Speak Now & Surprises [Hunter Hayes fanfic]

Chapter 35

I felt like that kiss could’ve lasted longer, but the looming image of my nurse appeared in the corner of my vision. I gave Hunter a few last pecks on the lips and began to draw back, scowling at my nurse. She held my new drip out menacingly and pulled a surly face at Hunter.

“Oh shove off, will you?” Hunter suggested comically and gently grabbed my chin, pulling my lips back to his.

“I don’t know who you think you’re talking to, mister, but-” she seethed, until I saw Hunter raise his hand in her direction and make an extremely inappropriate signal at her. I giggled between kisses and joined in, and with sudden realisation it hit me: my old Hunter had never left me or strayed from the path, he’d been right here all along and I’d just been to damn wrapped up in myself to recognize it.

“We’re getting you out of this hospital, Shelby.” Hunter murmured seductively once my nurse had left and we were alone again. I sighed and shook my head at him.

“I can’t be without morphine yet, and besides, I probably do need my drip changing-”

“Hey, I didn’t say we’d take you out of hospital completely, I just want to take you out of this one... I understand what you said about that nurse – she’s a complete dragon!” he crooned in agreement.

“You complete and utter lover boy!” I exclaimed, grabbing him for a hug. He patted my wild hair smooth, and traced patterns on my back until Amelia walked in. She greeted us with a face full of a raspberry scone and thumbs up. I winked at her. Everything was all right.

“Hello? Hello sir, I was wondering if you had any free rooms... No? Oh, okay then. Bye? Yeah... bye.” Mike implored before hanging up the phone.

“No rooms there either, sorry Shel.” He apologized. I furrowed my brow.

“Keep trying guys! I want one as up north as possible!” I encouraged my tour friends as they sat clustered around my bed, searching for a free room in a private hospital at New York City for me – Hunter had deemed this public Pennsylvanian hospital much too “stuffy and shabby” for his liking.

“What about this one? It’s called ‘The Lincoln Medical and Health Hospital’.” Grant suggested as he scrolled through yet another web page on his mobile phone.

“Grant, will you quit thinking about Abraham Lincoln for one moment?” Caitlin joked, throwing him a knowing look. It had become widespread knowledge on the tour that Grant adored Abraham Lincoln or “Abe” as he was commonly referred to on the bus.

“No, check it out Grant.” Hunter backed him up, “I mean, who wouldn’t want to stay in a hospital named after the greatest US president of all time?” he chuckled and winked at me. I responded with a wide grin as I researched the Lincoln Medical and Health Hospital on my phone.

“It’s in Bronx – right up North of New York!” I exclaimed crossing my fingers in desperation as Grant made the call to them. He caught sight of my frantic expression and left the room.

“Don’t worry, Shelby, we’ll get you a fine hospital to stay in.” Al reassured me with a God-like promise; even still, I bit my nails down to the quick.

“Oh, look what you’ve gone and done now!” Liz cussed me as she grabbed my hand, “How am I meant to work with these nails now?” she questioned.

“Silk extensions.” I replied cheekily, “I’ve been eyeing them up for a while now.” Liz poked her tongue out at me and went to find Grant.

“How long until you’re fully healed and ready to be back on the tour?” Paul asked cheerily. He’d brought his new fiancée Ashley White to meet me.

“How do you do?” she spoke with an extremely thick Southern accent. She was nice, and pretty.

“Two to six weeks.” I replied, making a face. This hospital bored me, with its hectic hallways that made walking on a prosthetic limb a nightmare, and its squeaky door hinges that made high-pitched squeals every time one of them was heaved open. The other patients were all too busy wrapped up in their own lives to talk to the nineteen year old who tried to make light conversation with them – the only person I had in the friend department so far was eighty-eight year old George: a lovely old man with terminal cancer to the brain. I’d spent a few days talking to him but he reminded me to much of poor old Arnold and I’d felt like I’d only hurt him - which of course was nonsense but back when I’d met him I was so caught up in the rush of everything that I didn’t know what to think – I should probably go and find him soon, he’ll be missing the company.

“Be right back, off to find a friend.” I told Paul and Ashley as I hauled myself to the side of the bed and fastened my prosthetic leg onto my stump.

“Need a hand?” Paul quickly offered, probably trying to save me embarrassing myself in front of Ashley.

“Nah I’ve got this, but thanks for offering.” I responded, clicking the limb into place. I took a few wobbly steps to the end of my bed and grabbed my Zimmer-frame, supplied by the hospital, and made my way to George’s ward.

I took a few wrong turns and ended up in the maternity ward once, but eventually I found the terminal illness ward. George was on the furthest across bed and sat up staring right at me, waving.

“Howdy George!” I said loudly and watched as he adjusted his hearing aid.

“Good golly, you’re walking!” he exclaimed in that fuddy-duddy voice of his. I beamed and nodded.

“How’re you doing?” I asked him, genuinely concerned.

“Oh, don’t you worry yourself about me child – I’m a veteran!” he insisted. George always made me laugh with his stories of how he and his comrades would pull pranks on each other during the war – like the time they swapped all the soap for black soap and turned everybody’s faces a different colour.

“Ouch,” he murmured quietly as he raised his hand to his temple, apparently in pain.

“You okay, George?” I asked him alarmed that he was hurting. His smile returned and he nodded, asking me how I was doing.

“Better than before – I’m walking now! Look!” I raised my prosthetic leg to show him, “And my friends are trying to put me in a different hospital!”

“So I won’t get to see you again?” he said softly, his face had visibly fallen. I tried to back pedal.

“No, no of course we’ll still see each other! I’ll call you! I promise.” I insisted desperately, trying to hold onto the cracks that I’d made. I didn’t want to lose George, I was all he had.

“Come on, George – time to put you to sleep!” a young nurse bustled in and said cheerily.

“Not right now, Lisa. I’m talking to Shelby.” George said defensively, casting a protective arm around me. Lisa gave a witchy little laugh before grinning at me.

“Not anymore!” she cackled still in that borderline fake cheery voice.

“What do you mean?” I asked numbly, confused.

A middle aged male nurse appeared by Lisa’s side, his dead eyes zoned in on me.

“Take her away and chop chop – time for your nap George!” Lisa hurried the male nurse, her bright red smile seemed to be plastered to her face and for a second I imagined it was blood.

“No! Leave her alone!” George’s weak body tried to yell as the male nurse took the two arms of the disabled girl and heaved her off the end of his bed.

“Get off of me now.” I stated in a monotone voice, trying to stay calm and not cause distress in the ward, but George’s face had been clamped down now with an oxygen mask and was being forced to go to sleep against his will.

“Get off him!” I screamed now, thrashing against the male nurse’s steel grip, “Get off him right now!”

I felt my prosthetic leg give way beneath me as the male nurse kicked it off, making me reliant on him for support. Lisa waved her hand sickly at me as she injected the tranquilizer into George. I was about to scream for help as the male nurse clamped a hand over my mouth.

What the hell was happening?!