7. Baylee
Baylee
Why do hospitals all have the same feel to them? A coldness laced throughout the halls. I sit in the gurney, waiting on my nurse to come back into the makeshift room, and the beeping on my monitor leaves me feeling more alone here than when I woke up in my apartment.
Unfortunately, Tucker had to stay in the waiting area while I was being assessed back here. I don’t know what a difference it would’ve made though because he was a statue after I dropped that bomb about staying with him.
I know, maybe I shouldn’t have sprung it on him like that.
But what was I supposed to do? Wait until we were here and my family was surrounding me?
I mean, that seems like the wrong time. Actually, no one trains you how to react when your ex-boyfriend physically attacks you and your life is completely catapulted into this new dimension. This wasn’t supposed to be my life.
I reacted rashly, but living with Tucker is probably the best course of action.
I can’t live with my parents right now; Myles will find me there.
And there’s no way I’ll stay with Danny.
He’d likely be a nightmare if I stayed with him.
If I thought he was protective before, now he’ll be one hundred times worse.
Plus, Tucker will act like I’m a normal human being at least. He won’t treat me like a delicate piece of porcelain.
I need to live my life as normally as possible.
I want to move to Boston and continue to tackle my life and forge ahead toward my goals. This isn’t going to derail my plans.
As much as I was pining after him, Tucker has no romantic feelings for me, and I’ll just have to put whatever I felt for him aside while we’re sharing a space. I can do this as I adjust at my new school. We’ll be fine together. This will be a good test of wills for me.
“Okay, Ms. Rios, good news.” Dr. Berkett walks around the curtain. “Your X-ray shows no rib fractures, which is always a good sign. You have bruising, which will take a few days to subside.”
I wrap my arms around my middle. “That’s good news.”
“Like we discussed, we’re waiting for someone to come down to take you for a CT scan. The ER is a bit behind tonight, but they should be here soon to take you over.” Dr. Berkett is busy looking through my electronic chart, while the nurse moves through the room grabbing supplies.
“Um, can I have my friend come in from the waiting room?” I ask.
“Yes, I see no problem in that now that we’ve done our assessment that should be fine,” the doctor says.
“Thanks.” I grab my phone to text Tucker.
“Once we have results from the CT, I’ll come by and speak to you. It will most likely be a while.” Dr. Berkett gives me a small smile and heads back out of the room.
I’m scrolling through my phone for a while when I hear a familiar voice behind the curtain.
“Baylee, it’s Tucker. Can I come in?” He sounds so shy right now.
“Yes, I’m decent,” I call out.
He moves the curtain open and soon his hulking frame is taking over the opening in front of me. It’s amazing how large Tucker Malloy truly is. No matter where he is, he turns heads. Even here, I can see the nurses at the station looking over at him. It doesn’t hurt that he’s easy on the eyes.
With that ginger hair, he has a sexy Viking way about him.
He’s got a thick neck, with muscles trailing down his shoulders and arms. Years of firefighting, carrying gear and heavy equipment up flights of stairs, have only added to the beauty that is Tucker Malloy.
I better be careful or I’ll start drooling.
If I look past him, I bet the nurses are doing just that.
I better get ahold of myself because if I’m not careful, I’ll be where I was months ago, falling right back into my crush on him.
No. I’m turning over a new leaf. This is about focusing on my career goals and finishing out my degree.
I’m getting my shit done so I can move forward.
I’m saying fuck Myles and all the shit he put me through, not just tonight, but throughout our relationship.
“You doing okay?” He looks up at me. The worry etched in his eyes is so genuine it’s almost like I could misconstrue it for love.
“No broken ribs. I’m waiting for a CT scan right now,” I say.
“Alright.” He brings his lips to a tight line, like he’s holding back from saying more. “Listen, about what you said earlier. Are you sure staying with me is best, Bay?”
“Yes. I accepted a transfer to Orange University. I would stay with my parents, but I don’t want Myles looking for me there now,” I explain.
“And your brother?” he says.
“In a one-bedroom apartment? No thanks,” I throw back.
“Understandable.” He chuckles.
“Plus, I do not need that kind of big brother protection breathing down my neck. But if you don’t want me around, I’ll find another way. There’s no university housing available, but I can try and find some other place to stay last minute,” I explain .
“No, it’s fine,” he says, scratching the back of his head, looking around the small room. “I have an extra room with a bed. It’s okay. We’ll make it work. I’ll just have to figure out what to say to your brother.”
“Why would Danny give a shi—” I’m about to inquire about my brother’s objection when I hear commotion in the hall and then the curtain swings open to my parents’ and brother’s gasps greeting me.
“Oh, my sweet girl!” My mom comes toward me, tears in her eyes.
I gave Tucker permission to let them know I was in the hospital once we got to the waiting room.
I guess they started their drive the moment they heard.
My mom and dad come running toward me, while my brother stays back, his face hard as stone.
He looks over at Tucker and they exchange a look I can’t decipher.
What is that about?
It’s just my parents and Tucker in the cramped space, but I’m feeling suffocated.
My mom pulls away and looks me in the eyes. “What happened? Tell me who did this to you?”
That’s another thing… I didn’t let Tucker tell them who did this to me until they arrived. I didn’t want them to have all the information until they got here just in case they overreacted. Which, apparently, they would have.
The emotional roller coaster is hard to contain and the tears begin to well up. I blink, trying to keep them from falling from my eyes, but I fail miserably.
“Myles,” is all I choke out and my mom gasps.
“I’ll kill him,” my dad seethes.
“Mr. Rios,” Tucker puts his hand on his shoulder, “we spoke to the police and they’re handling it right now. Let them do their job. Let’s focus on Baylee please, try not to stress her out more. ”
“Why? Why would he do this to you, sweetie?” My mom has tears coming down her face now.
“I broke up with him and he just lost his mind,” I explain.
“Don’t worry, we’ll get you all fixed up. Then back to Boston and home. Okay, Baylee?” My mom looks at me like she’ll make it all better.
“Mom, it’s okay. I have a plan. I’m, um, not going to stay at home anymore,” I tell her. I look down and fiddle with a string that’s come loose on the blanket in my lap.
“What do you mean?” my mom says.
My brother chimes in at the same time, “What are you guys talking about?”
“I forgot to tell you, Danny.” I look over my mom’s shoulder and up at my brother. “I’m transferring to Orange University in Boston. It happened last week. That was sort of part of the reason I was breaking up with Myles. And, well, yeah, then this happened.” I shrug.
I look back at my mom. “But I’m not going to stay at home anymore. I’m going to, um”—my eyes swing over to Tucker then back at my parents, bouncing between them—“to stay with Tucker for a little while. I think it’s best until things settle down a bit.”
My parents look at one another but stay silent.
I look over to Danny and he’s just taking it all in. His eyes bounce around from person to person, arms crossed at his chest. Why does he look to be fuming at Tucker right now of all people? Doesn’t he understand I was just attacked and I need to stay somewhere that Myles won’t look for me?
“Malloy, can I talk to you right now ?” My brother doesn’t wait for a response and stalks out of the room.
Tucker looks over at me and quickly follows Danny out without a word. What am I missing here?
“Why does Danny look so upset at Tucker?” I ask my parents.
“He’s just upset you’re hurt. We were all so worried about you when we got Malloy’s call,” my mom says, pushing my hair aside, inspecting my head as if she’s going to find something the doctor and nurses may have missed.
“Mom, I promise I’m fine,” I assure her, although I know deep down I’m more shaken up than I’m letting on.
What Myles did to me is anything but fine, although I can’t let my parents know how deep this goes for me.
Myles has been chipping at my psyche little by little for months, but what he did to me tonight has stripped me to my core.
And if I sit too long with my thoughts, I don’t know how I’ll break down.
The curtain opens and a gentleman emerges with a soft smile.
“Ms. Rios, I’m Jackson. I’m taking you to your CT scan. Can you tell me your full name and your date of birth before we head out?”
Jackson walks up to the computer in the room and scans his badge to log in. I assume he’s looking at my chart.
“Hi, um, yes.” I pull my sheet over my legs tighter. “Baylee Rios, date of birth November twenty-sixth, two-thousand-three.”
“Great. Okay, I’ll wheel you over and your family can wait for you here and we’ll be right back.” He unlocks the gurney while addressing my parents. My mom nods at Jackson and my dad squeezes my hand.
“We’ll wait for you right here. Don’t you worry, we aren’t going anywhere sweetie,” my mom reassures me.
“Love you, Baylee.” My dad kisses my head.
“Love you.” My mom kisses my hand.
I swallow down the lump forming in my throat. The emotional roller coaster that tonight has been for me is new and I try to let go a little of the tension I’m holding in my shoulders as I’m moved through the little room.
As Jackson opens the curtain all the way, I see my brother and Tucker in a heated argument, hushed voices exchanged between the two of them, and I can’t help how my brows furrow at the interaction.
The minute my brother sees me coming by, he halts all conversation and looks over.
Tucker looks over too, irritation evident in his demeanor and it takes everything in me to not tell Jackson to stop moving so I can ask what in the world is going on between them.
Why in the world are they arguing right now?
What could provoke a fight between these best friends right now of all times?