7. Abigail
Jason was my first client this morning and after what happened last time, I made sure that I wasn’t late again. He was not there when I got there, and he wasn’t there before Dana either. That threw me off because he was so on time and consistent. I felt like something was wrong, but I wasn’t sure what. Maybe he was just running behind. I didn’t know. Whatever it was, I just wanted to see him and when he didn’t come as he usually did, I started to worry.
“Why don’t you call him?” Dana suggested.
“Call him?”
“Yeah, his number is on file. I asked him out the other day and he said to get his number from the file, and we could go out. I hadn’t added it to my phone yet, but I know where we can get it.”
I liked the sound of that, but not the fact that he had given his number to Dana. He must have known what was going to happen, so he must have wanted it to happen. That bothered me. Honestly, I couldn’t think straight. I hated the idea of the two of them turning into anything. I wanted to think of Jason as mine, even though I knew I had no right to. It was complicated, that’s what it was.
“Are you guys going to go out?” I wondered aloud. She said that they were, but I didn’t want to believe that. I knew that I should, but I didn’t want to. Dana was gorgeous and got who she wanted. She also had the confidence to back it up because she always got her way. I couldn’t blame her for it. I didn’t, but it didn’t mean that I wasn’t jealous of her either. I wanted to be her, to not be bogged down by the past that kept me struggling to breathe.
“Is there something I should know about the two of you, Abigail?”
I looked at her and asked her what she meant. “I don’t know, it just seems like you are asking a lot of questions. I don’t think you have ever been this interested in one of the patients.”
I waved her off and said that she was mistaken. She wasn’t, obviously, but I am glad that I didn’t have to explain it any better. I knew that she wanted me to, but she didn’t push.
“Good, because if you aren’t interested, I am.”
“Then you should go for it. Why don’t you call him and see if he is coming in or not? It’s not like Jason to be late,” I went on. I felt like an idiot talking about any of it, I was caught and there was nothing that I could do about it.
“You think I should?” she asked, still unsure.
“Yeah, let me know what he says.”
Dana promised that she would and then she was gone. I know that I had said she should do it, but, of course, it felt like the worst thing that I could have done. What was I thinking? I didn’t want the two of them to be together. It made me hate a friend that I’d had for a long time. I didn’t like feeling this way about her. It definitely didn’t make me feel any better.
“He says that he is going to have to go back to the doctor and will have to reschedule.”
I wanted more information than what she had gathered, so I got the number from Dana and had to find out myself. I didn’t know what was going on, but I wasn’t going to not know. It was like Dana liked to remind me; I was very much interested in Jason. Maybe I shouldn’t have been, but I was. He was one of my patients, and it wasn’t just to see how he was doing either. I liked him for other reasons, and it was hard for me to face those facts.
Jason answered and I asked him what was going on.
“Who is this?”
I sighed to myself. Why had I thought that he would know me from my voice? Honestly, I think I was a bit upset that he didn’t. Couldn’t he tell who people were that way? He was very good at it. Why hadn’t he remembered me? “Sorry, this is Abigail over at the VA Physical Therapy. You had a session this morning, and my assistant said that you were going to the hospital instead. Did something happen?” I tried not to sound nosy, but, of course, I failed miserably, and I wished that I could take it back.
“Oh, I thought you sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place you. My head isn’t in the right spot right now. There was an incident last night. I am in the hospital now, and will be out in a few days, so I can’t make it. I told Dana that I would reschedule when I am feeling a bit better, okay?”
My alarm bells went off in my head. “Incident?” I was prying, I knew it and still didn’t care. I had to know what happened. Whether I was supposed to care or not didn’t really matter. I did, period. What I didn’t really understand was what happened, and I wanted some answers, whether I was supposed to want to know them or not.
There was hesitation on his side and then he said something about a man breaking into his house and attacking him after he dropped him off for a ride. Luckily, he had a friend that was able to stop the guy and stop the attack. I asked how bad it was and he didn’t want to say. That meant that I didn’t know how much to worry, which was problematic, because it made it easier to worry about everything in a crazy way. That was exactly what I did. I told him that I wanted to see him, and he was embarrassed.
“I am fine, really.”
“I want to make sure you’re okay,” I continued. Jason just said no and said that I couldn’t.
“I don’t want you to come over here. I am fine. Really.”
I was torn because while he might be all right, I wasn’t. I wouldn’t be alright until I saw with my own two eyes that he was okay. I told Dana I would be back in thirty minutes because the hospital was close. She said that she would let the next client know if I wasn’t back in time, but I figured I would be. I wouldn’t be able to be gone long, but I thanked her. She didn’t ask me if I was going to see Jason. I know that she wondered, but I was glad that she didn’t say anything one way or another.
I gotto the hospital ten minutes later and even though I had to park in the garage, I was able to get in there and find him quickly after that. I was all worked up, thinking about what was going to happen next. As much as I liked to believe it all, I knew that I didn’t belong here. Jason wasn’t mine; he was just a guy that I was trying to help. I hoped it wasn’t too strange that I was out here. He heard me at the door and turned. I hadn’t said anything, but he knew it was me. I wanted to ask him why he knew it was me, but he was gentlemanly enough to not mention it.
“You really did come.”
I assured him that I was just there to make sure he was okay. He didn’t look okay. He looked like he had been beaten up. I had to go to the ceremony that evening, and I was looking forward to it, however now I wanted to stay behind and make sure that Jason was okay.
“Of course, I did. How are you feeling?” I walked toward the bed and stopped when I got close enough to see that his chest was bare. His very well-made chest.
“I’m fine. I just am dizzy, and my sight is worse, so they are making sure I didn’t shake anything loose.”
He said it with humor, but silly me, I didn’t find it funny at all. I didn’t know what was going on with him, but thinking about him being hurt was hard. It was no joking matter to me. “How did your year thing go?”
I was surprised he remembered. “It’s tonight, but I don’t know if I am going to go. It will be hard to go alone,” I admitted. I didn’t know why I said it, but when he offered to go with me, I considered that was what I was going for the whole time.
“You’re in a hospital bed.”
He sighed. “You’re right. And I likely wouldn’t be that great of a date. I didn’t mean to say such a thing. I got ahead of myself.”
I told him that he didn’t have to worry about it and that I would love for him to come with me. I didn’t know how he felt about it all, but I wasn’t the only one that was ready for him to get out of the bed. I really didn’t like to see him in it.
“If my doctor clears me, Abigail, I would love to go with you.”
I agreed that it would be fun and the next thing I knew, he’d already paid and was ready to leave right then. I had to slow him down, but it wouldn’t be long at all before he met me at the office after it closed and went to the ceremony with me. I didn’t know what I was thinking bringing him, but man it felt good to have someone there for some support. Tonight was going to be a big night.