Stitches and Scars (27 page)

“Katie, I’m not just going to let you go in by yourself. Plus, how are you going to get back to your car?”

“I can handle going to the hospital by myself. I’ve done it before. And if I need a ride to get my car, I’ll call Sophie. I think she’s in the city today.”

“I guess that’s all right.” He was silent for a moment, then he looked at her hopefully. “Will you come tonight?”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“Why?” he questioned. She looked at him with raised eyebrows. He knew why. She didn’t have to tell him. “I promise I’ll be good. I’ll just be your friend, nothing more.”

“Friend?” She scoffed, but he ignored her gesture.

“Everyone is planning on seeing you there. Christine and Mike would be disappointed if you don’t come.”

As he spoke, an ambulance pulled up, causing people to scramble about. Kate didn’t pay them any attention; she was too lost in the pulse of the swirling red lights and the decision she was about to make.

“Please. I promise I’ll behave,” he added, knowing that her silence meant she was thinking about it.

“Fine. I’ll go. But I’m not staying long. I’ve got plans with Soph and Elle.”

“Great! I promise, it’ll be fun and you won’t regret it.” His smile was infectious and she couldn’t help but grin back at him. Before she had time to react, Scott had his arms around her, crushing her in his excitement. Not wanting to be that close to him, Kate started to pull back, but not before she saw Ethan. He was standing next to the ambulance, watching her with confused eyes.

Kate gasped and flinched away from Scott, effectively cutting off her view of Ethan. Ignoring the sharp pain that shot up her wrist, she wrenched open the door and jumped out, slamming it shut behind her. She rushed around the side of the ambulance towards Ethan. In her haste, she tripped and almost fell onto him.

”Are you okay?” The sound of Ethan’s voice calmed her frantic heart.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she sighed, relieved to be near him. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Really? Why?” His face looked pained as he looked at Kate’s worried face.

Before she could respond, Scott ran up, out of breath. “Katie, are you okay? I saw you trip and I swear one of these days you’ll—”

“I’m fine,” she said quickly, cutting him off. “Why don’t you go home? I’ll be fine.”

Scott searched her face to make sure she was truly okay, then eventually looked over at the man standing beside her. It took a minute for it to register that it was Ethan and the look on his face was not welcoming. “Sure, I’ll just get going then.” Scott nodded. “I’ll see you later tonight, okay?”

Kate nodded and Ethan’s body stiffened as he processed the words he just heard. The flicker of hope he’d felt a moment ago slowly faded as he realized his fears might be right.

The two stood in silence and watched Scott climb back into his car, waving to Kate as he pulled away.

“Kate,” Ethan finally said. “Are you all right?”

“Yes, well … no, not really. I fell and hurt my wrist. I think it’s just a sprain.”

“You did? Here, let me see.”

Holding out her arm, he gingerly took it in his hand. He felt the bones in her wrist and turned it over a few times, moving it slowly back and forth, asking brief questions as he did. He kept his voice professional, but Kate could tell there was something wrong. The emotions on his face were something she’d never seen before and uncertainty settled heavily in the pit of her stomach.

“So, you were with Scott today?” Ethan asked, breaking the silence.

Kate took a deep breath and prepared herself for the conversation that had been running through her head since the morning.

“I met him for coffee,” she said casually.

“Oh” was the only thing he could manage.

“I’m actually kind of his friend again.”

“Friend?” he said skeptically, fighting the urge he had to tell her she was crazy. He’d only seen Scott with her for a few minutes and it was clear that he looked at her as more than a friend.

“Yes, friend,” she confirmed with a nod.

“And how does Scott feel about you being friends?”

“Well, he … I mean, he said he … Scott will always be …” She fumbled with her words, trying to find the right way to explain the situation; but to Ethan, her fumbling meant only one thing. She’d already made her decision and she wanted to be with Scott.

Before he had time to think about what he was doing, before he could remember how important it was for him to tell her that he loved her, he broke. “I can’t do this,” he said, cutting her off before she said the words that would kill him.

Kate looked around nervously and realized he must be talking about his work. Clearly having a conversation about their relationship should not be done outside of the hospital. She almost laughed at herself for not thinking it through better.
Nice one, Kate. You really want to confess your love for him in the two minutes he has before running back to work?
she thought.

Ethan watched emotions dance across her face. Knowing that he had to spare her any guilt or pain that she might feel at his expense, he forced himself to continue. Instead of lying and telling her that he didn’t care about her, that he didn’t love her, he settled for something else—something that would turn things on him and make it all his decision.

“I think we need to take a break from each other,” he finally said. “I need a break … from you.”

“What?” Kate repeated the words over in her head, not understanding them fully until he looked up at her. Once he did—once his eyes focused on hers—she knew what he was saying. He was done.

“Oh.” Her words came out in a whisper, barely audible. “I see.”

The voice inside Ethan’s head was screaming, begging to let him speak the truth. But he bit down on his tongue and continued. “I just think it’s best if we both take some time to figure things out.”

Kate nodded and dropped her gaze to the ground, allowing the words to sink in. She wanted to yell at him and tell him that he’d promised he’d never hurt her, but she couldn’t. All she could do was stand there; and the longer she stood, the deeper his words cut, leaving ragged edges as they ripped through her. She was faintly aware of Ethan saying something more, but she didn’t hear him. All she could hear was the blood rushing through her veins, pumping fluid to a heart that felt as if it would stop beating at any moment.

“I have to get inside,” Ethan said quietly. “Henry will be wondering where I am. You take care of yourself, Kate.” He exhaled as he said her name for the last time, and felt his heart leave his body with it. For no matter what happened, it would always belong to her.

It was another minute before Kate could look up, and when she did, she realized she was alone.

***

She spent the entire afternoon curled up on her bed, trying to physically hide from the pain. The tears had stopped falling after the third hour, and her face was tight and dry from the salt. She must have run over the scenario a hundred times in her head. Each time she said something different, changed the words she’d used, but in the end, it didn’t matter. Every time, the scene ended the same: her standing alone, watching glass doors open and close with no Ethan in sight.

Attempting to find some solace, she tried telling herself that she was crazy—crazy for falling in love with someone after only three weeks. But it didn’t work. She even tried telling herself that what she felt wasn’t love. That there was no possible way she loved him as much as she thought she did. That didn’t work either. She loved Ethan; there was no doubt about it. She felt it the first time she saw him and still felt it now. It was with this realization that she climbed out of bed. No matter what Ethan felt for her, it wouldn’t change the way she felt for him, and Scott needed to know that. Having made a decision, she felt a little better and forced herself to get up and shower.

The sound of the water running must have alerted her friends of her presence, because as soon as she pulled back the curtain, there was pounding at her door.

“Kate! Come on, open up!” Elle yelled. “We know about your wrist. Ethan called us.”

As soon as she heard his name, her heart stopped. Grabbing the door, she flung it open. Her friends took one look at her puffy red face and gasped.

“Where’s the jerk?” Elle spat, anger in her voice.

“Very tactful, Elle,” Sophie said with a roll of her eyes before looking back to Kate. “Where’s the bastard?”

“That’s more like it.” Elle wrapped her arm around her blond friend and dragged her into the room.

“You guys, he’s not a jerk.” Kate sighed. “I love him.”

“What!” They both yelled.

“Are you serious? Kate, he broke your heart three times and you’re going to let him have another shot?” Sophie yelled, her fists balled up at her sides.

Kate looked at her friends, confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Scott.” They said it in unison.

“Oh. I thought you were talking about … Ethan.” She swallowed thickly after saying his name.

“Wait, what about Ethan? What happened?”

Kate closed her eyes, willing herself to keep it together long enough to tell them, and started from the beginning. She shocked even herself when she told them about Scott’s tentative marriage proposal the last time they’d gotten back together. They were livid that she hadn’t told them, but kept their comments to a minimum so she could continue with her story. She told them all about the emails that started a few weeks prior and about the honest excitement she felt at actually being friends with Scott again—just friends and nothing more. When she told them what happened at the coffee shop earlier that morning, both of their mouths hung open in shock.

“Are you going to give him another chance?” Sophie asked, eyes wide.

“There’s no reason to. I’m going to tell him that tonight. I don’t love him anymore. I love Ethan.” As soon as she said his name, tears pooled in her eyes. Falling back on her bed, she buried her face in the pillow and let the tears that she thought were dried up spill freely.

Both Sophie and Elle looked at each other in puzzlement. They couldn’t understand her reaction. “Kate, what’s wrong? I thought it was a good thing that you love Ethan.” Elle sat down beside her and rubbed her back soothingly.

“He doesn’t want me,” she said through her sobs. “He said he needs a break.”

“Did he give you a reason?”

She couldn’t speak anymore, so she simply shook her head.

“He didn’t? That doesn’t make sense. Why would he call here if he didn’t care about you?” Sophie bit on her lip in confusion.

Up until that point, Kate had almost forgotten about what they’d said earlier. Ethan had called, and now she desperately wanted to know what he’d said, even if hearing it would hurt. “What did he say?” she finally asked, bracing herself for their reply.

“He called and said that you came into the hospital with a hurt wrist, but didn’t see a doctor. At least he said he didn’t see a chart for you. What happened?”

“I left,” she said, tears running down her cheeks. “I couldn’t stay there. I couldn’t see him again.”

“And how’s your wrist? Do you need us to take you somewhere to have it looked at?” Elle asked in concern.

“It’s okay. It’s still a little sore, but the swelling is already better.”

After they were sure Kate was truly fine, the two friends lay down beside her, one on either side and wrapped her in their arms. They did what all best friends do and assured her that things would be okay. Even if they hadn’t figured out how just yet, they would be. They stayed at her side until the sun began to set, casting dark shadows across the room.

“You guys, I have to get up and get ready.” Kate’s voice was scratchy from all the crying.

“You’re still going?” Elle asked, sitting up.

“Yes. I have to. I care about Scott. It’s not right to let him think that things can be different between us. Besides, it will be good to see everyone again. I need a distraction.”

“Well, let’s get to work then. I can’t have you leaving the house looking like that. Your face looks like you had some kind of allergic reaction.” Sophie waved her hand in her friend’s face.

“Gee, you always know how to make me feel better, Soph.” She hit her hand playfully and smiled for the first time since the morning.

“Come on. Let’s get you ready.” Sophie hopped off the bed and stood next to Elle. The two friends reached out their hands and pulled Kate to her feet.

“Everything is going to work out. I just know it,” Elle whispered in her ear before giving her a tight squeeze.

***

Back at the hospital, Ethan was as miserable as Kate. Though he tried to hide it, he couldn’t fool Henry. “Ethan, I really think you should leave for the rest of the day. I know you said you could work a double, but I don’t think you’re in any shape to do that.” Concern was etched in his face as he looked at the young man who was like a second son to him.

“No, I think I’ll stay. Thanks. This place needs all the help it can get.” He was being harsh and he knew it. Ever since Kate had left, he hadn’t been able to think straight. She hadn’t stayed at the hospital to have her wrist looked at, and when he’d called her house, Elle said she hadn’t seen her. All the events of the day were piling up and slowly eating away at him. He’d already snapped at three nurses for screwing up on something they couldn’t possibly have known, and he knew it was only a matter of time before he lost it on a patient.