Private Property: a Contemporary Romance Novella (7 page)

BOOK: Private Property: a Contemporary Romance Novella
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“I’ll be back for you shortly.”  Tony had a calming demeanor and a charm that Jared seemed to lack.  Tabitha took comfort in that.

A
very austere-l
ooking woman appeared and ushered her through to a long metal table
for x-rays
where she was forced
to endure all kinds of torture
as the woman maneuvered her body into painful positions that Tabitha likened to human-origami.

Next, she was laid out on a long, slim table that looked to be fastened with a huge white donut on one end.
  She was told not to move as
she
was slid in to the circular end
.  T
he machine clunke
d and whirred around her legs then her left
arm,
having first been secured with round metal devices the technician had called ‘coils’.

Then Tony was back to wheel her down to have blood drawn and finally after at least two hours, she was tucked up in a comfortable hospital bed
inside a private room.  A
nurse appeared to inquire ab
out her comfort and provide
some water, informing her that Dr.
Larsen
would be with her shortly.

Tabitha was worn out and decided a small doze wasn’t uncalled for.  She slept fitfully until she heard the door click open.  Jared was standing at the foot of the bed with another
young, clean-
cut
gentleman reviewing a stack of papers on a metal clipboard.
  It was the doctor that had met them out at the helipad.

“Hi, there.”  Jared met her eyes then cut his attention to the man at his right.  “This is Dr. Moore.”  A brief look was shared between the two of them as Jared came around to perch on the corner of her bed.  “Tabitha, the
scans
of your upper arm show that Sam’s teeth chipped the outer edge of your humer
u
s bone and the bone fragments are now buried into the muscle.  Normally, I’d have no problem leaving them to be absorbed by the body, however, these two pieces,” he held
an
x-ray
film
up towards the window so she could see where he was pointing, “are far enough away to cause a justifiable concern and should be positioned back at the break.  Do you understand what that means?”

Tabitha
had a sinking feeling she knew
but couldn’t get her mouth to form the words.

Jared continued.  “It means you need to go to surgery.”  He clasped her clammy hand in his large, warm one, trying to reassure her.  It didn’t work – her heart began to pound, her breathing became shallow and rapid.  “I’ll be there with you; Dr. Moore will be assisting me.  I’ll do all the work and put you back together in no time.  But if we le
ave the fragments in the muscle
that far away from the bone, chances are
it
will become infected and that is ten times worse than going to surgery now.”

Tears had started rolling down her face.  Tabitha sucked up her waning courage and nodded.  “Call Kristen for me.”

“What about your parents?”

“No, don’t call them yet.  I’ll do it later.”  She rattled off Kristen’s number and tried to swallow some water.  “When do you want to operate?”  She no longer sounded like herself.  Her voice sounded distant, not of her own body.


First thing in the morning.
I need to wait until your body is free from food and water. 
S
o
, after midnight,
no more
to eat
or drink
for you.”  He held her hand a few more seconds after standing, then leaned in close
r
to her face.  “You need to calm down.  You’ve never been through surgery before have you?”

“I’ve never been admitted to a hospital before.”  She couldn’t stop shaking her head.

Jared spoke to Dr. Moore over his shoulder in a hushed tone,
and
then returned his attention to her.  “I’m going to get the nurse to administer some medicine to calm you and allow you some sleep.  I’ll be back to check on you in a bit.  Someone will call Kristen for you as soon as possible.”

And with that, he was gone.  She was abandoned in her little white room, isolated
in
her fears.  Her mind began reeling through
surgical
images she’d seen on the Discovery channel, recalling
medical
horror stories she’d heard about, and delving into her own mortality.  She felt as though her heart would come out of her chest at any given moment.

The
slight, quiet
nurse appeared a
gain, wheeling in an IV
contraption with bags of liquid swinging from curved hooks on either side of a long pole.  “Ms.
McLean
, I’m Sheila.  Dr.
Larsen
ordered an IV for you.”  She produced a large syringe of sorts and tapped its belly.  Have you ever had an IV before?”

Tabitha shook her head weakly.


Well, it’s
just
a way to administer medicine in a continual, but adjustable dose
.”  She thumped the plastic shunt to demonstrate its flexibility.  “There will be a sharp, quick pinch
in the back of your hand
and then it won’t hurt a bit, okay?”  She didn’t wait for Tabitha’s consent, but picked up her
right
hand and began swabbing it with a cold
alcohol pad
.  There was an uncomfortable
sting and then Tabitha felt a
cold climb up her arm.  She watched Sheila stick the needle of a smaller syringe into a branch off the main tube and empty its contents.

“You should feel rather sleepy here in a moment or two.”  Sheila went about checking
Tabitha’s
vital signs before fluffing the pillows up behind her.  “Try to get some rest, Ms.
McLean
.  I’ve made the call you asked for and your friend Kristen will be here as soon as she can.”

Tabitha didn’t fight the tiredness that overcame her and was thankful to drift off to sleep.  She barely remembered bits and pieces of
the
afternoon from that moment on.  Kristen had entered the room at some point and the nurses came in to periodically check on her.  She remembered Jared coming in and speaking with Kristen, but couldn’t recall exactly what was said.  She woke sometime
in the early hours
, seeing Kristen dozing in a chair next to her.

A subtle knock at the door heralded Jared’s entrance.  He was decked out in green scrubs, his hair hidden under a green cap.  He reached out and gently shook Kristen awake.

“Okay.  The OR’s been prepped and our patient’s ready to go.”  Kristen came to abruptly and shoved a hand through her ratted hair.  She grasped onto Tabitha’s fi
ngers.  “I have to go scrub, but someone
will
be in shortly to escort you down the hall.”

Jared turned to Kristen.  “This should be a simple pr
ocedure – an hour’s work most likely
.  We’ll be placing some screws
in to the bone to anchor those chips.”  He turned back to Tabitha
.  “You’ll be staying
here a
few
days
, but I’ll be here with you.”

“Why do I have to stay?”  Her voice sounded small.

He bestowed her with a comforting smile.  “Because it’s the only way I can be certain you’ll stay off that leg
and keep from hurting your arm again
.”  He patted her thigh.  “Okay, see you in a minute.”

She hugged Kristen tightly before
the male nurse
helped her get situated on the gurney.  Kristen was crying by the time she looked back up at her.  “I’ll be here when you get out.  I love you.”

“I love you too, Kris.”  And she did.  Kristen was the sister she never had. 
Well,
Tabitha
did actually have
si
sters, but none that cared too
much about her.  After all, she was the black sheep of the family.

Tabitha watched as the bright overhead
hallway
lights passed her one by one.  Soon she was wheeled into a stark white room with large metal lights above
and metal trays on either side
.  The room was bustling with activity while people situated themselves.  A man introduced himself as her anesthesiologist, while another nurse said she’d be assisting Drs.
Larsen
and Moore with the surgery.

Then Jared’s bespectacled, masked face appeared before her eyes.  “Okay, Tabby.  Just close your eyes and allow the anesthesia do its job.  Don’t try to fight it.  You’ll be waking up in your room in no
ti
-
.”  Tabitha’s eyelids had already begun to droop before he’d finished his sentence.





The bright lights hurt her eyes and muffled sounds were barraging her ears.  Someone
was squeezing
her hand and she couldn’t seem to remove her tongue from the roof of her mouth.

“Hi, honey.  How are you?”

She tried to focus on the person speaking to her, tried to formulate words, but failed miserably.  “
Firstah
.”  She attempted a swallow, but still couldn’t seem to dislodge her tongue.

“What, Tabby?”  The hand on hers began to rub lightly along her skin.

She cracked an eye and forced some focus to her vision.  Kristen.  Always tried, always true.  She shook
her right hand
free of her friend’s grasp and pointed to the Styrofoam pitcher on the small table next to them.

“You’re thirsty?”  Thank God Kristen wasn’t dimwitted.  Kristen turned and looked over to the opposite chair. 
Jared sat sprawled across its gi
rth, his large frame overflowing its capacity.

“Hi.”  He greeted, moving to pour her some water.  “I don’t really want you to eat yet, but water will do you some good.  You’re probably parched.”  He slid a straw into the cup and angled it toward her mouth.  It was the most euphoric sensation she’d ever felt – the
ice-cold
water sliding down her throat, releasing her
tongue and soothing her
dehydrated mouth
.

“Everything went fine, Tabitha
.”  He began, picking up her wrist and staring at his watch.  “There was a little more work to be done than I thought – some of the muscle was
required
additional stitching.  But other than that, you should be
fully
functional
again
in a few weeks.”

Tabitha’s mind sobered and her heart dropped.  The tears began flowing and her throat tightened once more.  A few weeks would not make her boss happy
– it was only a summer gig
.  Hell, she hadn’t even managed to get one good day in.  She’d be out of a job for sure now.  Not that she could blame him; Mr. Parker would have to fill the position.

Jared seemed to read her mind.  He brushed her hair back from her forehead.  “Sorry about the job, Tabitha.  But there will be others.  This had to be done.  You have two pins holding the bone together.  They can stay in for the rest of your life, but if they begin giving you trouble, we can take
just as easily
them out.”  He rose to his full height and glanced at her friend.

“Kristen, I’ll have the staff bring a rollaway bed for you.  Something tells me that you’ll want to stay by her side.”  Kristen nodded, blinking back her own tears.  Jared let himself out, promising to come and check on her after she got more rest.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Tabitha
let
the dam to break.  Tears streamed down her face, her nose began to run and her breath came out in hitches.

Kristen tried to soothe her as best she could, but she knew what Tabitha had endured before finally landing this job.  “I’m so sorry, Tabby.  But, hey…maybe this happened for a reason.  Maybe you just needed to take a break.  Something will come along, you’ll see.”  She was rubbing the back of Tabitha’s hand so constantly that her skin had started to burn from the friction.  “You can stay with me until something comes along.”

Tabitha shook her head.  She was
exhausted and groggy
.  “I can’t do that.  I’m tired.  I just want some sleep.”  She closed her eyes and prayed for a better day.

She woke
in the quiet, wee hours
to the picture of her friend curled on a low bed beside her, a large man standing in front of the window, staring out.

“Jared?”  She whispered in the dark.

He turned around, his hands still clasped behind his back.  “How are you feeling?”

“Oh, okay.  A little more clear-
headed now.”

He studied her in the waning light.  “What will you do now?”

She hesitated to answer; she hadn’t thought that far ahead yet.  “I don’t know.  I guess it all depends on this.” 
She waved a hand at her
bandaged
arm.  Until then she hadn’t realized
that
a
partial
cast encased it from
her
shoulder all the
way
down around her palm.

BOOK: Private Property: a Contemporary Romance Novella
2.39Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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