A Will To Change (Hope) (5 page)

Man, being stuck in this hospital for God knows how long was going to suck big time. I hated being cooped up anywhere. Add some needles stuck in my hand and a million different medicines coursing through my veins, and it became a thousand times worse. Not to mention that my arm hurt like hell. I had just gotten off the phone with my brother and was hoping that he would keep his promise and not tell my mother what had happened. He reluctantly assured me that he wouldn’t say anything, but I knew that once he told my sister-in-law, all bets were off. The last thing I needed was my parents coming here to see me and hearing my dad telling me “I told you so” about my career choice.

I threw my head back against my pillow and stared up at the ceiling. I would give anything just to go home. Things were finally starting to look up as my eyes focused on the cute little nurse that had just walked into my room. She was definitely doable. She didn't exude hotness like most of the women I was with, but there was no doubt that she was absolutely adorable, even wearing scrubs. She was so petite that she almost looked like a little girl. Her dark brown hair was pulled up into a ponytail and I was guessing, just from the olive complexion of her skin and her deep brown eyes, that she was either Italian or Spanish.

“Hey, Will. I'm Gabby. You and I will be spending a lot of time together.”

“Well, hello, Gabby.” I smiled.

She smirked at me as if she got my sense of humor right away. She hooked up another bag of medication to my IV and sat down on the chair at the side of my bed. “So, on a scale of one to ten, where would you say your pain is at today?” 

“If I answer this correctly, do a get I prize or something?” 

She smiled and shook her head. “Well, that depends on what you consider a prize.”

“Hmm....let me get back to you on that one.”

“I'm going to change your bandage. I'm not going to lie to you. It’s going to be painful, but you’re a big boy, right?” 

“So I've been told.” I grinned.

She shook her head again, trying to hold back her laughter. “Well, the medicine that I just hooked up to your IV should help you out a bit.” She began to unwrap the gauze from my arm. “So, Will, tell me about yourself.” 

I knew she was trying to create a diversion to take my mind off what she was doing. “You go first.”

“Ah, a man of mystery, I see. Well, what would you like to know?”

“You know, the basics. If you want to throw in your measurements, that would work, too.”

“Well, I know one thing about you already.” She smiled at me.

“What's that?” I asked. 

“You've got a great sense of humor.”

“Yeah, well, you're in the minority. Most women find me crude.”

“It takes a lot to offend me.”

“Wow. This could be the start of a beautiful friendship.”

She let out the cutest little giggle as she carefully continued unwrapping my arm, the whole time telling me about herself. She was thirty, had been a nurse for the past seven years, lived in Greenwich Village, didn’t have any brothers or sisters, and loved dogs. The only thing she failed to mention was her status. I looked down at her finger and didn’t see a ring, not that it mattered to me. 

“So, are you married?” 

She shook her head and smiled. “Boyfriend,” she replied.

I waved my free hand in the air. “Oh, we could work around that.”

She immediately busted out with laughter and, right away, I knew that I liked this girl and trusted her one hundred percent. 

“So, Will, how did you do this to yourself?”

“How do you think?” I grinned.

“Elaborate for me.” She smiled back.

“Let’s see. There was a building on fire. My buddy and I went into it to put it out because, you know, that’s what I do,” I teased.

“Oh, so you’re a wise guy,” she said, raising her eyebrow. “Continue on,” she demanded as she carried on with removing my bandage without missing a beat.

I looked up at her and smiled. There was something about this girl. Something different that made me instantly like her, and not in just a sexual way. “Well, I’m waiting.” She raised her eyebrows.

“The ceiling was starting to cave in, and my buddy got pinned under some wood. I pulled him out and the next thing I knew, I woke up in the hospital with my arm and head hurting like hell. I was told that the ceiling came down on me and knocked me out. Guess that was a good thing. At least I didn’t feel my arm going up in flames.”

She looked up at me sympathetically. “Well, you were one lucky guy. Is your friend okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, he is. Broken leg and rib.”

“So you’re a hero?” Her dimples deepened within her beautiful smile.

“I wouldn’t go
that
far.”

“Well, I would.” Her voice was so calm and comforting, reminding me of one of those relaxation tapes that we would have to listen to during our mandatory shrink visits after 9/11. She continued to tell more about herself and I found myself telling her a lot about me, as well, something I normally didn’t do around women, but everything about her put me totally at ease.

Two hours later, my bandage was replaced. Gabby wasn't kidding when she said it was going to be painful. It was the most excruciating thing that I had ever endured in my life, and the thought of doing it twice a day for however long I was going to be in this place didn’t exactly excite me. But the cute little girl sitting next to me, giving me a comforting smile, somehow made that thought a little more bearable. 

“The first few times are the hardest. I promise you, it will get easier,” she said in a reassuring voice. I couldn't respond. It took everything inside of me to just fight off the agony that I was in. “I’ll be right back,” she said. She stood up and walked out, immediately coming back in with a bottle of water. She sat down on the side of my bed and took off the lid, holding it up to my lips. “Take a sip,” she whispered. She sat with me, silently, holding the bottle of water up to my lips every now and then until it was completely gone.

“You did good,” she said, placing her hand on mine. I nodded, feeling completely helpless. “Just relax, Will. Try and think of something happy.” She gazed at me, trying her best to provide me comfort. I stared back, concentrating on nothing but her beautiful dark eyes. For the moment, they were all I needed to temporarily help me block out some of the pain. Even though I had just met this girl, I already knew that she was an angel.

The week was flying by and I was having a great time getting to know Will. He was quickly becoming my new favorite patient. He made me laugh and forget about how miserable my life was, not to mention that he was a total cutie. He had the most beautiful blue eyes that I had ever seen, and his smile could charm the panties off any girl that he encountered. That was confirmed just from listening to the stories that he so freely told me about the women in his life.

Home, on the other hand, was a different story. Evan was only speaking to me when necessary. I hadn’t a clue as to what I did to make him angry and a small part of me didn’t really care. Actually, a big part of me didn’t. I tried to keep the peace by making him a nice dinner on my day off and packing his lunch for him each morning, but I didn’t even get so much as a “thank you” for any of it. I just put on my happy face, answered him nicely when he would ask a question, and feigned my excitement over our weekly round in the bedroom. I hated myself more and more with each passing day for staying in the situation that I was in, even going as far as looking online for a more affordable apartment within my price range, without much success.

It was my scheduled day off, but I decided to come in and do a 3 to 11 shift when Rochelle called me and indirectly hinted around that she could use me. It was a win-win for everyone. Rochelle got the extra help that she needed, and I avoided seeing Evan when he got home from work.

“Hey, Gabby Gabs! You are a lifesaver,” Rochelle said as I approached the nurses’ station.

“Yeah, I know!” I teased.

“Well, Mr. Will is going to be happy to see you. Poor boy wasn’t too thrilled when he realized that
I
was changing his bandage this morning and not you.”

“Oh, Rochelle, I’m sure he loves you just as much as we all do,” I said, looking over my patients’ charts, seeing what meds needed to be given to each.

She shook her head and laughed. “That boy sure is a trip. He just says what he’s thinking. He’s not too bad to look at, either. I told him he’s pretty fine for a white boy.”

“Oh, god. I could only imagine his comment to that one,” I said.

“He told me anytime I was ready to cross that line to come on over… I reminded him that I was old enough to be his mother.” We both began to spew with laughter. “He’s had women coming in to see him all day long,” Rochelle said.

I shook my head and laughed. “Yes. I’ve heard all about the women in his life. That’s a good thing, though. Maybe it will keep him in good spirits.”

Rochelle nudged me, causing me to look up at the tall, beautiful blonde exiting Will’s room. “That’s Janelle,” Rochelle whispered.

“Oh, Janelle. I heard all about her the other day. She’s a wild one!” We both began to giggle.

I went along, gathering my meds and marking up the charts before making my rounds to my patients. “Excuse me. Can you tell me what room Will McAdams is in?”

I looked up from my chart and found myself staring into a very familiar set of eyes. I knew right away that this must have been Will’s brother. “Will is in room three seventeen.” I smiled at the pretty woman that he was with, who I was assuming was Will’s sister-in-law. He told me all about them and his little niece during one of his long, tedious dressing changes. “You must be Jamie and Hope,” I said.

“Well, that depends. Did he do something that would cause me to be embarrassed to admit that I’m his brother?”

I laughed. Clearly, good looks and a sense of humor ran in the family. “Nah, he’s been a pretty good boy. He certainly makes my day a lot more interesting. I’m Gabby, by the way.” I extended my hand to each of them.

His sister-in-law’s eyes widened and a huge smile flashed across her face. “Oh, Gabby. Will was telling me all about you when I called him the other day. Thanks for taking such great care of him.”

“Oh, you are very welcome. Just doing my job. His room is the second door on your left. You may have to push your way past the harem of women in there,” I joked.

“I could only imagine,” Hope giggled as they walked off to Will’s room.

I was just finishing up with the last of my patient checkups when my phone began to vibrate. I quickly looked around before pulling it out of my pocket, knowing that we weren’t supposed to have our phones on us when we were out on the floor. When I saw it was from Even, I almost wished that I left it in my locker.

Dinner with my mom and dad tonight. Be ready by 7.

I loved how he would just spring things on me at the last minute and just expect me to conform to his schedule. I quickly replied back, knowing that he was going to be pissed.

Got called into work. Won’t be home till after 11.

I started to type out the word “sorry”, but quickly deleted it before hitting SEND. I wasn’t sorry and I was done apologizing to him for things that didn’t warrant an apology. If he wanted me to go, he could have given me ample warning and I wouldn’t have gone into work. I was now dreading going home later because I knew it was just going to turn into World War III and I was
so
not in the mood. After five minutes and no reply back, I knew he was really pissed. I turned off my phone, not even wanting to know if he texted me back. For the next eight hours, my patients were my priority. I would deal with him once I got home. My stomach churned just thinking about it. I took a deep breath, putting on my best forced smile before I entered my next patient’s room. Only one more to go until I got to my favorite one, and I was fairly certain that if anyone would be able to replace this fake grin with a real one, it was him.