22. Chapter Twenty-Two
chapter twenty-two
. . .
Carter
I was about to climb into bed when my phone buzzed. It was the first night Olivia and I had spent apart in weeks, and I was not happy about it. But she had insisted—something about not wanting me to get sick of her.
Fucking impossible.
OLIVIA
Hi. I'm so sorry, but I probably won't be able to make it to work tomorrow.
CARTER
Is everything okay?
OLIVIA
I'm in the hospital.
Panic erupted in my chest.
CARTER
What hospital? What happened?
I'd spent enough time in hospitals with my mom that I avoided them at all costs. But for Olivia? I'd get over it.
OLIVIA
Riverside. I'll have to reschedule tomorrow afternoon's meeting.
CARTER
Forget about the fucking meeting, Olivia. Are you okay?
OLIVIA
I'm fine.
Fuck . She wouldn't tell me, even if there was something wrong. I grabbed my keys and stormed out of the door in my pajamas.
Google Maps claimed it was a twelve-minute drive, but every red light seemed to last for an eternity. My heart raced as I weaved through late-night traffic, my mind rolling through endless possible scenarios.
And what the hell was that text?
My knuckles were white on the steering wheel as I sped down 315. I kept mentally replaying Olivia’s message, each word a dagger to my heart. Why was she treating me like I was nothing more than her boss? After everything we'd shared, it was a slap in the face.
Had I misread our entire relationship? The thought made my stomach churn. No, that couldn't be it. I'd seen the way she looked at me. We had the kind of chemistry that was impossible to fake. This had to be something else.
Maybe she was trying to protect herself, or me. Hospital visits were never good news, and Olivia had been through enough already. Was she pushing me away to spare me from whatever was happening?
As I pulled into the hospital parking lot, I dialed Wick for the fifteenth time, and for the fifteenth time, it went to voicemail. Lotta help he is.
I rushed through the sliding doors, a wave of memories crashing over me. The sterile smell, the beeping machines, the hushed voices—it all brought back the pain of watching my mother waste away. But this time was different. This time, I wasn't a helpless kid. I was here for Olivia, and I'd be damned if I let her freeze me out.
I approached the front desk, my heart in my mouth. “I'm looking for Olivia Friedman.” I barely got the sentence out around the golf ball sized lump in my throat. The words were thick and heavy on my tongue, as if speaking them aloud somehow made the situation more real.
The nurse behind the desk looked up. Her gaze raked over my rumpled pajamas and wind-tousled hair. She pressed her lips into a thin line, creating a web of fine wrinkles around her mouth. The prickliness radiating from her scratched on my frayed nerves.
“Are you family?” she asked. Her fingers hovered over her keyboard, poised to enter or dismiss me with equal efficiency.
I hesitated, the question catching me off guard. My mind raced, trying to find the right label, the magic word that would grant me access to her.
“No. I'm her...” The pause stretched between us, filled with the ambient beeps and hums of hospital machinery. “I’m her boss,” I finally said, the word tasting bitter.
The nurse's expression hardened, and she arched a skeptical eyebrow. “I'm sorry, sir, but we don't have anyone by that name,” she said, her voice carrying a note of finality. “And I can't release patient information to non-family members.”
Cold dread settled in the pit of my stomach. The fluorescent lights suddenly seemed too bright, the antiseptic smell too strong. Where the hell was Olivia? Had I misread her text? Was she in danger somewhere else while I wasted time here?
“Carter!”
The familiar voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. I whipped around, my body moving before my brain could catch up. Mel strode towards me, her white coat billowing behind her.
“Oh, thank Christ.” Relief flooded through me so fast it made me dizzy. “Someone who actually knows what the fuck they're doing.”
Mel's face was a mix of concern and exasperation as she reached me. She shot me a stern look, the kind that reminded me of all the times she'd pulled me back from the edge of doing something stupid.
“I'll take it from here, Susan,” Mel said to the nurse. “Sorry about him.”
As Mel grabbed my arm and guided me away, I muttered, “Thanks for nothing, Susan.” The words came out more petulant than I intended. In my defense, I was having a rough night.
“Stop it,” Mel hissed, her fingers digging into my bicep as she steered me away from the desk. “She's this way.”
I let Mel lead the way, my feet moving automatically while my mind raced. “What are you doing here?”
“I have privileges here. Olivia told the paramedics I was the only doctor she was seeing right now, so they called me, and I came right over.”
“What happened?”
“She passed out in the grocery store.”
My vision swam, the white walls of the hospital corridor blurring at the edges. “What? Why?” The questions tumbled out of my mouth, laced with growing panic.
Before Mel could answer, shouts erupted from down the hall. The sudden noise was jarring in the relative quiet of the corridor. My head snapped up, eyes darting towards the source of the commotion.
We rounded the final corner before arriving at Olivia's room, and the scene that greeted us cracked my chest wide open. Olivia, her face pale and drawn, sat on the edge of a hospital bed, her fingers gripping the thin mattress so tightly her knuckles had gone white. She looked so small and vulnerable.
A man loomed over her. His face was flushed with anger, and veins stood out on his neck as he gesticulated wildly.
“I have every right to be here. I'm your fucking husband, Liv!” His booming voice bounced off the walls. The raw anger in his tone made my fists clench.
Ethan. Her soon-to-be ex-husband.
Olivia's response came out trembling, each word laced with a cocktail of exhaustion and frustration. “You left me! I haven't heard from you in months .”
Ethan's face contorted, his expression shifting from rage to righteous indignation. “I needed some time and space to think things over. Why aren't you hearing that?” My blood boiled at the condescension in his voice .
Olivia's eyes flashed, a spark of defiance breaking through her fatigue. “Is that so? Or did your girlfriend just finally dump you, so now you're running back to me?”
Ethan recoiled as if he'd been slapped. “What? What girlfriend? You don't know what you're talking about.” His denial rang hollow, the slight quaver in his voice betrayed his guilt.
Mel stepped in. “What's going on here?” Her measured, professional voice cut through the tension like a scalpel.
Ethan's head whipped around, his eyes landing on Mel. Relief washed over his face, his shoulders sagging slightly. “Oh, good. A doctor. Can we get out of here, please? My wife and I just need to get home so she can rest.”
“She's not going anywhere with you.”
Ethan's gaze snapped toward me, his eyes blazing with renewed fury. “Who the fuck are you?”
I watched as Olivia's eyes widened, a mix of surprise and something else—relief?—flashing across her face. “Ethan, please. This is Carter. My... boss.” The hesitation in her voice as she said 'boss' twisted something inside me.
“Well, thanks for your concern, but you really didn't need to come all the way down here. I'll get her home and take good care of her. She'll be back to work on Monday.” His tone dripped with false civility.
“No.”
He blinked. “Excuse me?”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Olivia lean forward. “Carter, please.”
Her plea barely registered, drowned out by the roaring in my ears. I stepped closer to Ethan, the anger inside me a living thing, clawing to get out. The scent of his cologne—too strong, too cheap—filled my nostrils as I invaded his personal space. “I said, 'no.' She will not be going home with you. And she will be back to work when she is healthy and ready .” Each word was a bullet, fired with deadly precision.
Ethan's face twisted into an ugly, enraged mask. “I don't know who the fuck you think you are, but?—”
The rest of his sentence was lost as my fist connected with his face. The impact sent a shock wave up my arm, a satisfying crunch accompanying the collision of knuckle and cartilage.
“Carter!” Mel and Olivia's voices rang out in unison, twin cries of shock and dismay.
I flexed my hand, my knuckles stinging with the sudden impact. The pain was grounding, bringing me back to the present. Shit.
Ethan stumbled back, his hands flying to his face. Blood trickled between his fingers, crimson against his pale skin. His eyes, watering from the pain, fixed on me with an expression of shock and outrage. “You piece of fucking shit! I think you broke my nose!” His words came out muffled and nasal, distorted by his injury. “I'll sue you for this! This is assault! Security!”
His shouts ricocheted off the sterile walls, and the once-quiet corridor erupted into chaos as Ethan scurried off, no doubt in search of someone to slap cuffs on me.
I turned to Olivia. Her face was pale, and her hand clutched at her throat. I reached her in two quick strides.
“Olivia. Are you okay? What happened?”
She blinked, seeming to come back to herself. “I... I don't know. One minute I was shopping, the next I woke up in an ambulance.”
I reached for her hand, hesitating for a moment before taking it in mine. Her skin was icy. “Did they run any tests? Do they know what caused you to pass out?”
She shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. “Not yet. They were about to when Ethan showed up and started yelling. I guess he's still my emergency contact.”
“That asshole,” I muttered. “I'm sorry, I shouldn't have hit him. I just...I couldn't stand seeing him treat you like that.”
She squeezed my hand, a tremulous smile forming on her lips. “It's okay. I think a part of me enjoyed seeing it.”
I chuckled, relief washing over me. She was here, she was talking, she was okay. For now, that was enough.
I sat in the holding cell, my knuckles still stinging from the punch I'd landed on Ethan's face. The air reeked of stale sweat and cheap disinfectant.
The fucker had gotten his way. Despite Mel's protests, security had called the police, and I wound up here. She promised to stay with Olivia, though. That provided some measure of comfort in an otherwise very uncomfortable situation.
I paced the confined space, my shoes sticking to the grimy floor. The cell felt like it was closing in on me, the walls inching closer with each passing minute. I closed my eyes, trying to block out the suffocating reality of my situation. But the acrid smell, and the constant drip of the sink kept pulling me back.
This place was a far cry from the world I was used to. Here, there were no clean lines or carefully considered aesthetics. It was naked, ugly, and uncompromising—a stark reminder of the consequences of losing control.
An officer's voice cut through the hum of fluorescent lights and muffled conversations. He called my last name and informed me I was being released. I was handed a plastic bag containing my confiscated belongings—wallet, keys, and phone. He led me out to the lobby and, as my eyes adjusted to the brighter lights, I was greeted by an unexpected sight: Wick and Emmett wearing matching shit-eating grins.
Emmett had his phone out, snapping pictures of me like I was some prized catch at a fishing tournament. Wick started a slow, sarcastic clap.
“What are you doing here?”
“Liv sent me to retrieve you,” Wick said.
“And I just tagged along because I didn’t want to miss out on this photo op,” Emmett said, his glee evident.
“Shut up, Emmett,” Wick and I said in unison.
Wick's expression turned serious. “What the fuck happened?”
I ran a hand through my hair. “Your brother-in-law is a dick.”
“Yeah, big fucking asshole,” Wick agreed. “How does that result in you being arrested?”
“Well, I sort of punched him.”
Emmett's face fell. “Ugh, and I missed it?”
Wick pressed on, his eyes narrowing. “Why’d you punch him? ”
“I don't fucking know, man! Probably because I'm in love with your sister!”
“Well, duh,” Emmett said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
I blinked, stunned. “I'm sorry?”
Wick rolled his eyes. “He said, 'duh.' Since, you know, we've all known this for weeks. But let me guess, you're just now figuring it out?”
Emmett's grin widened. “Aw, he's so cute and emotionally stunted. Kinda like you used to be, Wick.”
“Fuck off,” Wick and I snapped.
I stood there, floored by their casual acceptance of my outburst. The obnoxious strip lights buzzed overhead, casting harsh shadows across our faces. My brain scrambled to process the implications of what I'd just admitted.
I turned to face Wick head-on. “What do you mean you've all known for weeks?”
Emmett took the liberty of answering for him. “Well see, on the project site, you used to walk around barking orders at everyone. Now you just stand around making heart eyes at Livvy. It's very cute.”
I kept my attention on Wick. “And you're okay with this?”
“Look, Liv's been through hell. If you make her happy, that's all that matters to me.”
“But—”
“Can we please get out of here?” Emmett cut in. “This place smells like despair and bad life choices.”
As we walked out into the cool night air, I swear I sensed the foundations of my world shifting under my feet. Everything was changing so fast. I'd punched a man, spent a night in jail, and confessed my love for Olivia to her brother, of all people—all in the span of a few hours.