Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 44342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
I’m shaking. “Dad, I came to see Guy. Where are they taking him?” When he doesn’t answer right away, I ask him again, “Where? Where are they taking him?”
He puts his hands on the fence. “Calm down, honey.”
“Where are they taking him?”
Dad shakes his head. “I don’t know yet.”
I plead with him. “Find out. Please, can you find out?”
“Nikki—”
“Please,” I beg.
Dad nods. “Do you have a car?”
I nod.
He sucks in a breath and lets it out. “I’ll find out. Go to your car. I’ll text you as soon as I know.”
I nod. “I love you, Dad.” Then I run and don’t stop until I’m at the car. My hands are shaking, but I finally get the key into the ignition, and just as the car starts, my phone dings with a text.
Antonio Baptist. I’ll send room info when I have it.
I put the hospital name into the GPS, and as soon as the car starts saying the directions, I pull out of the parking lot. It feels like it takes hours to get there, and I’m sure I hit every red light. All I can think about is Guy lying on that stretcher, and it takes everything in me not to pull over and start bawling right here.
Why didn’t I tell him how I felt yesterday when he said he loved me? Why? The thought hits me hard, and I know it’s something I’m going to regret forever. By the time I pull into the emergency room parking lot, I’m barely able to hold myself together. I run inside and go straight to the registration desk.
“Guy Brody. He was just brought in from the Bears game.”
She stares back at me, unconcerned. “Are you family?”
I hesitate and shake my head. “No.”
She goes back to looking at her computer, already dismissing me. “I’m sorry, but I can’t give you any information.”
“Please… he’s my boyfriend and—”
She looks at me up and down and then shakes her head. “I’m sorry.”
I close my eyes and slowly back away from the desk. I move to the chairs and sit down. I keep checking my phone, but there’s nothing from my dad. I send him a text. Have you heard anything? I’m here and they won’t let me back.
I check my phone every thirty seconds, but nothing comes through. I try searching online, and all I can find are videos of the hit and word that Guy was taken to the hospital. An hour passes before my phone dings with another text from my dad.
Room 814. The trainer says concussion and they are checking the eye.
I’m on my feet before I finish the text. The nurse at the registration desk is talking to someone with her back to me. I move to the opposite wall and stand next to the door that has been opening and closing since I’ve been sitting here. I wait for my move, and as soon as the door opens and someone walks through, I slip into the back. With my head down, I walk down the hall, and when I find an elevator, I push the up button. It opens almost immediately, and I push the button for the eighth floor. When the doors open, I step out and look up and down the hall. I see one of the trainers down the hall talking to a doctor, and I tip-toe closer, looking at the room numbers.
I stop outside room 814, and then as quietly as possible, I push open the door. The room is dim, and I see Guy, but he’s not alone.
Guy is lying completely still with his eyes closed, and a woman is standing next to the bed.
I walk closer. A machine is beeping in the corner, and I stop when the woman moves. She lifts one finger to her mouth as if she’s telling me to be quiet, and it hits me, she’s not a nurse. She picks up Guy’s hand that she is holding and brings it to her mouth. I’m stunned when she kisses his knuckles and then gently lays his hand down on his stomach.
She comes around the bed and stands between Guy and me. “Can I help you?”
It’s then I realize that I’ve seen this woman before. When I searched Guy online, this is the model that he was seeing before me. It’s like a gallery of pictures go through my head. The two of them at a charity benefit. Walking out of a hotel. Sunbathing by the pool. My chest tightens. Why is she here?
I look past her to Guy, and he still hasn’t moved. “Is he going to be okay?” I ask.
She looks me and up and down, and she doesn’t even try to hide the disgust on her face. “Who are you?”
I ignore the question and ask her again, “Is he going to be okay?”