Lisa
Dr. Carr walks in. He's a tall man with broad shoulders draped in a white coat; the shadow of his receding hairline is visible on his shaved head. He grins, addressing Jennie easily, and proceeds to poke and prod her wrist as the nurse had done. "We're going to need to x-ray it," he says. "But in the meantime I'll get you something for pain." Then he's gone, just as quickly as he came.
The nurse pops back in, her hands full of supplies. "Miss Kim, I'm going to need to start an IV."
Jennie pales so quickly that it would, under any other circumstance, be a little comical. Yet I can't help but feel badly for her. She looks terrified.
"Are you sure? I mean, it doesn't hurt that bad..."
"It's just one little stick, Miss Kim. Then you'll have something for pain and you'll feel much better."
Jennie looks at me, as if I could make the decision for her. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to, Jennie," I assure her softly. "You're a big girl. Remember?"
She gives a shaky sigh, obviously distressed. "Yeah. I can do it." She holds her hand out to me. "Will you hold my hand?"
"Of course." I clasp it in mine and she immediately clutches it in a death-grip.
"I'm actually going to need to do the IV in that arm," the nurse intervenes sympathetically.
"Fuck," Jennie grumbles, releasing my hand. She looks thoroughly stressed out. I pick up my chair and move it around the stretcher to her injured side, and scoot it as close as I can to her. I link my arm through hers, careful to avoid her wrist, and lean close to her on the stretcher. She relaxes a bit but suddenly tenses again as the nurse wraps the tourniquet around her arm.
When the nurse pulls the needle out Jennie turns and buries her face in my shoulder, her eyes squint tightly shut. The top of her head is close to my face, and I inhale her scent again - coconuts.
Definitely coconuts.
The nurse sticks the needle in and she jumps. She's... trembling? This is too much. Breaking her wrist is no problem, but whip out a little needle and she cowers like a child. I reach my free hand around and rub her hair soothingly.
"You're doing good, Jennie," I murmur softly. "She's almost done."
She nods, her face still buried in my shoulder. A few seconds later, and the nurse has the needle out and is taping everything down. "All done," she announces happily, and she begins pushing the pain medicine.
Jennie sighs. "Oh, thank God." She straightens; our faces are only inches apart, not unlike the night before. When she sees our close proximity she quickly backs away, clearing her throat. "Um, thank you." A rosy pink masks her pallor.
I smile. "No problem," I say. Our arms are still linked. Neither of us pull away, a sort of awkward silence settling between us. After receiving the pain medicine, Jennie's eyes begin to droop; she rolls them at me.
"This feels weird," she gushes.
"What?" I wonder if she's referring to us - our current position.
"The pain medicine."
"Oh."
She giggles. The nurse leaves and a young man comes in, pushing a large, white machine. "Excuse me." he says politely. "I'm going to need you to step out for a moment so we can get an x-ray."
I nod while pulling my arm from Jennie's and step outside the room. I'm surprised to come face-to-face with Hae-in and the blonde. Jisoo's arms are crossed, her lips pursed, while Hae-in stands at her side grinning like the Cheshire cat.
Jisoo glares at me but doesn't say anything. What's her problem?
"Hey guys," I say easily.
Hae-in slaps me on the back. "Yo, dude. Some date, huh? What did you do to her?"
I roll my eyes. "Nothing. It was an accident. I'm sure she'll tell you all about it."
"Sure, sure," he says. "Hey, this will be a funny story to tell the kids." He winks at me, and I refrain from scowling - the ass knows that isn't my style. Kids? I can't even think about having kids right now.
"Well, is she okay?" Jisoo huffs.
"Yes. She just got some pain medicine - she's convinced it isn't broken."
"Yes, I saw you helping out with the IV in there. You guys looked very... cosy." She spits out the last word like it's venom. Honestly, this is the first time I've met this girl. I have no idea what her deal is.
"I'm Lisa, by the way," I say, extending my hand. She shakes it briskly.
"Jisoo. And just so you know, Lisa, I have both eyes on you at all times." She gestures from her eyes to mine with two fingers.
Holy fuck... is this where Kai had his problems? Psycho best friend always getting in the way? Hae-in is just standing there, still grinning, eating this shit up.
When the technician leaves we all filter back into the room. Jennie is drowsy - she looks close to unconsciousness, curled up on the stretcher with no pillow. Jisoo grabs the sheet and begins covering her up.
Jennie cracks one eye open and looks at Jisoo and Hae-in. "Hey guys," she gushes quietly, grinning widely. Yes, she's definitely feeling better.
"Jennie, what the fuck happened?" Jisoo snaps.
"Not now," Jennie groans. "I'm sleepy. I'll need all my energy to tell the story effectively."
I look at my iPhone - it's almost six o'clock, and I need to go home before making the drive to Busan. Jennie is resting with her eyes closed again, exhausted. Jisoo and Hae-in are talking to each other in hushed voices.
I crouch low in front of Jennie, my face level with hers, and brush my thumb across her smooth cheek. Her eyes flutter open and focus on me.
"Will you be okay if I leave you with Jisoo and Hae-in?" I ask softly.
She slowly nods, her eyes never leaving mine. "I told you could leave forever ago."
"And I told you I wasn't leaving you here by yourself."
She sighs, obviously too fatigued to argue. "Yes, Lisa. You can go. I'll be fine."
I smile. "I'll call you tomorrow."
"Okay. Will you get my purse for Jisoo?"
"Sure." I stand and kiss her softly on the cheek. Her eyes close at the contact of my skin on hers, and she sighs quietly. "Good-bye, beautiful," I whisper. She watches as I leave, Jisoo following to retrieve her purse from my car. I feel bad leaving her alone with Hae-in - hopefully that douche doesn't give her a hard time in the few moments of solitude.
Jisoo looks like she wants to say something to me the entire trip to the car. She obviously thinks better of it, her jaw clamped tightly shut. She takes the purse with a curt nod and a "thank you" and disappears back inside.
My iPhone beeps as I'm driving back to Busan. At a red-light I pull it out and see I have a message from Jennie.
Jennie: Just thought you should know it's only sprained, not broken. Hate to say I told you so, but...I told you so ;)
I smile as I tuck the phone back into my pocket. That Jennie is something else entirely...and in a good way. For years to come, I'm sure I'll remember this date and think of her.
And I'll certainly never look at scooters the same way again.
