Page 27 of House of Scarlett
“Street race. For pinks. I assume you’re well aware that’s a thing.”
She’s right, butsheshouldn’t know it’s a thing. “Are you fucking kidding me? You’re going to leave your sister after surgery for a walk on the wild side? You’re not fucking going.”
It’s the wrong thing to say, because Flynn pokers up. “One, you don’t get to have an opinion on my life. Two, I’ve been racing since high school. This is how I’ve paid for college. I might be a trust-fund kid, but not all of us get to cash in on that shit when we want. And just so you know, I’m damn good at it.”
Not even sure what to say, I mumble, “Jesus Christ, save me from rich girls with no fear.”
“Whatever. If you don’t want her to wake up alone, then I’ll have Kelsey or Amy come back. I just didn’t think that was fair since they both have to work tomorrow morning.”
“I’ll come and sit with her. What time?”
“I need to leave by eleven. The race starts at midnight.”
“I’ll see you then. Don’t fucking leave before I get here.”
“Don’t be late.”
“Not for her.”
Flynn smiles. “You just might prove all of us wrong, Legend. Your odds are improving by the second. You’re still the underdog, but we’ll see how you do.” She winks at me, and I take that as my cue to get the fuck out of this hospital.
But as soon as I leave, I’m counting the minutes until I get to come back.
Fifteen
Scarlett
The door closesbehind Flynn and Gabriel, and the nurse, whose name tag readsjoanna, has no idea that I’m silently freaking out for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with what’s happening with me, and everything to do with the man who just left my hospital room. While she busies herself with checking my vital signs and entering them in my chart, I eyeball Kelsey and wait for her to explain how he ended up here. In my hospital room.
Thankfully, she doesn’t take too long.
“It was all Flynn. She told him. He was here before I was. I had no idea, Scar. Seriously. I could kill that kid right now.”
I give her a shaky wave. “No need. I just ... it was a surprise, you know? I mean, who expects to come out of surgery and find the guy who kicked her out waiting to see how she’s doing? Why wouldn’t he be here, right?”
Amy comes toward me and smooths out the blanket over my feet. A corner of Gabriel’s black T-shirt sticks out. She tugs it free and holds it up. “You want me to give him his shirt back before he goes?”
She takes one step toward the door before I struggle to lean up, but manage to quickly snatch it out of her hands.
“No, thank you. I’ll keep that.” I lie back on the bed, the black ball of fabric clenched in my fingers, and my entire body protests my sudden movement. “Damn, that didn’t feel good.”
Joanna whips around to check on me. “No jumping around, men’s clothes at stake or not. You need to take it easy. It might’ve been laparoscopic, but your body has been through a lot, Ms. Priest. No sudden movements would be the smart choice.”
The waves of pain relent as I lie still on my stack of pillows. “I’ll remember that.”
She rattles off more instructions and gives me a rundown about how the night will go in the hospital—sleep as much as I can, when I can, because they’ll be checking on me regularly, and it’s going to make resting more difficult than normal. She also removes my heart rate monitor, muttering under her breath that they could have removed it in recovery and been just fine.
That would have been great to know when I was setting it off and leaving no one in any question about how I felt when I saw Gabriel.
Finally, she mentions that the food leaves something to be desired, and I should have my friends and family bring alternative meals to save me from the hospital kitchen.
“Thank you for the warning,” I say as one word of that sentence brings back a harsh reminder.
Family.As in, the only blood relative I have left can’t even bother to show his face.Thanks, Dad. Good to know you’re not concerned about your daughter, even when she has emergency surgery.Thank God for Flynn, Kelsey, and Amy.
Friends are the family you choose for yourself. I’m lucky I have the amazing people in my life that I do, and I’m thankful my relationship with Flynn is growing stronger than it was when we were stepsiblings. We’re more family now than ever.
Joanna finishes her tasks and then reminds Amy and Kelsey that only one person can stay.
