“You’re going to be fine, Miss Canton. Now, I’m going to tell that young man of yours he can come back inside. He’s probably pitching holy hell out there.”
That sounds like him. He’s a bulldog when it comes to me.
The other two doctors assure me they’ll check on me a little later after I’ve had new scans. Cora smiles and comes over to check my bandages.
I look down at the mess on my stomach when she pulls the gown aside. I’m one big bruise.
“There are several incisions that I need to change the dressing for,” she explains as she starts pulling tape and removing the bandages. “It might hurt, so I’m sorry for that, but we can’t let it get infected. Hutch would kill me.”
I look up at his name and frown. They called him my fiancé earlier. He is not my fiancé. I think I would remember that.
“That boy has not left your side since you’ve been here,” Cora goes on. “He’s stunk up the room to the point a few nurses started to complain. That’s when I had Collin get him a change of clothes and made him shower. His clothes were bloody and that odor is not great.” She starts cleaning the wounds and the stingis enough to make me gasp. “Sorry. Just so you know, we had him shower earlier. You did not need to wake up to BO.”
I frown and try to reach for her, but the pain is swift and severe.
“What is it honey?” she asks, concerned.
“H..h..o.cc…key.”
“Are you worried about him not showing up?”
I nod.
“Don’t worry about that. The Raptors are a family. They’ll take care of Hutch while he takes care of you. All you need to worry about right now is getting better.”
There is something else I’m worried about, but before I can ask, Hutch, Collin, and Robbie all barrel back in the room. Hutch’s eyes seek mine and there’s relief there, like he was afraid something would happen while he was out of the room.
“Well, you finally went and did it,” Robbie says. “You’ve been threatening for years to put me on mute and you found a way to do it.”
Not funny.
“Too soon?” he asks.
I nod, but this time, there’s pain. Not a lot, just a twinge. The meds are wearing off. I had serious brain surgery with a severe concussion. I haven’t really felt the extent of my injuries yet, but everything is starting to hurt. Yeah, those pain meds are probably the way to go even if they terrify me.
“We’re going to need to take her for a scan in a few minutes,” Cora says.
“I need to get back to the hotel for a bit.” Robbie leans down and kisses my forehead. “I’ll be back in a while. I’d bring you back actual food, but the doc says your throat is fucked and I don’t want to cause you any more pain than necessary. It’s good to see you awake. We’ll catch up when I get back. Love you, Sis.”
When did Robbie get here? He’s not supposed to be here until Christmas.
“Red, don’t be doing that to me again. That brother might be able to handle it, but this brother can’t.” Collin sighs wearily. “You scared the shit out of me.”
Brother?
“We told the hospital he was your adopted brother so they wouldn’t kick him out,” Hutch explains. “And I’m your fiancé. It’s the only thing I could think of so you wouldn’t be here alone.”
That explains the fiancé comment from the doctor earlier.
“I’m going to leave you guys alone for a while and go find food. I’ll let Jenny and Christa know she’s awake, but they want her to rest before she’s bombarded with visitors.”
“Tell them to come back tomorrow and that I appreciate them constantly being here.”
Collin nods and kisses my forehead like Robbie did. “I’ll be back in a bit, Red. Don’t die on me.”
He said it half-jokingly, but there is a fear in his eyes when he says it that screams how serious he really is.
When he’s gone, it’s just me and Hutch. He looks terrified.
