It’s eerily calm in the back. The silence broken by beeping and the soft voices of the staff. My eyes dart to the signs, heading left towards bed twenty-three, the tap of Ransom’s dress shoes joining the thud of my work boots. Most of the staff are moving quickly between beds with charts and medications, but a few watch us pass, whispering and giggling.
I ignore all of it, focused on getting to her. My heart feels like it’s about to break out of my chest, and I slap a hand on it, as if that will keep it in place. The curtain around bed twenty-three is pulled closed. I reach out and wrap my fist around it, but can’t bring myself to open it.It can’t be that bad, I tell myself. The doctors would be with her right now if it was bad. But I still can’t open the curtain.
“We’ll deal with it, brother. Whatever we find, we’ll deal with it.” Ransom says quietly behind me. I nod before gently pulling the curtain back. And I can’t stop the sound of agony that comes out of me at the sight of her.
8
MICAH
“Jesus fucking christ,” Ransom breathes beside me.
I want to howl. I want to break something. I want to take it all away for her. It’s bad. Everywhere I look, her skin is bruised. Butterfly bandages are holding together her eyebrow, her lip, the bridge of her nose and the cuts on her cheek. Her eyes look bruised. Even the one small hand outside the covers is scratched and battered. She’s so small, lying in that bed, her feet still a foot away from the bottom.
“Doctor.” I tell Ransom, not taking my eyes off of her. I can’t leave her.
“On it,” he says, voice thick.
There’s a chair in the corner, and I move it right next to the bed. Sitting, I gently touch her, running my fingers lightly over her wrist, her jaw, her shoulder. There’s so little undamaged skin. I swallow heavily, my breathing rapid. So much pain. Is she sleeping, or did they give her something? Is she unconscious? I need to know. Where is the fucking doctor?
Like I summoned him, Ransom appears in the doorway, his hand on the arm of a doctor. She looks frazzled and angry. Not an uncommon reaction around him. Her eyes land on Holly, and her face softens before shifting to me. “I’m Dr. Fuentes,” she says “and you are?”
I clear my throat “Micah…f…fiancé.” The stutter a clear sign of my emotional state. “Is she going to be ok? Please tell me.”I sign.
Ransom’s eyes widen briefly.“Fiance? Anything you need to tell me, brother?”He signs back.
“I needed to make sure they let me in. She doesn’t have anyone.”
The Doctor’s eyes are wide, moving from our faces to our hands and back. She fixes her gaze on Ransom when he speaks. “Is my brother’s fiancé going to be ok? Give us the rundown…please”
I listen carefully as the doctor lists out Holly’s injuries. I can’t miss anything.
“From what the paramedics told us, the firefighters found her at the base of a stairwell. There was an elderly man found on top of her. I can only imagine in all the smoke that they tripped or fell down those stairs. Her injuries are consistent with that scenario, anyway. Until she wakes up, we won’t know for sure.”
She sighs heavily. “Miss Clarke is concussed and has multiple lacerations and bruising, but luckily, no broken bones, and no brain bleeds. Her left ankle is severely sprained. It’s going to need to stay immobile for at least a week before physical therapy. She’s going to be very tender and painful for a week or two, but she’s…and I hate to use the word considering she’s lost her home…lucky. It could have been so much worse.”
Worse? It sounds fucking horrific already. “Unconscious?” I ask roughly.
“No. She was awake earlier. We’ve given her something for the pain. She was also quite upset, so we gave her medication to calm her.”
“Home?” I ask.
Dr. Fuentes shakes her head. “We’d like to keep her overnight to ensure she’s doing well. She’s also dealing with smoke inhalation and, well…it’s safer for her to stay and be monitored. We’re just waiting for a bed for her in one of the wards upstairs.”
Wards? No fucking way. I shoot a glance at Ransom, and he nods. “Get her transferred to a private room. Now.” I can see the doctor’s hackles rise at his tone, and despite the seriousness of the situation, Ransom’s slow smile makes me cough out a laugh. He’s in his fucking element, so I let him handle it. I reach out and gently stroke the back of Holly’s hand as they speak.
“It’s not really that easy Mr…”
“Kyle,” he answers, his voice clipped. “Ransom Kyle.”
I duck my head as she pauses, hiding my grin.
“Ransom Kyle…as in the new Kyle Cancer wing of the hospital. That’s you?”
Ransom’s laugh is low. “No…that’s us.” He says, pointing between us. I turn my head, nodding at her before turning my focus back to my Holly.
We insisted Ransom’s name go on the building, but all nine of us wanted to make the donation. Good political capital, Ransom said. I don’t know about that, but helping sick people sounded like a good use of money. And let’s face it, we have more money than God at this point. Might as well spend it doing some good. Dr. Fuentes mutters a bit before backing away to make arrangements, leaving us alone with Holly.
“She’s going to need care, Micah.” He says quietly, reaching out to touch her foot through the covers. His hand covers it completely.