Yearn A. Ellis (carter reed .TXT) 📖

no mistake, grown into your looks yet or not, I thought you were damn cute from the moment I first saw you—which probably sparked my anger even more because I was so hell-bent on getting away from that damn town. Anything interrupting my focus was a threat.”

A flash of light bounced around the inside of the car.

Flashlight.

“I think our knights in shining armor are here,” I said with another quick kiss to the corner of his mouth. “We’ll get you to the hospital and all fixed up.”

Dre’s eyes closed and I saw the relief wash over him. When I made to let go of his hand, he gripped me firmly. “I know I’m not dying or anything, but you know I’ve always had a bit of a dramatic flair,” he said and I snorted. “This isn’t one of those If I don’t come out of this alive type things—my professional training tells me I’m going to be fine,” he smirked, exhaustion evident on his face, “but I need you to know something all the same.”

I raised a brow.

“I’m sorry if this puts a wrench in your plans, but I think I’m in love with you.”

A knock at the window startled us both and I pushed away Dre’s words as our station colleagues set to work getting us out of the car. There was no way I could process what he’d just said until I knew he was safe at the hospital.

Once we could open the doors, Dre was loaded onto a stretcher—despite much protest that he was fine and could totally walk up the embankment—and I located both phones wedged tightly into crevices under our seats.

Glancing at the car before I headed up the hill, a wave of emotion flowed through me. His car was fairly mangled, very likely totaled, but the accident could have been so much worse. I could have lost Dre. I swallowed down a lump at that thought.

By the time I made it up to the ambulance, I’d made up my mind. I’d been toying with the idea for a while, but it was evident now. Dre and I had moved way past fuck buddies. Maybe it was his head injury talking when he said he thought he was in love with me, but I wasn’t going to let it go. We had some talking to do and I was ready to take on whatever challenges were thrown our way as long as we were together.

Thirteen

Dre

Being a patient instead of the medical personnel really sucked, however, the pain medication pumping through me was a perk for sure.

Khi had popped his head in to see me in the ER—definitely a benefit of our positions at the station—but Julia had arrived and insisted he get checked out. She assured me that our shifts were covered and my only responsibility was to rest. Khi had managed to snap a picture of us for the challenge before he left, laughing he was going to caption it EMS crew members make the worst patients and throw in a shout out to our team for the rescue.

“We’ve still got a prize to win,” he’d said with a wink as Julia ushered him out the door. I was exhausted from the fiasco—adrenaline drop was so very real—along with battered and bruised, but my heart dared to hope that Khi’s wink meant something.

I wasn’t thrilled about it, but the ER doctor felt I needed to be kept overnight for observation. Based on their initial assessments, I had a slight concussion and no internal bleeding. I couldn’t argue with his opinion that a slow internal bleed—which very often resulted from automobile accidents—would be easy to miss and an overnight observation would be the best bet. But I didn’t have to like it.

By the time they got me switched to a room, early visiting hours were over and there were a few hours before the next time slots opened. Grateful my phone had escaped unscathed, despite getting wedged under my seat during the impact, I pulled it up and checked my messages. I texted with Bev and Rai, giving them details I knew Khi would also be sharing. Then I dropped my phone and rested my eyes, knowing the nurses would be checking on me enough that true sleep would be hard to come by.

I awoke later, not sure how long I’d dozed, to the sound of Khi’s voice.

“I don’t know if you’re awake or if you can hear me, but I need you to know just how damn scared I was to lose you. Seeing you hurt put everything in a new perspective for me.” Khi’s gruff words were barely audible over the beeping of the monitors.

I cracked an eye. “It’s not like I’m in a damn coma,” I joked, not really having the energy to give a full smile. Plus, my cheek and lip had both been stitched up and were definitely still painful.

Khi’s eyes met mine and he gave such a relieved sigh, I felt it to my core. “Technically, I knew that, but I’m still shaken up over seeing you hurt and worrying something was going to take a turn for the worse.”

“You easily could have asked the nurses for a report,” I said.

He glanced toward the door and winced. “I might have kinda snuck in so asking for a report on you wouldn’t have been the best move.”

“You snuck in? What a rebel.”

“A rebel for you, baby,” Khi teased.

I laughed, but that hurt and I ended up groaning. “Oh shit, no laughing right now. Still feel like I’ve been hit by a Mack truck.”

Khi moved quickly to quietly pull the curtain so the cracked door was blocked before he moved his chair closer and took my hand. “I’m only about thirty minutes early for visiting hours. I’ll ask for forgiveness if I get caught.”

I scanned the whiteboard. “If you’re lucky, Anthony will be the one to come check on me. He’s super cute and would probably melt from just