Page 100 of Perfect Distraction
Indignation flared alongside his earlier anger, which hadn’t faded. “It takes two to do what we’ve been doing, you know,” he pointed out. “And if you’re so good at handling things on your own, why would you ever work for your dad? If you hate the idea so much, and know you won’t be happy, why would you allow yourself to be manipulated into going back? I’m clearly not the only man trying to be a part of your life. But I’m damn sure the only one who cares about your happiness.”
“If you cared about my happiness, you wouldn’t have potentially gotten me fired!”
Andrew scrubbed a hand down his face. “Lauren, I walked past and saw you against the wall, looking scared, with a man over you. Touching you. Not moving an inch when you asked him to back away. The only thought in my head was to get him away from you, and there was nothing in that moment that could have stopped me. Nothing. If you lose your job because of what I did, I’ll feel terrible, and I’ll do whatever I can to make it right. There’s nothing wrong with two consenting adults seeing each other, even if I am a patient here. I’d never intentionally do anything to hurt you, surely you know that.”
Lauren blinked, her expression unreadable. “Look, I have to go. I have a patient to see, and then I need to find Emma. See if she thinks I need to tell Dr. Hawthorne what happened.”
He let out a heavy breath. “Seriously? You’re walking away from me right now?”
“We’ll talk later.”
He opened his mouth to say more, but Lauren brushed past him, the familiar scent of her shampoo flooding his heightened senses. She didn’t look back and disappeared around the corner.
Alone in the dim hallway, Andrew pressed a palm against his temple. He made his way back through the infusion center, finding Jeni settled in for the several-hour treatment.
“You okay?” she asked. “You were gone a long time.”
No. “I’m fine.”
Andrew thought of nothing else during his treatment. By the time he got home late in the afternoon, he’d nearly worked himself into a state of panic. His body had never felt this on edge. He was so consumed with thoughts of Lauren that it was several hours before he realized what he was feeling was more than anxiety.
Fear took over. He called Lauren, but she didn’t answer. He tried his sister, and she answered on the third ring.
“Jeni? Something’s wrong.”
…
Andrew lay there, waiting. Taking in the white walls and sheets and the embarrassingly thin white hospital gown he was wearing.
His chest felt tight, like someone’s fist was squeezing his lungs. He alternated breathing through his mouth and nose, but one didn’t seem better than the other. His heart beat furiously in his chest, and he wasn’t sure if that was from nerves or because something was seriously wrong. Maybe both.
Jeni sat in the mauve chair to the right of the hospital bed, perched on the edge, her knees bouncing up and down. He’d begged her not to call their family until they knew what was wrong, and as far as he knew she’d complied. He had heard her call Lauren, though.
So he waited.
He didn’t have to for much longer. Only a few more minutes passed before the door opened and Lauren tentatively peeked her head in. Her eyes found Andrew, propped up in the bed, the sheet up to his waist. Her eyes swept his entire body, like she was looking for physical evidence of something, and then came back to his. She walked completely into the room and closed the door behind her.
She wore a hooded KU sweatshirt and her hair was piled on top of her head, and he wanted nothing more than to get up and go to her and tug her into his arms. She looked so familiar and comforting, and he willed her to come closer to him. He wasn’t sure if she was still upset with him, though, so he said nothing.
Maybe it would help that he was in the hospital. It would get him a pity kiss at least, surely.
Lauren addressed Jeni. “What do we know?”
“They said it could either be a blood clot, pneumonia, or a side effect from one of his chemo drugs.”
Lauren nodded. “Bleomycin. It can cause pulmonary toxicity.” She shot a glare in Andrew’s direction—what was that for?—and then returned her gaze back to Jeni. “Have they done a chest X-ray yet? A CT scan? Did they start any medications?”
“They did a lot of tests and took some blood. That’s it.”
At that moment the door opened, almost hitting Lauren in the back. She darted to the side, and the nurse taking care of Andrew walked in. The nurse took Andrew’s vitals for what felt like the thousandth time since he’d been here, and Lauren sat in a chair against the wall.
“The CT was clear, so no blood clot,” the nurse said. When Andrew didn’t reply, she added, “That’s a good thing.”
He nodded, forcing himself to tear his gaze away from Lauren and focus on the nurse. She was an older woman, with long gray hair pulled back, and a stern countenance. “Great.” He took a breath. He was so short of breath, he had difficulty saying more than a few words at a time. “What…now?”
“We’re still waiting on some other test results, which will probably be another hour.” She finished taking his blood pressure and pulse and made some notes on the laptop she’d brought in with her. “When we have more information the on-call physician will be in to talk to you. Until then, can I get you anything?”
Andrew shook his head and thanked her, and she left.
