SNOWED IN (Complete)

Chapter Two (Part Two)

Chapter Two (Part Two)

I picked at a loose thread hanging from the bottom of my hoodie. Part of me wanted her to suggest this option, but I didn't even know him. What's if he's... I don't know? The worst possible thoughts floated through my mind.

Dr. Jacobson gave me a comforting smile. "His mother is one of my closest friends. Colton was raised to respect women. If I ask him to stay with you as a favor he will be a complete gentleman."

"He's already done so much for me," I protested weakly.

"I'd offer to let you sit here with me for a few hours, but we're getting ready to leave for a cruise." She checked her watch. "And I only have about twenty minutes before we get in the car and drive to the airport. The other option would be to have you head to the hospital for observation."

The thought of sitting in a hospital by myself for hours... and the bills that would accompany that decision sounded terrible.

"All right, if he's okay with it, I would really appreciate it if he'd sit with me. But if he doesn't want to, I totally understand!"

She smiled, her gray eyes crinkling in the corners. "I need your permission to share that you've had a concussion. Is that okay?"

"Yes, that's fine," I answered.

"Okay, I'll go talk to him. I'll be back in just a few moments."

I kicked my legs softly against the back of the examining table. "Thank you."

I fidgeted after she left the room. I hated imposing on others. I felt that the plane accident, which took the lives of my parents and left my brother clinging to his life, made me impose on my family members and my parents' friends.

Before I could head down that dark path, Dr. Jacobson knocked on the door and entered. "Colton would be happy to sit with you. If you're still feeling fine by ten, you should be fine by yourself for the remainder of the night."

I tugged at the string of my hoodie. "Thank you."

"Be sure to take 500 mg of acetaminophen every six hours, and if you are still experiencing discomfort, you can add in 400 mg of ibuprofen." She wrote down a note on the paper attached to the clipboard. "I'd like you to come back in for a check when I get back. Stop by next Saturday, okay?"

Nodding, I reached in my pocket. Luckily, I had grabbed a small ID holder instead of a big purse for my time at the cabin. I fished out my health insurance card. "Do you take Blue Cross?"

Dr. Jacobson nodded. "Absolutely. Give me a few moments to run your paperwork. You can head to the waiting room."

I thanked her again before grabbing my jacket off the counter.

When I pushed through the door and entered the waiting room, I found Colton thumbing through a Cosmopolitan magazine. His dark hair was swept to the side, those dimples on full display again. I wonder why he's smiling?

He looked up, and we locked eyes.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

Sitting down in the chair next to his, I gave him a small smile. "Just a concussion, some bruised ribs and burns on my cheeks."

I hadn't noticed the tiny flecks of gold around his irises before.

"I'm not sure that's a sentence I'd start with—'Just a concussion,'" he said with a lopsided grin. "You're pretty tough."

My cheeks burned with embarrassment. Luckily, due to the actual burns, no one would be able to tell.

"I appreciate you offering to stay with me for a few hours," I said. "That's really generous."