Three Months and You're Mine (In Too Deep) (10 page)

Chapter 10

Zack

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. One minute, my mom was answering the door for what we thought was a housekeeping call, and the next minute, Meredith's gorgeous
pixie face peeked around the corner. She took in the sight of my leg contraption, then her gaze shifted to meet mine.

"Oh my God," she exclaimed, unable to hide her shock. Her hand flew to her mouth, and she squinted through eyes that were clearly imagining my pain. "Collin said
—I thought you were okay, but this is, Zack I'm so sorry." She had closed the space between us quickly, and before I knew it, was standing at my bedside.

Her presence threw me into an internal battle. Part of me wanted to pay attention to what she was saying, so I was trying to focus on her words, but the other part of me was too busy being preoccupied with how in the world she could look so gorgeous and put together at this time in the morning. I had hospital all over me, I'd just regained some shred of awareness, and I was unable to even stand on my own.
It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that, at that point, I fell short both physically and mentally. It fucking sucked.

I was tempted to be really mean to her so she'd go away and wouldn't see me like that, but I couldn't
bring myself to do it. She was like a breath of fresh air in the staleness of the hospital room, and I wasn't ready to chase her off just yet.

"Zack, did you hear me?" S
he snapped her fingers in front of my face, and I realized she'd been talking and I hadn't been listening.

"What?"

"Are you okay? You were just staring past me like I wasn't here."

"I'm okay. I'm good. It's just that I expected to see my mom come around the corner and you surprised me, that's all."

"I can't believe this, Zack." She gestured to my leg, then up to the bandage around my head. "What in the world happened?"

I came really close to telling her I was on my way to meet her, but I ultimately decided that would just make her feel guilty.
More than that, I was feeling pretty loopy and I didn't trust myself to say the first things that came to my mind. Apparently, I had been spacing out again, thinking about how I couldn't trust myself to talk because Meredith rubbed my arm to get my attention.

"Zack. Are you feeling okay? I can go get a nurse if—"

"No, I'm okay. I was just thinking about what happened. My mom and the doctor asked me that a few minutes ago, and I told them everything I remembered, but I'm still sorting through it in my mind."

"Well, uh, you don’t have to say it again if it bothers you."

I shook my head. "I didn't really remember much, actually. I know a truck pulled in front of me."

The second I mentioned the truck, I wondered if they caught the guy who caused the accident.
I didn't really know how I felt about whether or not he'd been caught. Somewhere deep inside I sort of wish I wouldn't be able to put a face with the incident. I played out a scenario in my head where I found out who did it and kicked his ass once I was done with the leg rehab.

Instead of
telling me to stop zoning out again, Meredith used the silence to quietly cross to the other side of my bed where she sat in the chair my mom had been using. It was right up next to my bed, and Meredith was sort of propped up on her knees in order to be right at my bedside. She smelled so good that the contrast in odor could have only meant one thing—I stank. There was nothing I could really do about it, and I still wasn't ready to give her up.

"Your
brother was here," I said. "I didn't get to see him, or at least I don't remember, but Mom said he was here for hours before he went home to get some sleep. I didn't really come around till about a half hour ago."

"
Are you serious? So you're just taking all this in for the first time too?"

I sighed. "Yep.
Not the best way to wake up, but from what I hear, I should be thankful that I woke up at all. It was a red truck. I was going through a green light, and I didn't even see the thing approaching. He had to have been speeding because he came out of nowhere. There was nothing I could have done to avoid hitting him. I set the bike down as gently as I could for having no warning. I have some scattered memories of the ambulance and emergency room, but not many. That's all I remember clearly." I was quiet for a second before adding, "It happened so fast. I guess I just never thought something like this would happen to me."

She
sighed and laid her head on my forearm in a wordless sympathetic gesture that actually made me feel a little better.

"I'm alive. I'll get the leg in shape again."

"I totally know you will," she said sweetly. "I have no doubt in my mind."

"I'm not really sure
what's under here, though." I pointed to the bandage that was wrapped around my head. I'd just seen it in a handheld mirror. A good bit of my face was covered. "They told me it might scar."

She shrugged. "It doesn't really matter, right? As long as you're okay, I mean. And besides, how bad could it be under there?"

"What if it's bad? You should think about finding a new teacher because if you fire me once you see my face, that's gonna hurt my feelings."

She sighed and rolled her eyes
then focused on me, regarding me with a sincere expression. "I'm telling you right now, I don't care what's under there."

"That's really sweet, but think about what you're saying in case there's a huge Freddy Kruger scar
or something." I was fairly confident there wouldn't be anything like that under my bandages, but I was enjoying flirting with her.

"I think you're just looking for a way to back out," she said. "I think you're scared."

"All right," I said, "but no changing your mind once the bandage comes off."

"I don't care what you look like Zack.
Don't get me wrong, it's nice that you're hot, but there's enough good face showing (she whirled a finger in over the right side of my face) to compensate for whatever's under there. At least for the purposes of being my teacher."

I gave her an offended look.
"What's that supposed to mean? That depending on what I look like under here you would sleep with me, but wouldn't go out with me?"

"I wouldn't say it like that. I just mean that all we've had going between us in the first place was the whole
teaching me
thing so I was just being honest. For those purposes, I don't really care what you have under the bandage."

"Would you care what's under there for
other
purposes?"

She smiled and furrowed her eyebrows curiously. "Like what? Are you asking if I'd
mar-ry
you if you had a mess under there?"

I shrugged, it wasn't exactly what I'd been thinking, but now that she mentioned it, I was cu
rious. She narrowed her gaze and crossed her arms defiantly. "Don't you start
liking
me Zack Larson. Remember what I said about what happens to guys who like me back. Shake it off, babe. Just remember what a playa you are."

She was totally right. What did I care if she wanted to marry me or not? I had to remind myself that
I
was still the one with the upper hand. "You're right. I'm sorry. I don't care if you'd marry me or not, actually."

I stared
past her toward the door. I couldn’t help but notice the way the light in the hallway changed, and knew someone was coming in. I figured it was my mom. I was truly surprised when Collin Blake peeked his head cautiously around the corner. He took in my leg and my face before his gaze drifted to his little sister who was looking pretty comfortable at my bedside. His expression showed how perplexed he was by seeing her there.

"
Stop looking at me like that. I was worried about him too," she said.

Collin looked down at his watch. "It's not even eight o'clock."

"You're here too," she said.

"I'm on my way to the pool."

"It's Sunday."

"I have to take two days off next week."

"For what?"

"I have to take care of an ingrown toenail, if you have to know."

"Gross."

"It's not gross, it's just a toenail."

I just watched them go back and forth like a tennis match.

"Aren't you going to ask Zack how he's doing? Or are you too
worried about
me
being here to care about your friend?"

Collin rolled his eyes at
her before looking at me. He was standing on the opposite side of the bed of Meredith, and he leaned in to give me a barely-touching version of a hug.

"I'm glad to see you're up, dude. I saw you last night after your surgery for a few minutes, but you were really out of it."

"Yeah, I don't even remember that," I said.

"I saw your mom in the hall. She told me what happened. Sounds like you can make a full recovery."

"I wouldn't call it a
full
recovery," Meredith cut in, "we're pretty sure he's got ground meat under there. She gestured to my bandage.

Colli
n gave her an incredulous look. "Christ, Meredith."

She giggled and pointed at me. "He knows I'm joking," she said. "Besides, it's probably just a scratch, anyway."

I thought about the doctor telling me my face was being operated on for two hours but didn't mention it.

"
Where'd the accident happen?" Collin asked. "Did you go somewhere after we left Joel and Gretchen's?"

Again, I thought better of tellin
g him the truth of the matter—that I was on my way to see his little sister.

"No, I'd just le
ft their house when it happened," I said. I figured it was okay for me to leave out a few details. "I was just about to tell your sister what the damage was, or at least what I understand it to be. I took some piece of the rearview mirror to the face." I pointed to my bandage. "And I have a couple broken bones and some ligament and tendon issues in my knee. Both of the bones in my lower leg are broken, right up near my knee, and apparently he had to work a few miracles in there, but they're hopeful I'll be fine." 

"What'd he say about swimming?" Collin asked. He was never one to beat around the bush, but then again, neither was I.
They both looked at me, waiting for my answer. 

I
shrugged, looking a little discouraged. "I just talked to him on the phone right before your sister walked in. He said if he was being honest about it, he'd give me about a 50-50 shot at a full recovery. It wouldn't surprise him if I made a full recovery and another Olympic run, but it also wouldn't surprise him if the long term repercussions from the accident were too great for me to overcome. He said it was a hard case to call and it could go either way."

"I think those are
wonderful
odds!" Meredith said. "People overcome much worse every day. You'll totally do it."

Collin was nodding like he agreed with her, and I was thankful for their encouragement, but at that point I didn't feel as optimistic as they seemed to.

"I guess it's just hard to see past the—" I gestured at the huge contraption on my leg.

"That's temporary, man," Collin said. "Just enjoy some rest, watch some Lord of the Rings or something."

"I'm gonna have to do that," I said. "The doctor said I'll be here for at least a few more days, maybe a week. I just woke up, and already I want to go home."

"Just chill. You've
gotta let them take care of you if you want to get better."

"You sound like my mom," I said.

"Amen!" Meredith agreed.

"I wouldn't have to tell you guys what to do if you'd quit acting like
fuckin kids."

"Collin Blake was that
you
with the potty mouth?" My mom had come in with my step dad while we were talking. She'd seen him say it, and was just asking to embarrass him.

"I'm sorry." Collin said. "Oh, hey Mr. Moseley."

Collin reached out to shake my stepdad's hand.

"Chip. Call me Chip," he said smiling as he shook Collin's hand. His focus
shifted to me. "How's it going there partner?" 

"I've had better
birthdays, but good, I guess, with all things considered and everything."

He
gave me a warm smile, but then shifted his gaze to the far side of the bed where Meredith was now sitting straight-backed and as proper as a lady on the chair she'd been kneeling on a few minutes before. "Who's this?" he asked.

"It's Collin's little sis
ter Meredith. You remember her from swim meets, honey."

He flashed Meredith a bright smile. He wasn't obnoxious with it, but he loved the sight of a pretty girl, and he was a harmless flirt from way back.

"I can't believe this is the same little girl who used to paint her fingernails black just to piss off her mother."