Heated Strokes (18+)

Chapter Two

▬▬▬▬ Jillian's POV ▬▬▬▬

Robbie. Car accident. Surgery.

Robbie. Car accident. Surgery.

Robbie. Car accident. Surgery.

It took everything in me not to cry on my way to the hospital, the phone call with his doctor royally fucking me up in the head. I was in no state to drive. Especially since I still hadn't gotten comfortable driving in America, yet, what with their reversed roads and cars. I called an Uber. It was sensible, I was not. Too busy pacing around my apartment, my paintbrush fallen on the ground, staining my carpet. Not a bloody care could be found.

My brother. My baby brother had to be rushed to the hospital and the only information I had was that he was in a bad car accident, parts of his...whatever bone the doctor said...something to do with his leg, was crushed or broken or something, and he was suffering from internal bleeding. Bleeding from where?! I didn't even get that piece of info.

In his stomach? His brain? Guess his doctor didn't think a layman like me needed that knowledge. Fucking wanker. Leaving me in the dark.

"Don't blame the doctor," I scolded myself, trying to calm down in the back seat, ignoring the looks the driver kept giving me. For the life of me, a storm of emotions were brewing inside and I could feel my panic, my anxiety sky-rocketing through the roof and—

"We're here."

Eyes darting open, I saw they had pulled up to the front entrance of the hospital.

"Thank you. Five stars," I mumbled, practically stumbling out of the car, racing inside.

I knew I probably shouldn't have been running through the lobby, looking for the emergency room waiting area, but until someone said something to me, I wasn't going to stop. I was being irrational, I'm aware. Acting like the sooner I got to the desk the sooner Robbie would be okay. But, that's how it translated in my mind. He needed me and I was too far away. That always seemed to be our dynamic. It used to be an ocean that separated us. Now it was the hospital walls.

I was relieved to see in big letters 'Emergency Room' painted on the wall with an arrow pointing me in the right direction, leading me down a hallway, exactly where I needed to go. And so, still running like a fool, I went straight to the front desk.

"Excuse me," I called, getting the attention of a nurse who was going through some sort of paperwork. I didn't know. Didn't bloody care. "I'm looking for Dr. Mayner? He called me like...thirty minutes ago about my brother, Robbie. Robert Moore. All he told me was that he was in an accident and is in surgery, now."

"Robert Moore...yes! I remember him. He was brought in over an hour ago."

"Over an hour ago?!"

"Actually, by now it's closer to two, but don't worry. He's in great hands-"

"Please tell me you can give me something, anything else. I'll go crazy if I don't know exactly what's going on. Is he okay? How long has he been here? Is his surgery going well? What happened?"

I was beginning to feel like I couldn't breathe, the fear and worry down right crippling.

"At this moment, miss, all I can tell you is he suffered a major laceration to his femoral artery, fractured leg, as well as second-degree burns from the fire. They'll do more tests once he's out of surgery to check for a concussion among other things, but this is all the information I have right now."