Rookie Playing For Keeps #Wattys2015 #NewAdult

Chapter 8 Part 1

Chapter 8

Present

            "Knock, knock," I hear the nurse's voice a second before her face appears in the doorway. I straighten up and cringe at the sharp pain that shoots through my hips, a reminder that I've been sitting for too long. 

            "Come in," I invite, making a small adjustment to take some of the weight off my spine and rest it on my thighs again. Jackson takes the opportunity to reach over and rub the sore muscles of my lower back as she moves to the shunt at the IV site. She sets down her plastic carrying container full of supplies, takes out a vial and disconnects the IV.

            "I just need to get another blood sample. The doctor should be here later this afternoon, and she'll want the latest information. Hold still, now." Her hands move quickly as Jackson and I watch her fill the vial with the deep red fluid.

            "Maybe you could convince my family to go and get some breakfast. We've tried, but they won't listen to us." The nurse is cleaning up, but her eyes find mine and she raises her brows.

            "That's your family out in the waiting room? I'll try, but I'm not sure they'd listen to me, either. They look pretty intense." She smiles and I can't help but smile, too. That's definitely the men in my family. Jackson smirks and nods his head knowingly.

"Their bark is worse than their bite," I confess as she labels the vial.

With a wink she replies, "I'm just teasing. I'll let them know they have some time before we hear any news, but I can't promise I can make them leave. I get the feeling they won't take a break until they know everything is going to be okay."

"Thank you," I say as she heads for the door. With a wave, she's gone. 

            "How do you think Ben is holding up out there? I imagine he's hacked into the WIFI and has been working since about 5." I roll my eyes, knowing that my brother doesn't ever let anything get in the way of his work.

            "I bet he brought his own WIFI. He'd never leave home without it. He's probably on a conference call right now, remotely driving his staff crazy as always." Jackson laughs, stretching his legs out and giving them a little shake. "Actually, I appreciate his work ethic more than you know," Jackson says, resuming my back rub.  

            "It's good of him to take a few days off to help, but I'd rather he spend that time off vacationing somewhere. I feel guilty that the only vacation he's taken in years will be spent here instead of relaxing on a tropical beach somewhere." I shift a little, resting my weight on the small table so Jackson's warm hands can manipulate the knot in my back. 

             "Listen, as much as it would be fun for your brother to fly off to paradise, he'd never be able to relax. You know how he is when it comes to his family. He has to feel like he's got some sort of control over the situation or he'll go mad. He has even less say in what's happening here than we do, but sending him across an ocean is just asking for trouble." His movement against my back slows until it's a gentle, reassuring pat.

            "Sometimes things are just beyond our control. I wonder when he's going to learn that?" I move back and Jackson runs his hand across my shoulder before letting it fall at my side. Taking my hand in his again, he wiggles his legs a little and adjusts his position again.

            "You've been getting him used to the idea. I'm pretty sure he's got the message that your life is your own, but it won't stop him from trying to be a good big brother to you. Don't worry so much, Rookie. He's out there in the waiting room because we're important to him. Don't push him away if he's trying to get closer."

            "Of course not. I appreciate him being here. I'm just cranky—I hate that there's no new information and we have to wait so long to hear what to expect next. That damn machine has been mocking us for hours." I give an angry glare to the monitor beside the bed, but it only beeps back at me in the same steady rhythm. "I just want to know that everything is going to be okay."

            "Everything is going to be okay. We've got this."

            Jackson moves closer to me and although the bedrail prevents us from being right next to each other, he reaches out his strong hand and slides it down to my stomach. The gesture is intimate and comforting, and as he rubs warm circles, I close my eyes and allow the worry to subside. 

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