She kept her mouth shut with an agonized pout on her face. He waited, his eyes anxiously glued to her.
“You know I didn't mean it, I told you I'm sorry.”
“Get me another blanket.” Her voice was emotionless. Becoming frantic, he ran around the room searching for one, then gave her a helpless shrug. “Tell the nurse!”
He didn't want to confront any of the staff for fear they'd find out, but had no choice. The intake person had asked countless questions already. He was sure they suspected him.
A few minutes later, he returned with an overworked-looking little nurse lingering in the doorway.
“You need another blanket?”
When Kristen gave her a weak nod, she wrapped it around her and whipped out a thermometer.
“What's wrong with me?” Kristen asked her after she removed the thermometer from her temple.
“You can ask the doctor in a little while. You have a fever right now, but it's going down. Possibly an infection. We're running some tests. Just try to relax.”
The nurse glanced at Logan hunched over in the corner, frowned and left the room. They were alone.
He rushed to kneel by her side, his eyes large, begging. “You’re not gonna tell them, are you Krissy?”
She buried her head in her hands, sighing in exasperation.
Ugh! He is intolerable!
“You have my bag, my phone—where are they?”
With another look of surprise, he pointed to the nightstand next to the bed.
“Give me my phone.” She glared at him, immediately texting Alicia after he handed it to her.
“If they keep me here, you're not touching my stuff, you understand?” Her eyes were on fire with hate. She turned her back on him. “You can leave. I can't stand looking at you.”
Sighing, he collapsed onto a chair, hiding behind the hair cascading across his face.
Screw it, I’m not going anywhere. She’ll come to her senses and get over it.
CHAPTER 12
SATURDAY, WEEK 11
JAKE
Even though it was an impulsive, last second decision, Jake believed it was a rational one. He would drive his truck instead of flying to Miami. It had low mileage, extra seats for the baby, and would easily hold his canvases, art supplies, and all of his and Kristen's stuff without a problem. Besides, he'd save a lot of money, and every penny counted. He was a father now. It was important to be frugal and responsible.
One of Franky's good friends would sublease his apartment since he had no idea when or if he'd be back. After hastily finalizing the details he ended up including the furniture. Now he'd have extra money to count on.
At first he wasn't going to tell Franky the truth, then broke down. Franky’s strange reaction and suggestion about doing a paternity test rattled him a little. Then he shrugged it off. There was no room for negativity. Things seemed to be falling into place finally, and he was pumped up and ready to go.
If he stopped once, he could easily make it in two days. If he drove straight through, it would take a little over twenty-seven hours. Franky would fly out on Sunday and they could meet up the following week and take care of business. By that time, he hoped to have everything settled with Kristen. There were a million things they had to talk about, work out, and take care of. But they had all the time in the world.
When he stopped for gas he battled his will about calling her. Something told him a surprise visit was crucial. She expected him some time the following week. He was just so damn anxious to talk to her, it was hard to resist. After he set his coffee cup in the holder, he dialed her number. It went straight into voicemail. Disappointed, he tried to forget about it, and headed back to I-95. After a good eight hours of driving, maybe he'd find a motel and crash for the night. Probably she'd be available to talk by then. With a final stretch and glance back at the New York City skyline, he hopped back in his truck and took off.
KRISTEN/LOGAN
The doctor's words didn't register. Her mind was blank, or broken, she couldn’t decide which. Either way, she couldn't focus or function.
“Kristen, you need to take deep breaths and calm down. Do you hear me?”
The doctor stared at her. Kristen slowly came back to earth, sensing the only way to get rid of her was to agree.
“How long will I be here?” she managed to get out in a hushed voice.
“Your fever is much lower, so if you continue to stabilize and eat, probably by Monday night. That's assuming the infection doesn't flare up. Right now, it’s under control. But if you continue ignoring the instructions and have intercourse again, you could be facing very serious health issues. Do you understand? Both of you?” The doctor turned her attention to Logan, who lurked in the corner pretending to be invisible.
“Mr. Holder?” The doctor stared him down, unwilling to let him off the hook.
He nodded, grunting something unintelligible in response. Distracted, Kristen looked over at him, her expression souring even more. How long has he been here? So far she'd succeeded in forgetting he existed at all and desired to keep it that way.
“When can I see my baby? That's all I care about.” Wincing she straightened up as much as possible without causing excessive discomfort.
“Later. A nurse will bring a wheelchair, but you can't hold him until your fever breaks. Do you understand? No touching at all.” Once again, the doctor’s mouth set in a grim, thin line.
Kristen began to cry, her muffled sobs causing Logan to cram his eyes shut. When that didn’t work he brought his hands up to his ears, about to cover them, when it dawned on him. The doctor was still present.
“I know it's hard, but if you'd refrained, this wouldn't have happened. He's progressing very nicely and should be able to be released next week also. If you don't break the rules, okay?” The doctor’s eyes unexpectedly showed some compassion as she looked from one to the other.
They both nodded.
“You have to remember you had a major procedure and have to heal inside and out. No more impulsive actions, okay?” The doctor patted her shoulder as if she'd saved the day, and left the room.
Logan didn't know where to hide his face. Kristen’s poisonous gaze tore into him.
At least she didn't say I raped her. I’m off the hook, for now.
He took cautious steps. Cat-like she watched every move. He took a chance and sat down on the bed. “Thank you.”
He reached over to kiss her.
She cringed, shutting her eyes. “You owe me big time now.”
The door cracked open, Alicia's face peeked through. Logan went rigid. He needed her to disappear.
“Kristen, are you okay?” Alicia ignored Logan and crouched beside the bed.
He watched with disdain, the muscles in his face twitching when Alicia’s narrowed her eyes at him. “I'm gonna go out for a while.”
Without looking back, he fled the room.
“Kristen, what the hell did he do this time?” Alicia held her hand, disregarding the tears welling up.
Kristen’s sadness was overwhelming. She gradually lifted her eyes up to Alicia.
How much should I reveal? It was my fault also, for being with him.
“I just started getting really bad pains. The fever's breaking though.”