Mr. Lawson's Assistant

Chapter 71

The ride to the hospital was much faster than I anticipated. When the ambulance had pulled up beside the emergency room doors, I was helped down out of the back and ushered into a temporary room. While inside, I was checked over by several nurses and two or three different doctors, before I was given some ibuprofen and told I was good to go. As I was sliding down off the bed, David appeared in the doorway, his face stony.
"It's about time. Did you go to the wrong hospital?" I muttered good-naturedly and winced when I inhaled. David's eyes dropped to where my shirt was bloodstained and his face hardened even more. "What?" I frowned, carefully walking out into the hall with David beside me.
"You were shot."
I stopped and looked up at David as though he was crazy. "You don't say."
He scowled. "You were shot, again." He repeated, glaring at the hallway in front of him.
I paused to catch my breath. "Where's Damon?" I ignored the conversation David was trying to have. I didn't want to argue with him right now.
"He's on his way home." David muttered, and I caught my tongue.
Why?
Had flown to my lips. I knew why Damon had gone home. He was fine.
But I wished he hadn't.
I shook my head, wincing and drawing a look from David.
When I caught my breath, I pointed towards the hospital entrance. "Did you drive my car?" I started towards the door and David followed suit.
My brother showed me where he'd parked outside the emergency room entrance and I railed him about his parking. He wasn't parked legally and I could've gotten a ticket.
After we'd decided on a hotel for the night, I called Soma to check on her. She'd been to the hospital too, but her parents had met her there and they were driving a few hours north to spend the next few days with her uncle. I wanted to ask how her parents had gotten into town so quickly, but Soma was so busy recanting the story of the day to me that I forgot.
*
The shower water felt like it was burning my skin off my bones, but I didn't move. The water cascaded down my arms and legs and I kept my eyes closed. The aching in my chest was numb for the moment. Greyson had texted David and invited us to stay with them, but David and I decided that we needed some time alone before the legal processes began. Our apartment was completely off limits for now- other than for the police officers. Trial dates and court appearances were all in the air, and I'd been told by an agent at the police station that they would contact me when they needed me.
You can rest assured, ma'am, we'll call you as soon as we need you.
She'd told me after I'd had David stop at the station so I could give my statement of what had happened.
I blinked and opened my eyes. The water was starting to turn warm. I'd been standing in the shower for over an hour.
I shut off the water and stepped out of the shower. Reaching for a towel, I paused when I caught sight of my bruise in the mirror. Around the center of the bruise it was still red and dark purple, but on the outer edges the bruise was several shades of lighter purple and green. I grabbed a towel and moved away from the mirror.
I should be used to ugly bruises by now...
I thought with a scoff as I pulled on a shower robe and reached for my hairbrush. I noticed that my curls- or my hair in general- lacked it's normal sheen, and I wondered if it was because I hadn't really been eating well.
"Oana?" David knocked on the bathroom door.
I glanced towards the door. "Yes?"
"Just checking on you. You've been in there forever." He said through the door. I rolled my eyes and set down my brush. When I unlocked the door and stepped out, David was standing in the small hall in front of the bathroom of our hotel room.
He raised his eyebrows. "You good?"
I nodded and walked past him into the room. I heard him closing the bathroom door as I eased myself down at the hotel desk. My computer was waiting. I'd starting catching up on whatever work I could do from my computer before I'd decided to shower this morning.
*
A few hours later, I was shaken out of concentration by the sound of my phone ringing. I scanned the desk before I realized my phone was on the bedside table. Wincing, I pushed myself to my feet and shuffled over to the bed. David had gone out to pick up some lunch earlier, so I thought it might have been him calling to straighten out my order, but it wasn't his name on the screen.
"Hello?"
"Hey! I just off the phone with Damon, he told me what happened yesterday!" Kenya's cheery voice sounded through the phone and I smiled.
"Yeah, sorry, I should've text you."
Kenya snorted on the other line. "I don't care about that hon. How are you doing?"
I sighed and sat slowly down onto the bed. "Sore, but not sorry." I grimaced when I pulled my legs up onto the bed. Any motion that used my abs hurt like heck.
"Girl, you literally took a bullet for your man." I could hear Kenya's sly smile over the phone.
I took the bait. "He's not my man." I closed my eyes and leaned back against the headboard.
Kenya snickered on the line, but didn't argue. "If I weren't half-way across the country I'd come check on you, but seeing as you're fine I don't feel as bad." Kenya told me, going on to explain that she and her mom were taking a vacation for the next two weeks when I asked where she'd gone. We chatted back and forth for a few minutes, before my eyelids started to flutter closed and I couldn't get my words out without yawning.
"Honey, I'm gonna let you go so you can get some shut-eye. You sound tired." Kenya laughed, and I blinked away the tears from my last yawn.
"Sorry. . ." I smiled, listening to her last few words before we said goodbye. I sighed, lifting my head and looking at my computer. Then I groaned and and lay back, closing my eyes.
*
The next few days were uneventful, and David and I spent most of our time working from the hotel room. David left a few times to buy groceries, but I hardly left the room at all.

I blew out a frustrated breath and slammed my laptop closed a little harder than necessary. I was so tired of staring at the screen. I needed to get out of this darned hotel room.
David glanced up from his own computer and raised his eyebrows. Using the desk to help me stand, I frowned at the pain I still in my chest but continued to slip on some shoes and head towards the door.
"Where are you going?" David called, watching me walk towards the door.
"Out."