Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
Grace
I went up to the rooftop and grabbed a cup of coffee.
The look on Jamieson’s face when I spoke about his mother was the same look that night he knocked over the glass, and I cut my arm.
It frightened me. I now understood why he was so angry and would never talk about her.
She was schizophrenic. But it didn’t give him the right to go on the rampages he did.
The last straw was how he screamed at me to get out of the room.
He was hot and cold, and when he was cold, it was unbearable.
I had never had anyone treat me the way he did.
One minute, he was kind, caring, and almost human.
The next, he was rude, arrogant, and a bastard.
Sam may have lied to me in the worst way possible, but he only once raised his voice to me. The night I found out he was married.
“There you are,” Renata spoke as she walked up behind me. “I heard about Jamieson’s mother, and I also heard about how he screamed at everyone down there, including you.”
“Did you know about her?” I asked.
“I did. Jamieson confided in me when he approached me about the grant for the research he wanted to do. I had never met her, though. I don’t think he’s seen her in a few years.”
“It doesn’t give him the right to treat people the way he does,” I spoke.
“I know.” She sighed. “I’m sorry you got involved with him, Grace. I did warn you, though.”
“You sure did.”
“Anyway, his mother has been admitted to the psychiatric ward until we can get her meds regulated,” she spoke.
“So, it’s safe to go back down to the ER?”
“It’s safe. You still have to go home to him tonight.”
“I’m not going home. I’m staying here tonight. He needs his space and I’m sure I’m the last person he wants to see.”
She placed her hand on my shoulder.
“You just may be the only person he wants and needs to see.”
Jamieson
After checking on my mom, I went home for the evening.
I pulled into the driveway and let out a deep breath when I saw that Grace’s car wasn’t there.
I didn’t want to deal with her tonight, and I didn’t want to talk about anything.
I went inside, poured myself a scotch, grabbed my laptop, and sat on the couch.
My mother went off her meds, and who the hell knew where she’d been the last five years.
But this was nothing new. She’d been doing this shit since I was eight years old.
A few hours had passed, and Grace still wasn’t home.
I turned everything off and headed upstairs to bed.
I woke up around three a.m. Climbing out of bed, I went to the kitchen for a water bottle.
On my way back up, I stopped outside her room and slowly opened her door.
Her bed was empty and still perfectly made. I sighed and went back to bed.
The next morning, shortly after arriving at the hospital, I was paged to the ER for a consult.
“Let’s get her upstairs for a head CT,” I spoke.
After leaving the patient’s room, I walked over to the nurses’ station, and Grace was standing there.
“You didn’t come home last night,” I spoke.
“I was tied up in surgery and didn’t want to drive home that late.”
“I see. So, you slept in the on-call room?”
“Yeah, I did.” She looked at me and walked away.
I glanced at Jackie, who was staring at me with her lips pressed together.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing.” She arched her brow.
I went up to my mother’s room and found she was awake. Her meds were kicking in, and she seemed to be in a normal state.
“Hi, Mom.” I smiled as I walked inside and grabbed hold of her hand.
“Jamie. My sweet boy. Thank you for coming to visit me.”
“How long have you been off your meds?” I asked.
“I don’t know. It’s been a long time. I couldn’t afford them anymore.”
“Mom, why didn’t you call me or come back? I would have helped you.”
“I’ve been such a burden to you since you were a little boy.” She placed her hand on my cheek. “You have a beautiful life, and you don’t need me screwing it up. Tell me what’s been going on. Is there a woman in your life?”
“No.”
There was no way in hell I was telling her about Grace and what happened.
“Why not? You’re such a handsome and successful young man.”
“My work is my number one priority, Mom. It always has been.”
“Jamie, don’t do that. How about that young doctor who was with me yesterday?”
“Who?” I asked, knowing she was talking about Grace.
“She was blonde, very pretty, and so kind. I can’t remember her name.”
“Dr. Harper?” I asked.
“Possibly. I was hoping you could find her and ask her to come see me.”
“She’s a trauma surgeon, Mom.”
“I still would like to see her. Please, Jamie.”
“I’ll see if she’s available. In the meantime, I’m going to order a head CT.”
“Why?”
“I just want to make sure everything’s okay.”
“You already know I’m not okay.” She lightly smiled.
“I’m ordering it anyway. I’m going to find a cure for you,” I spoke as I squeezed her hand.
“I know you will, Jamie. You’re so highly intelligent. Use some of that intelligence to find someone to love and share your life with. All I want is for you to be happy.”
“I am happy, Mom. Especially now that you’re back.”
My pager went off, and I was needed for a consult.
“I have to go. I’m needed in the ER.”
I kissed her forehead and then walked out.
“You paged me?” I asked Grace as I walked into the room.
“Twenty-one-year-old male with a gunshot wound to the right upper quadrant and no reflexes,” she spoke as she was in the middle of doing an ultrasound.
“The bullet must have penetrated his spinal cord,” I spoke.
“I need to get him up to the O.R. for a laparotomy. His abdomen is filling with blood,” Grace spoke.
“I’m scrubbing in.”
“Is that really necessary?” she asked.
“I just told you that the bullet may have penetrated his spine. So yes, it is necessary. Are you making this personal, Dr. Harper?” I spoke in a harsh tone.
“No. And how dare you insinuate that.” She cocked her head.
“Let’s get him up to the O.R. then.”
Grace and I entered the scrub room and began scrubbing in.
“My mother wanted me to tell you that she would like for you to come see her,” I spoke.
“Why?”
“I don’t know. She said you were nice to her, so she probably wants to thank you or something.”
“Did you tell her about us?”
“There is no us, and, no, I didn’t. I expect you to do the same,” I spoke deadpan.
“Trust me. You don’t have to worry about that.”
She walked into the O.R. first, and I followed.
“Dr. Harper, I need to get to his spine immediately, or he may never walk again.”
“If I don’t find out where this bleed is coming from, you won’t have to worry about it because he’ll bleed out and die. I’m doing the best I can, Dr. Finn.”
I didn’t like her attitude, and I didn’t need it. Grace stopped the bleeding, and I was able to remove the bullet that was lodged in his spine. We both scrubbed out and didn’t say a word to each other.