Fall From Grace(79)

“What makes you say that?” I coughed.

“Because, he told me not to tell you.”

I was rolled into the emergency room where I waited a total of fifteen minutes until a doctor saw me.  Lea and I decided that was some sort of record.  We weren’t even finished with all the paperwork they asked for.

The nurse that checked all my vital signs was a horror.  However, when the doctor on call walked in, Lea straightened herself up and tried to wipe my face of debris.

He introduced himself as Doctor Tanner and began a monotonous speech about smoke inhalation.  “Smoke inhalation contributes to the total number of fire-related deaths each year for several reasons...the damage can be serious...life threatening...its diagnosis is not always easy, since there are no sensitive diagnostic tests...you may not show symptoms until 24-48 hours after the event,” he droned on.

I knew I was fine, because I was picturing him completely naked with only a stethoscope around his neck.

Waiting for my release papers to be signed, Lea and I sat around the emergency room and told dirty jokes to two elderly men who had been waiting to be released along with me.

Within ten minutes, the entire emergency room was silent, listening to our banter.  Curtains were pushed aside and laughter could be heard down the hallway.

Tucker walked in right before I was released and gave me another hug, holding me a little longer than was needed.  “Here’s your superman to break you out of here,” he whispered in my ear.

“Where’s Conner and Shane?” Lea snapped.

Tucker chuckled, “Conner was still talking to the fire chief and the police.  Shane probably met a hot chick in a uniform and got sidetracked, you know how he is.”  He helped me down off the bed that I was sitting on and hooked his arm in mine.

“How bad is the apartment?  Can we stay there tonight?  Do we need to get a hotel room?” I asked.

“Whoa, sweetheart, calm down. Don’t worry about anything.  You girls can stay with us and we are definitely getting you out of town for a little while, Grace.  The way it looks is that this was done on purpose.”

Tucker drove us back to the apartment he shared with Brayden and Alex.  “Grace, you can stay at my place. It’s no problem, since we have an extra bedroom.  My cousin Blake is staying in it now, but he won’t mind sleeping on the couch.  Or you can just sleep in my room, whatever you’re more comfortable with.”

I looked at Lea in the backseat and cringed.  “I really want to stay with Lea. That’s how I’ll be comfortable.”

He gave me one of his condescending smiles.  “Don’t you think that Lea would want to be with Conner?  The Bone Room is the only room they have there, and trust me; the sheets in that room will stick to you.”

I cringed again.

Lea moaned. “Ew that’s disgusting.  I have no problem being at a hotel. How about we stay at the Waldorf for a few nights?”  Lea’s tone became excited with the thought.

“That’s absurd,” Tucker snapped.  “Grace has no job. You work, for what?  Minimum wage at that little publishing house? And your apartment just caught fire.  You can’t afford the Waldorf, let alone a roach infested seedy pay-by-the-hour motel.  She’s staying with me tonight, and then we are going to my winter place.  We’ll leave tomorrow before the snow starts really coming down.”

“Tucker, I thank you, but I’m not staying with you tonight.  End of discussion.” I said.

When we reached Tucker’s apartment, he pulled his jaguar in behind a huge shiny black Cadillac Escalade.  He pointed his finger at the monstrous SUV and gave a smug look.  “That’s my cousin Blake’s ride.  He just started working with me in my father’s firm and he already bought a shiny new toy.  It’s hot, right?”