Southern Storm (Southern 3)

I look at Ethan who opens his mouth and then smiles. “I forgot.”

I laugh now, suddenly feeling okay. “I think I’m going to be able to leave soon,” I tell Beau. I lean back in the bed, and Ethan lies beside me. “Where is Jacob?”

“He’s in the waiting room with Kallie. He is going over the video surveillance that Casey sent in. Apparently, Casey wired half the town with cameras when the stuff went down with Olivia.”

I close my eyes, but when the door opens and the nurse comes back in, my eyes flutter open. “Okay.” She smiles. “You are cleared to go. If you get a headache later, it could be a concussion, so please come back in. You’ll definitely be sore tomorrow.”

“I can sort of feel that now.” I try to sit up, and every single muscle in my body screams.

“Is there anything she can take?” Beau asks the nurse. “Can she nap when we get home, or is it best to keep her up?” He doesn’t wait for the nurse to answer him before asking another question. “And if she does fall asleep, should I wake her hourly?” The nurse rolls her lips to keep from laughing. “How long before I bring her in if she does have a headache? Is it right away or do I time it?”

The nurse puts her hand on his arm. “I will get you a paper with instructions and all questions should be answered on that.” She looks at me. “I can just imagine when you get pregnant. This man is going to crawl out of his skin.”

My eyes fly to Beau, and I don’t know if he realized what she said or not. “Oh, he’s my best friend.” It slips out before I can take it back. What else was I supposed to say? He’s the man I want to be with. He’s the one I’ve been dreaming about since forever.

The nurse looks at me and then at Beau. “Well, then, you’ve got a great friend,” she says and walks out of the room.

“Let’s go,” I say to Ethan who gets up and hops off the bed.

“Uncle Beau.” He calls him. “You were freaking out right now.”

“I was not.” He looks at Ethan and shakes his head. “I was just worried.” Ethan laughs now. “I am.”

“Sure,” he teases and waits for me to get off the bed. I try not to show how much pain I’m in when I get up, but Beau must catch the winces.

“Do you want a wheelchair?” he asks, and I scoff at him.

“I do not, thank you very much,” I say, walking slowly out of the room toward the waiting room. Ethan walks ahead of us.

“How much pain are you in?” Beau asks quietly beside me.

“Not that much,” I lie, and before he can say anything, Jacob and Kallie spring out of their chairs and come over to us.

“What did they say?” Kallie asks worried, and I have to give it to her, she is a better person than I am. I lied and broke them up, ruined their relationship without so much as thinking twice about it. But she stands here asking me if I’m okay, and she loves my son as much as I do, and for that, I can never ever repay her.

“Not much. I’m going to be sore tomorrow.” I repeat what the nurse said.

“Okay, why don’t we get going?” Jacob says. “You guys can ride me with, and Kallie will go pick up some food and meet us back at Beau’s.”

“Why can’t we go home?” Ethan asks, and I look down at him.

“I told you. There was a fly in the house and then while I was chasing it, a spider fell on me and I panicked and threw a ball at it, but I missed, and it went out the window.” I look at Beau who rolls his lips, and Jacob has to put his hand in front of his mouth to cover his smile. Kallie just looks at me with her mouth hanging open.

“I was put on the spot, okay? That’s the best I could do,” I mumble to them, and then Kallie looks at Ethan.

“How about you come with me to pick up the food, and we can meet them later?” she asks Ethan, and when he looks at me and then at Kallie, she leans in and whispers something in his ear.

“Is that okay, Mom?” he asks, and I just nod my head.

“Only if you promise to bring me back some pizza,” I say. “With pineapple.”

“That’s so gross, Mom,” he says, taking Kallie’s hand. “We have to get it for her since she’s sick,” he says to Kallie, and they walk away.

“Can we do all the questions once I get to a couch?” I ask them, knowing that more questions are coming.