Chapter 46
Matt
I’d argued with the nurse about the wheelchair and lost. I only conceded because I planned on ditching it as soon as she left me alone.
Much to my chagrin, my ass stayed glued to the chair once we were in Madi’s room and it had nothing to do with rules or my injuries.
Seeing Madi wrapped like a fucking mummy, with tubes and wires everywhere, paralyzed me.
Thankfully, Jack had volunteered to roll me in because it gave me time to recover my senses as he talked to his sister.
By the time her family left us alone, I’d put my fears to rest. My only concern was the present and focusing on what mattered most.
Madi.
Neither of us could talk for shit, but we’d communicated just fine when we confessed our love.
When Jay’s patience ran out and he pounded on the door, we swapped places.
I was talking to Jack and Jamie when my nurse asked, “Mr. Robinson, where is your wheelchair?”
Busted. Jamie chuckled. I shrugged.
“I forgot it in Ms. Sheppard’s room.”
“Wait here.”
I did, but only because I still needed to talk to John.
“Did the doctor say how bad Madi’s injuries are?” Her brothers had refused to give me details.
Just like Nathan and Ashley. To be fair, they might not have had any, but I had a feeling they held back, not wanting me to race to her room.
“She needed a lot of stitches for the cuts; the two stab wounds needed internal stitches as well. She’ll have massive scarring, including on her face,” John said, giving me the truth I needed.
Massive scarring.
Madi wasn’t vain, but I didn’t want her to live the rest of her life with scars reminding her of the torture she’d endured every time she looked in the mirror. Or whenever someone stared too long at her face.
How would her patients react? Would the kids unintentionally hurt her when they asked about it in the unfiltered way kids did?
“Could a surgeon could fix that?” I pondered out loud.
“Are you worried about the scars?” John didn’t hide the judgment in his voice.
Nor should he have.
I loved her, no matter how many scars she had. “No.” I explained my thinking in broken, croaked out sentences.
“Good.” He ran his hand through his greying hair. “I'll can talk to her doctor, see what he says.”
“I’ll pay for it.”
He clapped my right shoulder. “You’re a good man, Robinson.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“You won’t have to pay for it alone.”
I didn’t care if magical fucking elves pitched in to help cover the costs; I just didn’t want Madi to be haunted by the memories every time she saw her face.
My arm started to ache, which meant it was time for me to return to my room.
“Mr. Robinson.”
Just in time. The nurse approached with my ride.
“I’m ready.”
“I’ll update you after I talk to the doctor,” John said as I lowered myself into the chair.
“Thanks.” I trusted him to make the necessary arrangements.
Once I was back in bed, the nurse inserted my oxygen tube and re-connected my morphine drip.
The world faded away as soon as it hit my system.