The One You Can't Forget (The One, #1)

forty-eight

Emyln

I glare at the nurses around the ICU. Despite the drugs going through my system, there's nothing that can prevent me from being pissed at them. For the past two hours, I have been demanding to see Hains because I need to make sure he's okay. I know him – he's blaming himself for everything that's happened when it's pretty damn obvious that we both have equal parts in the blame here. But no. They won't let me see him because he's not family.

I could scream.

When the nurse comes to fluff up my not-so-fluffy pillows, I harden my glare, adding in as much hatred as I can possibly give. It's not fair that they're doing this to me. You'd think they'd let my boyfriend come in and support me through this. Fuck. He was with me when that asshole of a drug dealer decided to scare me into not talking when I'd already agreed to not speak. I want Hainsey here with me. It's ridiculous that they're not letting him come to see me when I clearly need him.

"Keep frowning and your face is going to get stuck like that," the nurse says as she checks my IV.

"Well maybe I wouldn't be frowning if you'd let my boyfriend come see me," I snap back. It's unfair of me to be treating the nurse like this – she's an older lady that's been taking care of me for the past hour and she's been nothing but nice, but I can't help it. She's not willing to break the rules for a single moment and let Hains in to see me.

The nurse looks at me through her half-moon spectacles. It's the same look my grandma would give me when she caught me sneaking candy from the cupboard, one that she'd get before reprimanding me for spoiling my appetite before dinner. "Your family arrived moments ago. I'm just making sure everything's okay with you before they come in."

I shake my head. Yeah, I'm beyond happy that my family is here, but they're not who I want to see right now. After the shit that just happened, I need to make sure Hains is okay and not beating himself up. "No. I want Hainsey Stone in here. Do you hear me? Tell my mom or dad – whichever parent it is that's here – that I want Hainsey first. I need to talk to him."

She sighs. "You know stubbornness isn't something to be proud of, right?"

I shrug. I sure as hell like how stubborn I am. If I didn't have that personality trait, I don't think I would've gotten Hains back.

"Fine. I'll let your father know," she mutters, turning away and heading for the doors.

I slouch against the pillows and stare at the ceiling, thinking about what I'm going to say to him. I'm still a little ticked that he didn't tell me, but I'm mainly ticked at myself for not cluing in on why he could possibly not want me to come with him. I should've known things would be dangerous.

A couple of minutes pass by, and then I see him walk through the doors. He looks like hell; his pants are covered in mud, he looks tired, he's tense, and his hair is a disaster of waves from the rain. But as soon as he sees me, any lingering tiredness is gone. He rushes up to the side of the bed and looks me over. I fight a smile. He's assessing the damage before doing anything that could harm me.