Page 50 of Unlikely to Stay
All too soon, they arrived at the clinic, Brant unlocking the back door with the keys in his pocket.CC’s heart started racing and she could feel herself breaking out in a cold sweat.Shehatedanything having to do with doctors and hospitals and sickness.It brought back all the memories she tried so desperately to forget.
Seeing her mom’s friend, Angie, passed out in their bathroom floor when they lived in Maryland, the empty pill bottle on the ground beside her.Her mom falling to the floor and crying, trying to shake her friend awake.The trip to the hospital.The nurses and doctors yelling out words CC didn’t understand.The noises and beeping.The cold.The smell.The death.
CC knew logically that her mom’s friend didn’t die because she had gone to the hospital.She had died because she swallowed an entire bottle of prescription medication after tripping on a ton of acid with her parents and drinking a bottle of whiskey to try and fight off the mental illness she had hidden from everyone.Still, to Colleen, hospitals had become synonymous with death.Doctors and nurses had gone to schoolforeverto do what they did.They were supposed to work miracles but they couldn’t save Angie.Like she said, irrational, but a fear nonetheless.Her family had left Maryland before Angie’s body had even gone cold in the grave.
Brant must have seen the look of terror in her eyes.“Hey, you’re not undergoing major surgery.It’s just a few stitches,” he said.“What can I do to help?”
“Just promise me you’re not going to cut off my finger or anything like that.”
“Pinky promise,” he said softly, really holding out his pinky.
CC locked hers to his.“Okay.”
Brant led her into an examination room and walked to the sink.“Let’s rinse it out first so we can actually see how deep the cut is.We also don’t want to accidentally stitch some of my hair you cut in there.”
He eyes widened.“Can that happen?”
He chuckled.“I’ll make sure that it doesn’t.”
Gently, Brant placed CC’s hand under the warm water coming out of the faucet.CC cringed when it hit her finger.It stung.A curious glance had her quickly looking at anything but her finger.Blood continued to leak out of the cut, the water running red.She felt like she was going to vomit.
“You hanging in there?”he asked.
“Barely,” she replied breathlessly.“You need some encouraging pictures in here.You know, like the kitten on the tree hanging on with only his paws, the wordshang in thereat the top.That way patients would know whatever they were in here for would be over soon and they wouldn’t be led out on a gurney.”
Brant laughed.“I’ll order one on Amazon tomorrow.I think I’ve stopped the bleeding.Go sit on the table and I’ll grab my suture kit.”
“You need akit?”
“Just a small one.It has everything I need in one little box.I’ll be right back.”
CC perched on the table, cringing at the sound of the paper crinkling underneath her.Almost immediately, Brant was back with a small box in his hands.He started emptying the contents, CC’s breaths growing shallower and faster with each item placed on the table beside him.
“I thought you just used a needle and thread!”she said, a panicked warble to her voice.
Brant picked up what looked like a pair of scissors.“These are forceps.I use them to hold the needle so it makes it steadier.”
He picked up a piece of thread.“This is the suture I’m using.It’s a synthetic thread.I’ve already disinfected the cut in the sink while I was washing away the blood, so now all I have to do is thread the needle and get you fixed up.”
“I think I might throw up,” she groaned.
Brant picked up a trash can off the floor and placed it between her legs.“Just let me know before you do so I can stop stitching.Wouldn’t want to make a zig zag stitch and leave a scar.”
He got out a small table and raised it so it was level with her arm.“Put your arm on this so your hand isn’t moving while I work.It won’t take long, Freckles.I promise.”
CC closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded.“Okay.Just make it quick.”
After what felt like an eternity but in reality was probably only a few seconds, Brant asked her, “Are you ready?”
CC nodded again.She felt something poke her skin and then a tug.She bit her lip to keep from crying out.Getting stitches sucked.
“You’re doing great,” Brant said encouragingly as she felt another tug on her skin.“Almost finished.Just keep breathing.”
After feeling a few more tugs, Brant ran one finger down her cheek.“All finished.You can open your eyes now.”
For the second time in the evening, CC couldn’t feel the throbbing in her finger anymore.All she could feel was the feather light touch of his finger running down her skin.To her embarrassment, a shiver ran through her body.First a kiss and then a finger touching her face.She was such a goner.
“Are you okay?”he asked, mistaking her shiver for something to do with her finger.At least she had that going for her.If he knew he was turning her insides into a puddle of mush just by some innocent touching he would probably laugh at how pathetically nonexistent her love life had been.
“I’m okay.Thanks for going fast.”
“My pleasure.I’m sorry you cut your finger because of me.”
“Like I said before, it wasn’t your fault.”
“Does this mean you won’t cut my hair again?”
CC looked into his chocolate brown eyes.There was no way she was saying no to those eyes.“I’ll still cut it.The person you were going to obviously didn’t know how to cut your cowlicks.Just keep talking the entire time next time I do so you don’t startle me.I don’t know if I can handle any more stitches.I’ve met my quota for the year.”