Five | Cassidy
Five
Cassidy
“C an you go somewhere else?” I practically snarled, hating that the nurse in the ER had allowed Sean to come back with me. There were long curtains that separated each of the beds, but he was sitting in the chair right beside me. If I had enough strength left in me, I’d find a way to make it where he was in one of the other beds instead.
“Sorry. No can do. The nurse said for me to sit here, so that’s what I’m doing.”
“She didn’t say you have to sit there. She said you could . There’s a big difference.”
“Yeah, and I took her invite.”
“But now I’m uninviting you.”
Before we could continue with our bickering, the curtain pulled back, and an older man with wiry gray hair appeared wearing a white coat and a stethoscope around his neck. I had already been taken back for X-rays and was told they would give me medicine for the pain as soon as the doctor okayed it.
“Good news is there aren’t any breaks or fractures,” the doctor said, pushing his glasses up his nose. “The bad news is that you’ll likely have some pain and swelling for a few days, so you’ll need to take it easy and ice the area often to reduce the swelling.”
A nurse came in and stood beside me as she handed me a pill and a cup of water.
“It’s Percocet,” she explained quietly as the doctor waited.
I popped it in my mouth and swallowed, thankful to finally have something to help with the pain.
“Do you need a note to excuse you from work?” the doctor asked, pulling out his pen and reaching into his coat pocket.
“No, that’s okay. Thank you.” I forced a smile but didn’t bother to tell him that I would be returning to work tomorrow. If anything, I could ask Bruce to let me work the front registers so I would have minimal walking to do. I needed the hours and wasn’t willing to sacrifice them just because my butt hurt.
“Alright, well, you’re all set to go. Rest, ice, and pain medication as needed. If it doesn’t start to feel better in a few days, be sure to get in with your doctor.” He handed Sean the discharge papers.
“Thank you. I will.”
I waited until he left before attempting to get off of the bed.
“Here, let me help you,” Sean offered, holding his hand out.
“I don’t need your help.” I swatted him away, refusing to take his hand as I got down and made sure I was steady before attempting to leave. He had been my ride to the hospital, but I had no problem calling someone to come pick me up. “Thank you for bringing me, but your work here is now done.”
I went to reach for my phone that was sitting on the table and my eyes widened with disbelief as he grabbed it and shoved it in his pocket before I could.
“What the hell are you doing? Give me my phone.” I held my hand out and glared at him as I waited.
“No.”
“Are we back on that again?” I muttered, tilting my head to the side.
“Yes. I’m not giving you your phone until I have you safely in my car and take you home. You can fight me all you want, but if you remember correctly, I always win.”
“I don’t want you to take me home. I want you to leave me alone and go away.”
“No can do, Cass.”
His eyes locked with mine as he held my gaze, a feeling deep inside running through me at the memories.
“Can you please stop being such an ass about this? Just give me my phone so I can call someone to come pick me up. Like I’ve said, you’ve done your part by getting me here, so now you can leave and be on your merry way.” I waved my hand to shoo him away.
“Nope. I don’t think so. I’m taking you home, one way or another, Cassidy. No matter how much you try to fight me on it.”
I tried my best to suppress the growl that started to rise in my throat from my annoyance with him. If he was going to insist on taking care of me, I was going to go out of my way to make it as much of a hassle for him as possible. Maybe if I showed him just how much of a pain in the ass I could be, he would stop and leave me alone.
“Fine,” I said with a heavy sigh. “Let’s go.”
I tried to lead the way, but his hand on my elbow as he guided me out of the hospital only further irritated me. It wasn’t just because of how he was acting—like he had some sort of say in anything regarding me or that he thought he was in control. It was more so because of the stupid tingle I felt down my spine from his touch.
By the time I got situated in his back seat, I was thankful for the strong pain reliever they had given me because sitting on my butt hurt. I tried to lean to the side and take as much pressure off of it as possible, but it wasn’t helping.
“Do you want to give me your address, or should I just drive around town asking people if they know where you live?” Sean asked, meeting my eyes in the rearview mirror.
“I have some stops I need to make on the way,” I grunted, frustrated with not being able to get comfortable.
“Okay. Where to first?”
His lack of being frustrated about me asking him to take me places really got on my nerves. If anything, he almost seemed excited to spend time with me and didn’t care that I was asking him to chauffeur me. Not to worry, I would quickly change that and make him regret wanting to do the nice thing.
“Coffee.”
“Is Sugarplum Lattes okay?”
I nodded, slowly pushing a breath out through my mouth as I tried not to cry out in pain. I could feel Sean watching me as he put the car in drive and slowly made his way into traffic.
Once we got to the strip mall where Sugarplum Lattes was located, I unbuckled my seatbelt and reached for the handle.
“What are you doing?” he asked, turning around in the driver’s seat with a frown on his face as he looked at me.
“I’m getting out so I can go get coffee,” I replied sarcastically. “The drive-through doesn’t work unless you actually drive through it, and since you parked, that means I need to go inside.”
My head started to feel funny as my body suddenly felt lighter. I knew I was no match for the Percocet they gave me, but it was too late now. It was about to reach its peak, and I would be in for a wild ride.
“Fine. I’ll go through the drive-through.”
“But I also want some fudge, so I’m going to Sugarplum Sweets too.” My voice softened as a rush of euphoria washed over me.
I could see the tightness in his jaw as he clenched it. My evil plan was working and I was getting under his skin just like he had been getting under mine. I hated that I probably wouldn’t be awake long enough to actually enjoy it.
“I really don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be out walking in this.” His hands gripped the steering wheel tighter as if he were struggling to stay in control. “The snow is still coming down, and we already know everything is covered in ice. You could slip and fall again, and this time, you might not be so lucky not to break anything.”
“I’ll be fine. And I’d just like to remind you that you were the one who insisted on taking me to run my errands.” I twisted my finger in the air playfully.
“Alright, but when you’re in more pain later from overdoing it, I don’t want to hear it.”
“Yeah, well, thankfully, by then, I’ll be at home, warm and away from you, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
Before I could finish my sentence, he had gotten out of the car and slammed his door before coming around to open mine.