Page 108 of Double Dare
My panic settles and my breath rushes out. “Right. I know. I got…mixed up for a minute.”
“I know. It’s okay,” Four says, smiling. “You’re covered up, Lakes. We’ve got ya in a robe and some slippers, and we’re going to go to the hospital. Wanna go for a ride?”
“Dirt bike?”
Zahn laughs. “Truck, babe. But I love where your mind is at. You can sit on my lap.” He winks.
Oh, fun. Fun? “Where’s Jed and Kade?”
“We’ll get them,” Hardin promises.
Reassured, my eyes grow heavy, so I let them shut.
“Nope. Keep ‘em open, Lakes. Focus on something out here.” I’m pulled up.
I seek out something to focus on and find Zahn. He grins. “So fucking flattered, Lakes.”
“Can we ride now?” I groan when they lift me up. “I have a headache.”
“No shit.”
There are wasps inside my head, stinging and biting and pissing me off. My ears come on board sooner than my eyes do, but I’m kind of grateful for that because even the light shining through my closed eyelids is enough to make me want to scream.
Flooding comes back to me. Literal flooding. The water sloshing over the edge of the tub and the pool of blood around my head they tried to hide from me. I groan, or at least, I internally groan in embarrassment. Did I seriously slip and fall in the bathroom while wearing nothing but a towel?
“She’ll be able to go home in a few hours. We’ll keep her until she wakes up and can keep some water down, but otherwise, the scans look good. No significant swelling, but a concussion for sure.”
Who’s talking? My eyes won’t open.
“Anything to watch out for?” Is that Zahn? Where are we?
“She’ll more than likely be nauseous, have some confusion, be a bit groggy and slow to react and piece things together. That should all fade over the next few hours, and disappear within a few days.”
“Okay. Anything we can do to help her?” Four?
“Hydrate her, let her rest, but also get her up and moving. Nothing too strenuous for a bit, but otherwise, just keep an eye and let her go at her pace. She’s going to be okay, but she’ll feel pretty terrible for the next few hours. The staples can come out in two weeks.”
“I can do that with a staple remover,” Four or Zahn says. I want to laugh, but my stomach feels weird and my eyes still won’t open.
“Bring her back for that, smartass. No staple removers.”
Oh no. Delusional, unsure of where exactly I am, dizzy as all hell and starting to sweat, my stomach decides it’s time to empty. Acting on gut instinct and nothing more, I shoot forward, sitting up and making myself dizzy and throbbing. I throw up all over the white blanket on my lap, my eyes blinking and my head pounding.
“Shit, Lakes.” Four is there with a small bin, and just in time because I throw up again.
“Can we get a clean blanket in here?” the stranger’s voice says, so I chance a look at him.
“Hi, Laken. I’m Dr. Black. I work with Genevieve, but we’ve met before. Do you remember?” He smiles at me.
Oh, I remember. “Jed punched you.”
He laughs. “Memory is still intact. We’re going to let you rest for a little, and then we’ll send you home. The nausea is normal and hopefully won’t last too long.” With a nod, he leaves.
I nod, but the movement has me dry heaving again. Four removes the blanket and puts a new one over my legs, replacing the bin with a clean one. “Sorry.”
“Still sexy, Lakes,” he laughs. “You okay?”
“What happened?”