Back to Me (Carolina Rebels 1)

“Absolutely,” she answers with a smile.

John leaves and I look at Meredith again. “I’m glad I decided to come home when I didn’t hear from you. The guys were headed to the bar.”

“Did the team win?”

“In overtime, yeah.”

“Aw, I missed it. I haven’t seen a game go into overtime yet.”

“You’ll have your chances. Are you sure you’re okay? Nothing hurts? Nothing is broken?”

“They said I’ll just need the stitches. I’ll probably have to go back to PT for a little bit. My shoulder hurts, so I might have hurt it again. Overall, I’m okay. Promise.”

“Meredith!” Marc rushes to the other side of her and gives her a little kiss on her cheek. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Marco. Nothing a few stitches won’t fix.”

Marc looks at me for confirmation. I nod. “That’s good to hear. Rams hung up on me so I didn’t know anything other than that you were here. Do you need me to do anything for you?” he asks.

“Yeah,” I answer for her. “You can take Leo home and give him a bath.”

“You do not,” Meredith quickly tells him. She narrows her eyes and holds the dog close to her chest. “Leo isn’t going anywhere. We need to call the vet and get him checked out. He fell into the floor. He might be hurt.”

“He’s fine,” I say. “He hasn’t acted funny. I’ve put pressure on his body and he didn’t whine. We can go tomorrow, but I’m sure he’s okay. He just needs a bath and some more time to calm down.”

“But—”

“But nothing. He’s fine.”

“How about I call your vet and see if they’ll even see him this late,” Marc offers. “If they will, I’ll take him and bring him back home to you.” Meredith looks unsure about allowing him to do this for her. Either that, or she’s worried about putting her dog in Marc’s hands. She has nothing to worry about, though. That I know for certain. “I don’t mind, Meredith. Not at all. And if it helps calm your mind, I’m more than willing to do it for you,” he adds.

“Thank you, Marc.”

“No problem.”

She tells him the vet’s number and he takes Leo from me before leaving with the promise to check in later.

“I need to call your parents.”

“No,” Meredith shakes her head. “If you call them this late, they’ll panic. I’m okay. We can call them in the morning.”

I can’t argue with her because the doctor comes in. The cuts on her face look bad. There’s a long one along her hairline, down her cheek by her ear and then a gash on her forehead. I hold her hand while she gets the stitches with an order to see her regular doctor in ten days to have them removed. Shortly after that, they discharge her.

“Have you heard from Marc?” she asks as I drive us home.

“Not yet.”

Whatever energy boost she had in the hospital is quickly disappearing. She slumps in her seat and closes her eyes. I’m pulling into the parking garage when my phone vibrates with a call from Marc.

“Hey,” I answer.

“Hey. Leo sustained no injuries. I told the lady to send you the bill. I’m on my way back now.”

“Good. We just got here.”

“Okay. See you in a few then.”

“Was that Marc?” Meredith asks as she rouses awake.