Page 110 of Succeeding Love
“Mr. Micheals, I would advise you to-”
“I said I could do it,” he snapped sharply.
The nurse pursed her lips and nodded. I pinched the bridge of my nose, then muttered an apology. She smiled tightly before wishing us luck and walking off.
Standing back, I watched Nick grimace while taking a shaky step on his own.
“Do you need help?”
“No,” he grumbled, straightening his back as he took another step, more steadily than the first.
With the cast on his wrist and the brace on his neck, he couldn’t help but to shake my head at how stubborn he looked. If he wanted to struggle, so be it.
Even though that was my initial thought, about halfway down the hall, I couldn’t take watching him struggle any longer.
“Stop.” I held his good arm. “I’m not watching you waddle like a duck all the way to the car. I’m getting a wheelchair.”
“I don’t need it,” he protested through gritted teeth.
“I don’t care what you think you need. Sit your stubborn butt right there in that chair and wait for me. I’ll be right back.”
“Fay, I’m fine. I-”
“Sit!” I raised my voice, not willing to argue any further.
His frown deepened, but he listened. He winced and groaned his whole way down to the seat on the bench. I walked off back to the nurses’ desk to ask the nurse from before for that wheelchair.
When I had him in it, no longer protesting despite the sour look on his face, the nurse walked with us to the front of the hospital and waited with Nick while I pulled my car up to the front doors.
Nick stubbornly stood before the nurse could help him, causing both the nurse and me to shake our heads, but neither of us stopped him. It wasn’t worth the argument.
“Thank you,” I told her once he was buckled in my passenger seat.
She rubbed my shoulder sympathetically. “You’re a better woman than me. I would have left my ex-husband on the curb.”
I snorted, giving her a grateful smile for the humor that I much needed.
Leaving Nick on the curb was an enticing thought, but I felt responsible. I also didn’t want to explain to my kids later why I abandoned their father in his time of need. I had already called Nick’s mom, and she was on her way here to take care of him while he recovered. The least I could do was help him get home.
“Just drop me off in front of the condo,” Nick grumbled as soon as I got in the driver’s seat. “I can get up to my apartment on my own.”
“I have to drop your scripts off at the pharmacy and then clear out all the alcohol from your place, so no can do.”
“I’m not a child, Fay,” he said coldly.
“No, but my babies will not be going back to your place unless I know you’re sober. If you don’t want me to ransack your liquor cabinet, fine. Jessie and Preston can see you at my sister’s on the weekends from now on.”
“That’s not fair. We have orders in place.”
I lifted my brow. “Do you want to go back to court? Because I won’t be as compliant this time. Not with my kids, Nick. Do you even remember last night? How drunk you werewhen I dragged you home? They saw that, Nick. Jessie saw that! If I had left them at your house last night, Jessie might have tried to go with you. How would you feel if she was the one in a neck brace and cast right now?”
He was quiet for a long time, his face full of guilt at the thought. I drove to the pharmacy near his condo, and when I was almost there, he finally spoke again.
“Just drop me off, Fay. Please. My mom can take care of everything else. Just, please, drop me off. I can get up to my place on my own.”
“Not without your keys, you can’t. I have those in my bag, so you’re just going to have to wait.” I parked, then grabbed my purse, tapping it smugly before putting it over my shoulder. “Hold tight. I’ll be right back.”
He huffed, looking away. “You used to be sweet all the time. You changed.”