stay,” Nova said tiredly, her eyes on me.
“Okay, honey,” my gram said, shutting the door. “Let’s get you changed, huh?”
Nova barely nodded and used her toes to kick off her shoes, bracing herself on the bed for balance.
“Do you—” Her voice caught, and she cleared her throat. “Do you think I can leave my socks on?”
“You do whatever you’re most comfortable with,” Brenna said firmly. “This is your show.”
“Feels like a show,” Nova murmured under her breath. She reached for the bottom of her T-shirt and winced in pain.
“Excuse me,” I said politely to Brenna, even though I wanted to push her out of the way. I’d been letting the women take over because it seemed to be helping, but I was done standing more than a foot from Nova.
“I’ll help,” I said, meeting Nova’s eyes. “Yeah?”
“Thanks, Rum,” she said softly.
She couldn’t raise her arms above her head, so it was slow going getting her T-shirt off. When I finally did, I saw all the bruises that hadn’t been there earlier in the afternoon when she’d lifted her shirt. Gram was behind her and gasped softly, stifling the sound with her hand. I clenched my jaw and dropped the T-shirt on the bed. Next, I unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans, pulling them slowly and gently down her legs so she could step out of them. The bruise on her thigh still looked like a horror show, but now there were what looked like rug burns on both her knees and a large scratch on her swollen ankle. I dropped the jeans, too. Making sure that the gown was within reach, I stepped forward and unclipped Nova’s bra, letting her hold it against her chest until I’d lifted the gown in front of her so she could slip it on.
I didn’t even realize that tears were rolling down my face until Nova reached out to wipe them away with her fingertips.
“I’m alright.”
“Fuck, Nova,” I murmured, my voice breaking.
“I’m okay.” Her hands covered my cheeks. “Come here.”
Nothing had ever felt as good as being able to wrap my arms around Nova in that moment. I was so fucking careful, barely touching her, but her arms were tight around my waist and her face was pressed against my neck and thank fuck, she was safe and alive and right there with me.
After we got her in bed, it was a whole lot of waiting around. Nurses came and went. A doctor came to do pretty much nothing—or at least it felt that way. X-rays were ordered. Pain meds administered.
Brenna spent her time going back and forth between the siblings’ rooms, reassuring them that the other was okay. Gram sat quietly in the corner, the calm in the storm. I sat next to Nova in her bed, her head on my shoulder as she dozed.