Chapter 23
He tapped lightly on the door and peered inside.
“Justin,” she smiled and closed her eyes.
“Jen,” he said softly. “How are you feeling?”
“Pretty @#%$,” she groaned.
He pulled up a chair and sat next to her. He was a bit uneasy seeing her in that condition. Not only that, he didn’t have a good history of being in hospitals. He was extremely squeamish and even the atmosphere shook him up. He had fainted numerous times while visiting people in such a facility. He sucked in a deep breath and scooped her hand into his. “I love you.” He stroked her hand with his thumb.
“I love you too,” she whispered, squeezing his hand slightly. She was glad to have him there.
He lifted her hand and kissed it. “You tired?”
She nodded slightly. “Don’t get much sleep. They have to keep waking me up to check on me.”
He nodded, closing his eyes. He was beginning to feel light headed. He bowed his head and breathed in deeply through his nose.
“You okay, babe?” she asked.
“Fine,” he said, opening his eyes and smiling in reassurance.
“Hey, I’m pretty tired, I’m going to try to get some sleep.”
Justin nodded and stood up, scooting the chair back to the spot in which he found it. “I love you. Feel better.” He carefully kissed her forehead. She smiled and closed her eyes.
He stumbled into the waiting room, and his mother looked up from her William Stuart Long novel alarmed.
“Are you okay, Justin?” She placed the book down and stood up in concern. “Do you feel like you’re going to pass out?” She took him by the arm and led him to a chair.
He rested his elbows on his knees and planted his face in his hands. “No,” he said, his voice muffled by his hands. He looked up. “I’m fine. Jen’s fine, too. She’s taking a little nap.”
“That’s good. I’m sure she needs it. It’s been a long day for her.”
He pulled on a pair of worn jeans and a v-neck cotton tee. After massaging a glob of gel into his wet hair, he grabbed his keys and was out the door.
At the hospital, he crossed paths with Jen’s mother who was just on her way out. “Justin, it’s good to see you! Jen’s been doing great and wanting your company for the past few hours. She’ll be thrilled to see you.” He grinned and tapped on her door.
Her eyes immediately lit up. “Justin, you’re here!”
“Yeah… I should have come earlier. I overslept.”
She giggled. “I’ll say. It’s two o’clock in the afternoon.”
He blushed. “I’ve missed you so much. You look so great. Finally got that thing off your nose.”
“Yep, they just took it off this morning. The bruises are almost gone, too.” She fingered the tender spot below her eye.
“Ohh,” he said, rubbing the bruise with gentle fingers. “So they are.” He pulled up the familiar chair and sat down next to her bed.
“So they said I’ll be getting out of here in a week. They’re weakening the pain medicine and as soon as it’s low enough that I give myself the dosages, I’ll be out of here. The only thing I’m not looking forward to are the crutches. Talk about pain in the ***.”
He let out a light chuckle.
“And if I ripped my stitches, that would suck, too.”
He sucked in his bottom lip.
“This morning, when I woke up, the doctor changed the gauze on my stitches and they were covered in pus and blood. That’s normal, though, she said. It means my body is fighting infection.” She shrugged. “Hey, Jus, you okay? You look… pale.”
“Mmm.” He sat a moment longer before standing up on wobbly legs. He needed to leave. But immediately after he stood, his eyes rolled back and he began to tip backwards and his legs collapsed beneath him.
“Justin!” Jen sat straight up in her bed and looked at him positioned on the floor with limbs spread about randomly. She pressed the ‘nurse help’ button repeatedly, which lead two nurses to the room. Jen’s jaw hung in disbelief and she pointed to the floor where Justin lay. “I didn’t mean to,” she said. “He’s squeamish but I didn’t know that was going to upset him.” She watched as they kneeled on the floor and tapped his pasty cheeks to bring him back.
“Justin,” they coaxed. “Wake up, hun.” He stirred and opened his eyes to blurry faces hovering over him. He was confused for a moment, and it took him another to recall what had happened. He pulled himself up to lean on his elbows.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, bending one knee to stand up.
“Take it easy, Justin,” one of the nurses said, holding out her hand to help him stand. “I understand you’re sensitive to this kind of stuff. I don’t think Jen recognized to what extent.”
He took her hand and stood up, blushing. “Sorry, Jen,” he said sheepishly.
“You scared me half to death,” she laughed.
“You scared me with your little bloody gauze spiel.” He turned to the nurses. “Thank you,” he said. “I’m sorry that happened.”
“Don’t be silly,” they laughed, “There’s nothing to be sorry about.” And left the room.
Number of reviews: 0
Print:
Chapter or Story