“I’ll have Heather take me over there right now. ”
Josh hung up with Ellie and walked up to me. “Can you please take me to Brackenridge? I’ll figure out a way to get my truck later. ”
“Um, sure. Yes, of course. ”
He helped me put the items that I had picked up in my car, and then he jumped in on the driver’s side. I walked around and got in. I looked at him, but I didn’t even know what to say.
***
The ride over to the hospital was completely silent. It was clear Josh was not going to talk to me.
He looked over at me and gave me a small smile.
“Will you come up with me?”
“Why?”
“I need you with me, Heather, I’m not sure how bad she is, and I don’t know if I should say anything about us. ”
“Josh, of course, I’ll come up with you, but Ellie said she was in bad shape. I don’t think now would be the time to tell her you want to break things off. ”
Josh slammed his hand on the steering wheel and cursed.
“There is always something that gets in the damn way. ”
***
As we walked into the hospital, he took my hand. He held on to it until the elevator doors opened, and he dropped it before he walked out.
Jim and Michelle were standing at the nurses’ station. Michelle turned around and saw Josh coming toward them. She walked over to him, gave him a hug, and started to cry. Josh looked at me. He looked so confused.
“We’ve been trying to get a hold of you,” Michelle said.
“I’m sorry. My phone died. We left Mason in a rush yesterday when Ari went into labor, and I didn’t grab my charger. ”
“Where were you last night, Josh?” Michelle asked.
“By the time we left the hospital, it was late and. ”
“He crashed at my apartment since he drove in with me from Mason,” I said as Josh turned to look at me.
Michelle smiled at me and then turned back to Josh.
“She’s in bad shape. She has a broken leg, a few broken ribs, a concussion, and her left eye is black and blue. ”
Shit.
Josh grabbed my hand right in front of Michelle, and he asked if I would go in with him. Michelle looked a bit confused, and it was not lost on me when she looked down at our hands.
“Of course, I’ll go in with you if you need me to,” I said.
We walked into the room and I tried to take my hand from Josh’s, but he held on to it tight. Lynda looked over at us, and immediately, she looked down at our hands and then back up at Josh. She tried to smile, but I could see the hurt in her eyes. Although she was hurting, I still didn’t trust her, especially not after she’d lied to me about Josh asking her to marry him.
“Josh…” Lynda said.
He let go of my hand and walked up to the side of her bed.
“Hey, I’m so sorry this happened to you, babe. ”